Contributed
This year marked the 29th year that volunteers, mostly from the Lake Auman Sports Club (LASC), have delivered and placed Christmas trees under lakefront homeowner docks around Lake Auman.
Over 1,000 trees have been placed under Lake Auman docks in the last 15 years from this LASC initiative.
For 2026, 63 trees were delivered and prepped on March 12-13 with trees being secured under 22 docks on March 14. All 25 project volunteers appreciated the warmer March temperatures, both air and water, than the usual frigid February conditions in past years.
The following LASC members and volunteers delivered the trees and prepped them at the docks: Daryl Adams, Maureen Allen, Wade Bliss, Steve Cupolo, Jim Deak, Ron Easley, Bobby Fletcher, Tom Gaffney, Tom Kalio, Greg Lyne, Bill McCord, Phil Menendian, Andy Orlander, Steve Reid, Rob Ridge and Don Smith.
Nine community residents needed assistance disposing of their Christmas trees and were able to have their trees picked up and taken to the designated tree drop area by Don Smith.
This year, there were three “in-the-water” men available and willing to don their wet suits and enter the frigid water to place and secure the trees under the docks. They were Ethan Martin, Ryan Scott and Jeff Timmons.
Assisting them from the docks were Joe Easley, Brian Gilpin, Bill Graham, Adam Minicucci, Dan Pieroni, Steve Reid, Eric Sanders and Don Smith.
This annual fish habitat project provides the lake’s small fish with protective cover to escape from larger predator fish and contributes to increasing the lake’s fish population, both in size and number.
Thanks to all the volunteers for a job well done and to the lakefront homeowners who participated this year and in the past to make this program a success. The project was organized and managed again this year by Don Smith.
