Grow West Newsletter
Growing Together Winter 2026
Honoring Heroes with Holiday Boughs
The people and partnerships behind an annual act of remembrance
On a chilly morning last December, fresh evergreen boughs with bright red ribbons were placed on 38,000 gravesites at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery (SVNC) in the Dixon countryside.
It was the 20th year that the RememberAVet.net Wreath Project had led this annual remembrance initiative. The goal is simple: to honor every veteran laid to rest at the cemetery with a holiday bough. Thousands of volunteers, including Grow West employees, make it happen by coming together in a shared act of gratitude.
STARTING OUT AND SPREADING AWARENESS
Yolo County residents Susie and Curtis Stocking initiated the grassroots project after Curtis saw a news story about wreaths being placed on graves at Arlington National Cemetery. They thought it would be wonderful to do the same locally.
“When the cemetery officially opened in October 2006, we started talking to friends and family, plus a couple of Vietnam veterans we knew,” Susie said. “They all thought it was a great idea and wanted to pitch in. Everyone bought wreaths and brought them to the cemetery. We had 325 the first year.”
The following year, the number of gravesites increased to 1,300. To fulfill that number, the Stockings increased awareness via word of mouth, press releases and letters to local newspapers. The response was overwhelming with donations and volunteers. Silveyville Christmas Tree Farm in Dixon helped with collecting donations and producing the greenery for the gravesites.
After the second year, the Stockings worked with the nationally-based Wreaths Across America to deliver wreaths to Dixon. In 2010, they found a supplier in Oregon, Teufel Holly Farms, and that partnership continues today.
With the project growing in popularity – and the number of needed wreaths growing exponentially – the Stockings decided to transition to a nonprofit.
COMMUNITY SUPPORT AND THE KINDNESS OF VOLUNTEERS
Since the beginning, the Wreath Project has benefited from the generosity of community groups, businesses and individuals, including veterans.
“This is such a veteran-rich area, especially with Travis Air Force Base nearby, so we have a lot of local veterans who support the project,” Susie said.
Grow West’s early involvement is linked to Susie; she spread the word about the initiative with leadership and fellow employees while working at the Dixon wholesale office (formerly Tremont Supply) and the corporate office.
Volunteers are a vital part of all Wreath Project activities. As many as 2,000 people help unload and place the boughs in December.
“Grow West has been very generous over the years,” Susie said. “We had a fundraiser at Park Winters one year and Grow West was one of our biggest sponsors.”
The Wreath Project reflects Grow West’s values of community service and honoring those who served. Many employees donate money and/or time. In previous years, the Dixon retail office has offered trailers and staff to help unload and stage boxes of the wreaths at the cemetery.
Jessica Forster, North Valley accounting and senior management assistant at Grow West, has been one of the most active volunteers who has enlisted the help of her family, friends and colleagues. She started volunteering for the Wreath Project 12 years ago. For many of those years, her boyfriend’s family prepared and served the annual fundraising dinner, and she volunteered as part of the kitchen and serving crew. When the dinner moved to a catered venue, her role shifted to helping spread awareness.
Volunteers are a vital part of all Wreath Project activities. As many as 2,000 people help unload and place the boughs in December and additional volunteers participate on clean-up day in January. Recology provides dumpsters and hauls the boughs away for free.
Susie said they have received a ton of positive feedback and letters of appreciation from veterans’ families. “To see what the wreaths mean to them, to have their loved ones remembered in such a special way during the holidays, is really touching,” she said.
A feature of the project that’s especially heartwarming and moving for Susie is that families can choose to place the boughs privately a week before the official day.
Forster echoed the sentiment. “When I worked at our Dixon retail office, I had the opportunity to be one of the early pick-up locations for the families that wished to lay their own wreaths privately before the main event,” Forster said. “Working for a company that allowed me to do that was incredibly meaningful to me.”
THE YEAR AHEAD
The Wreath Project anticipates they’ll need 41,000 boughs totaling $410,000 for the Dec. 19, 2026 bough laying. To help with costs, two fundraisers are scheduled – the Tee It Up Golf Tournament on May 29 and the RememberAVet.net at Sunrise Event Center in Vacaville on Sept. 12. Donations are collected year-round and all funds are only used to fulfill the needs of the SVNC bough laying.
