I have always loved the Christmas season.  From when I was just a pup through today, this wonderful time of the year sets well with me.

Her name was Karen Wenzel.  Perhaps you know her.  At one point she was the president of the Wauwatosa Lions Club and she was very active in our community.

Unfortunately, her daughter, Lindsay, passed away from a rare blood cancer about 12 years ago.  So Karen and her husband Gene set out to build a program to fight blood cancer in her memory and called it Lindsay’s Voice.  This then became the foundation of Trees of Hope.  For (9) years, the Trees of Hope program was held here at the Radisson Mayfair at the end of November and had raised just shy of $180,000 for cancer research, 100% of which was donated to the Blood Center and Kathy’s House.  The pandemic unfortunately put an end to the Trees of Hope and Karen and Gene went and retired to Florida.

The highlight of the Trees of Hope program was – the trees!  Organizations throughout the community were asked to design, build, and donate trees for the auction.  During the (9) year run, I was successful in snagging about (7) totally awesome trees.  Some of the themes were a Ford Hot Wheels tree, a Chicago Metra Limited Edition Train tree, a Breast Cancer Awareness tree, a Packer’s Playoff tree, and a Star Wars Theme tree.

Building upon those, my team this year added another 20+ trees to our collection.  We added a Grinch Theme tree, a Cardinal Bird tree, da Bears tree, a Liquor Bottle tree, a Frozen Movie tree, a Boy Scout Camp tree, and a 101 Dalmatians tree.  There is a Din Rail and Shop tree, a Fishing Lure tree, a Wisconsin Badgers tree, and a Mitten tree among other trees.  The team here at Gross Automation went way overboard on this.  Our lobby, our conference room, our training facility, and our bar area are all aglow with decorations and trees.

In conjunction with the Salvation Army, the Lions Club, and the Kiwanis, we joined the Wauwatosa Toys For Tots toy collection and distribution program.  We were open until 7p on a couple of evenings so that our customers, employees, vendors, and community members could stop by and drop off toys.  One evening, even Santa stopped in for some cheer at the company bar.  By all accounts, we were successful and will make a difference in some children’s lives. 

One particular toy/gift stands out because one of our suppliers flew in from Sweden and picked up a Down’s Syndrome Barbie.  How awesome a gift for a very special child.

One of my long-standing rules is that Christmas stays up until the Packer’s season is over.  A couple of years ago, that got us a one-week extension when they added a week to the regular season.  Of course, if they make the Super Bowl, Christmas goes well into February.  Not sure yet how this year will play out, but it is not looking good at the moment.  So, that means if you want to see our incredible display of trees, you have only a couple of weeks into January to do it.

So, while it is too late to donate a toy for the toy drive, consider a cash donation to the Salvation Army.  Please, come on over and see what we have done.  Perhaps it will inspire the next idea for helping those in need in our community.  You never know the positive impact that you may have on others.