WORKING

Eva Scholtz

HE IS

Spreading the holiday spirit.

A CHRISTMAS TRADITION

Christmas tree shopping is a sure-fire way for those of us not yet full

of Christmas cheer to get into the holiday spirit, Dan Hay says.

Whether it’s the smell of pine, the straw on the ground or the crisp

outdoor air, the act of searching for the perfect tree is a Christmas

tradition in and of itself.

Unless you’re hoping to find a scraggly “Charlie Brown” kind of tree,

Dan’s Christmas Trees will have just what you’re looking for.

Hay, of Fountain Valley, started selling Christmas trees 15 years ago on

behalf of the Knights of Columbus in Westminster.

Three years later he brought the business to Beach Boulevard in

Huntington Beach. Dan’s Christmas Trees is now located at Garfield Avenue

and Main Street, its home for the last six years.

Hay, along with Maurice and Mario Ortiz, all graduates of Westminster

High School, have been working together selling Christmas trees each

holiday season since the start of the business.

Dan’s Christmas Trees sells noble, grand and Douglas firs. The trees, all

from Oregon, grow about a foot a year on average.

A TREE FOR EVERY PURPOSE

Noble firs, the most expensive variety of the three, stand the tallest

and are the strongest, which is great for hanging large ornaments.

Grand firs have the best pine smell of the three.

Douglas firs, the most common, are also the least expensive.

Due to a lack of seeds available for planting about six or seven years

ago, there is a shortage of Oregon trees this year.

This shortage unfortunately has caused the growers to charge retailers

20% to 25%, which means higher prices for consumers.

Tree growers say it may be even worse next year because of a previous

drought.

Hay, who is employed at the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, is very

active in the community of Huntington Beach.

He has served as a past president of the Huntington Beach High School

Football boosters, as well as serving as president of the Huntington

Beach Exchange Club, in which he helped to raise money for child abuse

centers.

Hay has raised $15,000 from different businesses and local organizations

for new dugouts and equipment sheds at the freshman baseball field at

Huntington Beach High School.

A LOCAL FIXTURE

Currently, Hay is vice president of the Huntington Beach High School

Foundation, whose main project is raising money for the “Take the Plunge”

campaign to rebuild the Huntington Beach High School swimming pool. He is

also vice president of the South Huntington Beach Junior Miss Softball

League.

Knowing so many people in the community, Hay says his clientele make it a

tradition to come back every year to say hello.

Hay, 41, and his wife Carrie have four children: Robert, 18, Brandon, 16, Garrett, 14, and Brittany, 12. All attend schools in Huntington Beach:

Dwyer, Huntington Beach High School and Golden West College.

An Eagle Scout from Huntington Beach and a past Scoutmaster for Boy Scout

Troop 1, Hay says all of his boys are Eagle Scouts or working toward that

goal.

Catering mostly to downtown Huntington Beach as well as Seacliff

residents, Dan’s employees are all student-athletes from Huntington

Beach, Edison or Fountain Valley high schools.

SERVICE WITH A SMILE

The trees are drilled at the bottom and kept in water-filled stands

before they are put on to the lot. Hay says this is the best way to keep

the trees fresh, a service he provides for his customers. Additional

services include flocking, spraying the trees with a white substance

reminiscent of snow, and putting a flame-resistant coating on all trees

that are to be for use in commercial businesses or public areas such as a

church or school.

And they even deliver.

Dan’s tree lot is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.