ARBOR DAY: Thanks to all volunteers

The Kootenai County Arbor Day Committee would like to thank all the volunteers and businesses who participated in making the 2013 Arbor Day program a big success again this year.

The Kootenai County Arbor Day program has given away more than 57,000 trees over the past 27 years to fourth graders throughout Kootenai County.

The program is run entirely by volunteers that donate hundreds of hours to make the program a success. We especially appreciated all the volunteers that helped bag the 2,500 trees given to the 4th graders (and we couldn't have done it without the enthusiastic efforts of Project CDA students!). Also a special thanks to all the young artists that participated in the art contest to design the commemorative button for this year.

The annual costs for trees and commemorative buttons is nearly $2,000 per year, so please thank these companies and organizations for their generous financial support: Stimpson Lumber Company, Idaho Forest Group, Specialty Tree Service, Potlatch Corporation, Idaho Veneer Company, Inland Empire Paper Company, Out on a Limb Tree Service, Northland Nursery, Hancock Forest Management, Grace Tree Service, Coeur d'Alene Safeway, Starbucks Coffee, Coeur d'Alene Press and Coeur d'Alene Master Gardeners.

If you would like to be a corporate sponsor or support this program in other ways, please contact us.

We also want to thank all that attended the official Coeur d'Alene Arbor Day celebration on Saturday at Cherry Hill City Park and thanks to Sun Valley Tree Service for providing our picnic lunch. We encourage everyone who received free seedlings to take good care of them. They will be a living legacy of 2013 Arbor Day.

JOHN SCHWANDT and KATIE KOSANKE

Kootenai County Arbor Day Program

Co-chairs