Knights sell trees for charities
Published 9:33 pm Friday, November 23, 2018
- Mike Bibbo, center left, Knights of Columbus Suffolk Council 7363 Christmas tree lot chairman, and Kevin Thomas, center right, the co-chairman, present a check for $1,000 to Suffolk News-Herald editor Tracy Agnew for the Cheer Fund at the council’s Christmas tree lot on Nov. 17. Behind them are other Knights of Columbus members: from left, John Crowell, John Wehner, John Marx, Andrew Graf, Josh Graf, Rich Froemel, Tom Scharenbrock, Howard Council, Rob Quinn, Paul Fletcher, John Collick and Duane Anderson. (submitted photo)
The Knights of Columbus Suffolk Council 7363 is selling Christmas trees for the 10th year in a row this year, and less than a week of sales has already resulted in the largest trees flying off the lot.
“All our big ones are gone already,” Mike Bibbo, Christmas tree lot chairman, said Friday.
The organization began the lot tradition 10 years ago, taking over from the Suffolk Jaycees, which had done it for 50 years.
They started this season of tree-selling last weekend with 410 trees ranging in height from 6 feet to 12 feet. While the largest ones are indeed gone, Bibbo said there are still plenty to choose from for smaller spaces and that there are no bad trees on the lot.
“We still have very fresh trees,” Bibbo said, noting they were cut last Thursday. “They are very good-looking Frasers.”
Proceeds from the tree sales support a multitude of local projects. The Knights make a generous donation to the Suffolk News-Herald’s Cheer Fund every year.
“We do a lot with the local Special Olympics, and we do a lot with the local American Cancer Society,” Bibbo said.
He listed scholarships for local students, the Salvation Army, Coats for Kids, veterans’ projects, the food bank, sponsorships of students in Haiti and projects designed to cheer up local nursing home residents as among the other projects for which the money is used.
This year, the Knights of Columbus also donated money to the Nansemond River High School Air Force JROTC, which is raising money for the H2O for Life program. This program installs water wells and latrines in communities in need throughout Africa, Asia, Central America and South America.
The Fraser firs range in price from $25 to $65, depending on the size.
The tree lot is located at 2432 Pruden Blvd., in the parking lot of Line-X and Sherwin Williams. It is open from 6 to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, noon to 9 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays until the trees are sold out.