ALLENTOWN: Keris Tree Farm donates 100 trees to troops

   ALLENTOWN — Keris Tree Farm & Christmas Shop pledged 100 donated Christmas trees to deserving military families living at Fort Bragg, North Carolina as part of the national Trees for Troops program.
   About 20 percent of the Keris trees, which were delivered to the troops by FedEx on Wednesday, had been purchased and donated by Keris customers, including a Boy Scout Troop that traveled all the way from Westfield. Maggie and Joe Keris, the owners of Keris Tree Farm, donated the remainder of the trees.
   ”We participate in this effort organized by the National Christmas Tree Growers Associations and the Christmas Spirit Foundation because this is a way we can give back to those who give so much of themselves by serving in the military,” Ms. Keris said.
    A total 17,000 farm-grown Christmas trees will be donated nationwide in 2012 through the Trees for Troops program. Last year marked the 100,000th tree donated since the program was established in 2005.
   Keris Tree Farm, located at 848 Route 524 in Allentown, is a family operated business established in 1989.