River Ridge Farms, of Crumpler in Ashe County — owned and operated by business partners Jessie Davis, Rusty Estes and Carol Pennington — was selected for the honor by winning the title of Grand Champion Grower at the National Christmas Tree Association contest held in Des Moines, Iowa, in August. River Ridge Farms was chosen to represent North Carolina Christmas tree producers at their national convention by earning the top spot in the N.C. Christmas Tree Association’s tree contest.
Staff from the White House will visit one of River Ridge Farms’ tree fields in Creston on Oct. 21 to select the tree. This marks the first time River Ridge Farms will send a tree to the White House, but it is the second year in a row that an Ashe County tree will make the trip. Mistletoe Meadows in Laurel Springs, owned by Joe and Linda Freeman, sent a Fraser fir in 2007. The National Christmas Tree Association has been selecting a tree to send to the White House since 1966.
This is the 11th tree from North Carolina.