Wednesday, Novemer 24, 2010 - The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree and its Team learned the meaning of southern hospitality today when we arrived in Dahlonega, Georgia. We were absolutely blown away by the welcome we received. Thousands of people lined the streets of Dahlonega to see the Capitol Christmas Tree as we made our way into town.
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| Thousands of onlookers packed Main Street to see the Tree and drivers Jeff Underwood and Mark Fortner. |
The excitement had been building all day. Our wonderful drivers Jeff Underwood and Mark Fortner are from Dahlonega and they had been anxiously awaiting their homecoming for days. As we crossed into the county line, Mark yelled over the CB - "We're home!" As we quickly made our way to Main Street, we saw more and more people lining the roads hoping to catch a glimpse of the Tree, or perhaps just newly minted rock star Jeff Underwood.
It is hard to describe the fanfare that occurred when we pulled into town. The narrow Main Street was packed with thousands of onlookers and the surrounding trees and buildings were adorned with beautiful white Christmas lights. When native son Jeff Underwood climbed down from his truck, he was greeted by thunderous applause and huge hugs from his family members. It was nearly impossible not to tear up watching someone fulfill a lifelong dream and receive such a unbelievable homecoming at the end of their journey.
It took quite some time for Jeff to be able to peel himself away from the mass of people who greeted him when he climbed out of his truck, as well as all of the TV cameras, but Jeff made his way to the main stage where he was honored by his hometown. November 24, 2010 was officially named "Jeff Underwood Day" in Dahlonega.
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| Dahlonega rolled out the red carpet for the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. |
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| Jeff visits with elected officials and citizensof Dahlonega upon arrival into town. |
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| Mark Fortner visits with friends and family in Dahlonega. |
After the celebration, the Chamber of Commerce had a delicious dinner waiting for us and wonderful hotel accomodations Thank you to the people of Dahlonega for showing this Wyoming crew southern hospitality at its best!
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