Melania Trump accepts Michigan’s first White House Christmas tree in 40 years

First Lady Melania Trump on Monday, Nov. 24, welcomed a Christmas tree delivered to the White House from West Michigan’s own Korson’s Tree Farms.

After winning the title of grand champion in the 2025 National Christmas Tree Association contest, Korson’s Tree Farms of Sidney in Montcalm County earned the honor of supplying this year’s official White House Christmas tree.

Korson’s Tree Farms owners Rex and Jessica Korson presented the tree, hand selected by the White House’s superintendent of grounds, in a horse-drawn carriage to the first lady.

“It’s a beautiful tree,” she said with a smile upon accepting it.

The last Michigan grower to supply a Christmas tree for the White House was Manton-based Dutchman Tree Farms in 1984.

Previously, Korson’s Tree Farms won second reserve champion in the 2015 National Tree Contest, achieving the honor of sending eight trees to the Washington, D.C. residence of then-Vice President Joe Biden.

“We had reserve champion once, and then to get grand champion is almost a dream come true for the farm,” Jessica Korson told MLive in August.

After winning the nation’s highest honor for a tree grower, Korson said she hopes to have a repeat performance in the future.

“It’s kind of a once-in-a-lifetime chance, but we hope we can make the trip back again sometime,” she said.