The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the appointment of three members to serve on the Christmas Tree Promotion Board. The appointees will serve three-year terms beginning immediately, to Dec. 31, 2025.
Members appointed or reappointed are:
- Producer Region #1 – Western: Michael Jones, Beaverton, Oregon
- Producer Region #2 – Central: Derek Ahl, Black River Falls, Wisconsin
- Producer Region #3 – Eastern: Charles E. Fowler, Sylva, North Carolina
The 12-member board is comprised of 11 producers representing production in the eastern, central, and western regions of the United States, and an importer member.
More information about the board is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Christmas Tree Promotion Board webpage and on the board’s website at www.realchristmastreeboard.org.
Since 1966, Congress has authorized the development of industry-funded research and promotion boards to provide a framework for agricultural industries to pool their resources and combine efforts to develop new markets, strengthen existing markets and conduct important research and promotion activities. AMS provides oversight of 22 boards, paid for by industry assessments, which helps ensure fiscal accountability and program integrity.
AMS policy is that diversity of the boards, councils and committees it oversees should reflect the diversity of their industries in terms of the experience of members, methods of production and distribution, marketing strategies and other distinguishing factors, including but not limited to individuals from historically underserved communities, that will bring different perspectives and ideas to the table. Throughout the full nomination process, the industry must conduct extensive outreach, paying particular attention to reaching underserved communities, and consider the diversity of the population served and the knowledge, skills and abilities of the members to serve a diverse population.
