Christmas Tree Lot
Troop 237's primary source of revenue is its Christmas Tree Lot. It is located at Kiwanis Park in Johnson City, Tennessee at the corner of Knob Creek Road and Market Street. The tree lot is open every year from the day after Thanksgiving until we sell all of our trees (usually sometime in the middle of December). We are open 24 hours a day throughout the season. However, if you want to buy a tree from a boy, you will have to come at a more "normal" time. If you can only come at an unusual time, that's fine because all of the money goes directly to the boys anyway.


All of our trees are very high quality. We primarily sell fresh cut Frasier Firs. Due to a lack of demand, we do not sell balled trees. However, we feel that the trees we sell are the freshest trees in town. They are cut locally (in Buladean, North Carolina) once a week and are taken to the tree lot by the boys. Many other tree lots get their trees from tree farms from far away that cut their trees months before they are sold. The only way to get a tree fresher than ours is to cut it yourself. That is one of the reasons we have been so successful in our 41 years at the tree lot.

As mentioned earlier, all of the profit from the tree sales goes directly to the boys. Each boy has an account in which all of the money he has earned from his time at the tree lot is placed. He can use this money for virtually anything he wants. Boys in the troop spend most of their money on scouting equipment and trips. Most of the boys in our troop never have to pay for anything out of their own pocket. All the boy has to do is get his purchase approved with one of our leaders. He can then bring the receipt from his purchase to one of the adults and be fully reimbursed. If he wants to use his money for a trip all he has to do is tell the scoutmaster, and the money is taken out of his account. It is entirely possible and quite common for a boy in our troop to never have to pay a dime for any kind of activity, equipment or uniform. This is a very efficient and beneficial system.

Money is not the only benefit the boys recieve from working at the Christmas Tree Lot. They also learn what it is like to have a job. This requires a great deal of responsibility on each boy's part. He must show up on time and be prepared to work. This work includes keeping the lot clean, taking care of the trees and most importantly, selling trees. When a customer walks onto our tree lot, he is greeted by a friendly scout and shown around the lot. The scout will help him find a tree, price the tree, and carry it to the customer's vehicle. He will also trim your tree and put it in your stand if neccessary.




Click Here to see pictures from the Christmas Tree Lot.

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