What a pleasure to see the celebration, that began in the 1980s, has grown to such a wonderful annual event. Back when, my husband, Jeff Katz was the mayor, I told him about an idea I had that became this wonderful town event. For the very first Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration the volunteers of the Fire Dept., Auxiliary Police, First Aid Squad, interested residents and the choirs of St James church and Temple Sha arey Shalom came together and finalized this very first celebration in a mere...72 hours!!! Jeff contacted Statile Nursery who donated and gladly planted the very large tree you see today. (It was not very big back in the 80's LOL) The volunteers from the Fire department , Auxilliary Police Reservists and First Aid Squad managed to get cider, candy canes and donuts to serve. It was a wonderful surprise to see Santa arrive in the ladder truck and go up and up while waving and saying 'ho ho ho" all the while. The choirs motivated all to sing along and the 'oos and ahhs" when the lights were lit made it a special occasion. No tax dollars were spent and the interested residents and volunteers went out of their way to create this special occasion. So thank you to both the volunteers of the past and present . Their dedication goes above and beyond town wide emergencies. I was so pleased that the town recognized them for their continued dedication to making life a better place for their neighbors. Happy Holidays to all.!!! :)