Root Ball Gala celebrates National Champion Trees
The National Champion Tree Program hosts the Root Ball Gala in downtown Knoxville
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Dozens of big tree enthusiasts gathered in downtown Knoxville on Jan. 18 for the National Champion Tree Program (NCTP) Root Ball Gala. The event at the UT Conference Center celebrated the program’s new Register of Champion Trees and Data Management System.
The program moved from American Forests to the University of Tennessee School of Natural Resources (SNR) in 2023. American Forests is providing $200,000 through April 2025 to support the program’s move to UT. Jaq Payne, NCTP director, said, “As we settle into our new home at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, we are reviving the original vision from the September 1940 issue of American Forests magazine to establish ‘a nationwide laboratory for tree and forestry studies by future generations.”
The gala included brunch, an introduction by Don Hodges, SNR director, and speeches by Payne and Keith Carver, UT Institute of Agriculture senior vice chancellor and senior vice president. Attendees also enjoyed live music from the band Blue Ridge Gathering, watched artist Lauren Farkas create collages using plant material, and received on-the-spot composed poems after a short interview with poet Eric Thompson. The gala also featured a silent auction and a display of archived photos and slides of former Champion Trees.
Other attendees included Society of American Foresters CEO Terry Baker, Tennessee State Forester Heather Slayton, and the Davey Tree Expert Company.
Byron Carmean and Gary Williamson also attended the gala. Both men have nominated more than 10 percent of the list of National Champion Trees and started finding the trees more than 40 years ago. Williamson said, “I was very impressed by the enthusiasm I witnessed at the Root Ball at UT. I feel the National Register of Champion Trees is in capable hands and will really ‘branch out.” Carmean also said he is hopeful about the future of the program and happy the next Register of Champion Trees will include exotic plants. “People in every state see some type of exotic, and I’m happy Jaq is including some of them.”
The NCTP will start taking nominations for its next Register of Champion Trees at the end of February.
The National Champion Tree Program’s mission is to protect, preserve and keep record of the largest trees in the United States through public education and engagement.
The UT School of Natural Resources focuses on a mastery learning approach, emphasizing practical, hands-on experiences. The school’s faculty, staff and students advance the science and sustainable management of our natural resources through various programs of the UT Institute of Agriculture (UTIA).
UTIA is comprised of the Herbert College of Agriculture, UT College of Veterinary Medicine, UT AgResearch and UT Extension. Through its land-grant mission of research, teaching and extension, the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture touches lives and provides Real. Life. Solutions. to Tennesseans and beyond. utia.tennessee.edu
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Contact: Katie Donaldson, UTIA School of Natural Resources, 865-974-8342, kdonald2@utk.edu
