Chillicothe truck hauls Christmas to Washington

CHILLICOTHE – A truck assembled in Chillicothe will be responsible for making spirits a little brighter this Christmas as it hauls the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree to Washington, D.C.

The Kenworth Truck Co. T880 was built specifically to carry an 88-foot tall White Spruce from Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota to its designated spot as "The People's Tree" on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

"What makes this annual tradition special is that it is a gift from the people and it showcases the natural beauty of the forest and the state," said Mike Theune, public affairs officer for Chippewa National Forest.

The truck off the local Kenworth line was driven to Associated Graphics Inc. in Plain City, where it was wrapped in a vinyl covering with a design dedicated to showing the beauty of Washington during the holiday season. It will be driven to Minnesota to chauffeur the tree on a tour through several states before arriving at the Capitol in late November, according to the company.

The two-day decorating process for the truck was done by a single employee who wraps the exterior of the vehicle in a vinyl design provided by Kenworth, according to Associated Graphics' Ali Budendorf.

"I met up with Kenworth in the middle of June. The design was actually something that they, their design team, came up with," said Kasey Hall, of Associated Graphics. "We proofed it on the truck to make sure everything was going to lay out properly."

Once a design is chosen, the company develops a digital proof to be approved by the customer. It then produces a live proof of the design on a 5-foot-by-4-foot sheet with extra material used as examples of color for the customer to agree upon, Hall said. The customer then signs off on the final design and production begins.

"We design, proof and warranty designs like this all over the country, so projects like this, we are pretty used to," Hall said.