Alexandria, Virginia:

On Tuesday evening, at a reception held prior to the lighting of the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, the Truckload Carriers Association (TCA) was presented with a 2017 Capitol Christmas Tree Appreciation Award. Bruce Ward, founder and president of Choose Outdoors, the non-profit organization that oversees the project, bestowed the honor in recognition of TCA’s continuing support of the Tree. TCA’s Senior Director of Outreach & Engagement Marli Hall accepted the award.

“Without the support of TCA we could not have accomplished so much on the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree tour this year,” said Ward. “We now have so many members of the trucking industry working to make this bigger and better every year. We’re looking forward to finding even more ways to make the cross country journey of ‘The People’s Tree’ an American tradition that can be shared by millions of people around the world.”

As in previous years, TCA member companies hosted “whistle stops” at points along the Tree’s route. This year’s events included a stop in Grand Forks, North Dakota hosted by Britton Transport as well as a stop in Kansas City, Missouri hosted by Meritor and MHC Kenworth. The Tree was hauled by Larry Spiekermeier with Whitewood Transport of Billings, Montana, in a nearly 100-foot trailer wrapped in banners displaying thousands of signatures from throughout the Tree’s trek.

The Capitol Christmas Tree has been a tradition at the U.S. Capitol since 1964. On Wednesday, it was lit on the West Lawn of the Capitol by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Ridley Brandmayr, an 11-year-old from Bozeman, Montana. The Tree, adorned with thousands of ornaments and topped by a large copper star, will be shining brightly for all to see from dusk until 11 p.m. each evening throughout the holiday season.

For pictures and stories of the 2017 Capitol Christmas Tree’s journey across the country, visit the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree’s website or TCA’s Flickr.