8
| March/April 2016
NOTES
FIELD
Idea submitted by: Deborah Catterson, client experience
coordinator, Portland, Maine, R/C office.
Depending on the person, the hustle and bustle of the
holiday season can bring out either a sense of stress
or motivation.
For Tom Ford, sales arborist at the Portland, Maine, R/C
office, the holiday season means a little bit of both. Ford was
charged with the task of finding a giant Christmas tree large
enough to be the main feature of The L.L. Bean Flagship
Store's 21st annual Sparkle Weekend in Freeport, as he has
been for the past six years.
Sparkle Weekend is the largest holiday celebration, with
the largest Christmas tree, in the state. Thousands of
community members and out-of-town residents visit L.L.
Bean's Campus during the spirted weekend to see the giant
Christmas tree and surrounding trees, which are all featured
in a dynamic, synchronized light show with 12 holiday songs.
"Finding a tree can be the most difficult part," Ford says.
L.L. BEAN SPARKLES FOR THE HOLIDAYS
A family admires the nearly 50 feet tall Christmas tree Davey
delivered. Photographs by Tim Greenway
Each year, he looks for a client either in need of a large
tree removal or who is willing to donate their tree to this
important Christmas cause. Luckily, Ford knew exactly
who to call for the 2015 spotlight tree.
Only 10 miles from Freeport, a loyal Davey client had a
perfect Douglas fir tree standing 48 feet tall that needed
to be removed.
"It was icing on the cake for her," Ford says. "Last winter,
we had large snow storms, which brought some of her
Douglas fir's limbs down on her house." Ford's client was
attached to the tree because her father planted it as a seed-
ling but was happy to donate it to such a joyous cause.
With years of practice, Ford and the entire Portland office
have perfected their large tree delivery skills, which require
a flatbed truck, a police escort and a crane.
"It's a fun project." Ford says. "We took good care of the
tree during the journey to L.L. Bean and they were happy
with its size."
Thanks to Davey's Portland, Maine, R/C office employees, including Ian
Baxter, Jeff Berry, Deborah Catterson, Dana DiRenzo, Tom Ford, Pete
Jankowiak, Dave King, Gil Lamarre, Terry Paige, Chris Plante and
Tyler Wilson for successfully delivering L.L. Bean's giant Christmas tree
for the Sparkle Weekend event.
