2007 PRESS RELEASES

November 14, 2007
VIRGINIA CHRISTMAS TREE GROWERS NAME TWO HUFFMANS GRAND CHAMPIONS
Contact: Marion Horsley, 804.225.3820

In German, the name Huffman denotes the manager of a manor farm.  But for the Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association (VCTGA), the name means winner.  Two Huffmans – unrelated – were chosen Grand Champions at the Association’s annual meeting in August 2007.  David Huffman, of Spruce Ridge Tree Farm in Giles County, won for his Christmas tree entry, and Sue Huffman, of Joe’s Trees in Craig County, was a repeat winner in the wreath category.  As Grand Champions, David and Sue also win the honor of providing a tree and a wreath for the Governor’s Mansion this year.

To hear David Huffman tell it, he decided only at the last minute to bring a tree to the meeting.  “I have entered this competition for five or six years and had come in second several times.  I wanted to take a tree and chose an 8-foot white pine.”  Trees were judged on the basis of several criteria including foliage, density, uniformity, taper and marketability.

Huffman has established a friendly competition with his cousin Sue Bostic, of Joe’s Trees, winner of the Grand Champion title in 2000 and 2006.  It was Bostic’s father, Joe Miller Sublett, who got his nephew David Huffman into Christmas trees in the first place.  Young Huffman, just out of the service, helped his uncle plant the first of Joe’s Trees back in 1962. 

Huffman started his own Christmas tree farm in 1991 on his wife Dreama’s homeplace, which was established before 1900. Today the farm boasts approximately 45,000 trees, from seedlings to 10' tall trees, including Fraser, Concolor, and Canaan firs, Scotch pines and white pines, which he sells in both choose-and-cut and wholesale operations.  Huffman plants between 4,000 and 5,000 seedlings each year, ensuring that Christmas trees remain one of Virginia’s most renewable crops. 

Sue Huffman has been making exquisite Christmas wreaths for 14 years and her experience shows.  What started as a lark became an unusual friendship and job opportunity with Sue Bostic.  Bostic had a wreath-making machine and Huffman quickly learned to use it.  Huffman stated, "When you find a job you enjoy doing, you never have to go to work again."  

What is the secret of her success with wreaths?  Says Huffman, “Make them full.  You can tell my wreaths because of the amount of greenery I use.  They weigh five to six pounds before I add the decorations.  I don’t want a wreath to look like I sat on it.”  For decorated wreaths, Huffman advises going with a theme.  Her personal choice is natural elements such as acorns, moss, thistles, and lichen.  She is more than willing to
share her insights and experience and she has taught the art of wreath-making for more than a decade to enthusiastic students through VCTGA workshops.

In addition to the numerous honors her wreaths have won at the state level, she has also earned one second place award and two third place awards at the national level.  Says Huffman, “When I win first place at the National competition, that’s when I’ll retire.” 

For additional information about Spruce Ridge Tree Farm, call 540.544.7700, e-mail d_huffman@pemtel.net, go to Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Association or consult the Virginia Christmas Tree Guide.  For wreaths, call 888.544.7880 or log onto www.1wreaths.com.