This year, the tree of lights has a new spot on campus towards the south-west side of Hudson. President Comerford spoke at the ceremony, along with the owner of Ace Hardware, George Preckwinkle, who donated the more than 50,000 lights wrapped around the tree. “This year we are on a bigger tree with more lights. We’re about bigger, better and brighter this year,” said Comerford. This has been a tradition on campus for the past four years. The tree was lit on Nov. 30 and the lights were hung by the workers of Physical Plant.
The tree is not just meant for the Blackburn community to enjoy. The tree draws families from the Carlinville area. “I get complimented all through town around this time of year.” said Comerford. “All of the community gets excited about this. This is a focal point for the Carlinville community.”
After the lighting of the tree, the choir sang a few songs, which included “Carol of the Bells,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” Following the choral performance, the congregation moved to the Jaenke Alumni Center for food and refreshments.
Freshman Christina Sanderson thought the tree looked amazing lit up. “I enjoyed listening to the choir sing and the party afterwards. It was great to see a lot of people on campus and from all over the community,” she said.