FOR RELEASE OCTOBER 28, 2004 

For Those Who Believe…In the Magic of Real Christmas Trees 

(St. Louis) – Recognizing the link between families with strong holiday traditions and the preference for using a fresh, real Christmas Tree, Trim Pines Farm, Inc. will be participating in the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) program with Warner Bros. Pictures to cross-promote fresh Christmas Trees and the holiday movie The Polar Express, opening nationwide Novermber10, 2004. 

The Polar Express reunites the Academy-Award-winning team of Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Cast Away) for an inspiring adventure based on the beloved children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg about a doubting young boy who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North pole. He embarks on a journey of self-discovery that shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe. 

“The Polar Express movie and our industry—major tree growers, lot operators and cut-your-own tree farmers in North America—share a common message…that the spirit of Christmas is alive, as long as you believe,” said Beth Walterscheidt, president-elect of NCTA         and a retired schoolteacher. “NCTA hopes that children and parents across the country will slow down and spend family time together by seeing the movie and selecting and decorating a fresh Christmas Tree this holiday season.” 

The benefit to consumers will be a discount on purchase of their fresh Christmas Tree this season at participating retail lots and choose-and-cut farms if they bring in a movie ticket stub from The Polar Express. 

“We are offering a discount to anyone who brings in The Polar Express ticket stub to a tree lot or tree farm,” said Christina Yancho of Trim Pines Farm. “We are offering a $3 discount per tree with a minimum purchase of $25. At our Grand Blanc farm, we offer several varieties of Pine, Spruce and Fir with free horse-drawn and tractor-drawn hayrides, as well as wreaths, refreshments and visits with Santa and his reindeer.” 

In addition, Yancho encourages parents and children to participate in NCTA’s “Help Santa find the Perfect Real Tree” national contest. The contest asks children (ages 6-16) to take a picture of their family in front of their fresh, real Christmas Tree, write a story about why the tree is special or “perfect” to them, and send it to NCTA. 

NCTA and its sponsors are offering prizes in three age groups. Prizes include $5,000 scholarships, trips for four to Orlando, FL, expense paid trips to the Louise Mandrell Theater in Pigeon Forge, TN. The packages include travel, lodging, tickets and back stage passes to the Louise Mandrell Theater, tickets to the Dollywood theme park and dinner at the Alabama restaurant. 

“We know the contest is a good opportunity for retailers to share the holiday spirit and give their customers and opportunity to win some fabulous prizes,” said Yancho. 

These National NCTA programs are just two elements of a new marketing campaign being launched by NCTA this year. The multi-year campaign hopes to reach Americans with the underlying message, “Nothing Says Christmas More than a Real Tree.”

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