“Mr. Christmas Tree” our Tom Ernst was inducted into the Christmas Tree Wall of Fame in 2005. 

Tom charted a life in forestry and Christmas Trees at the tender age of 11 when he started helping within the family woodlot. He graduated from the University of New Brunswick in 1957, joined the Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forests in 1961, and after serving as an Extension Forester, soon became Christmas Tree Specialist. The bug bit, and Tom started his first Christmas Tree lot in 1967. Tom was instrumental in the formation of our Associations and the Christmas Tree Council of Nova Scotia. As organizer without peer, Tom was the driving force to see Lunenburg County named as the Balsam Fir Christmas Tree Capital of the World, drove the two international Christmas Tree Conferences Nova Scotia has hosted (1987 and 1999), sits on Board of Directors of the Forest Products Association of Nova Scotia, serving as President from 1996 to 1998. Tom has been a strong proponent for safety, and has been a key factor in safety and training courses and the subsequent lowering of Workers Compensation rates. Tom has acted as Secretary-Advisor for the formative years of both the LCCTPA and the Christmas Tree Council. His dedication, enthusiasm and devotion to Christmas trees earned Tom the informal title of “Mr Christmas Tree” from his friends and colleagues and the industry.