August 27, 2024

They may not bear tomatoes themselves, but small, flowering tree species – such as the Spicebush, Sweetspire and Witch-hazel – are important for fostering healthy pollinator populations.

And thriving pollinators are necessary for growing gorgeous tomato plants, which were the focus of West Virginia’s most recent celebratory fete held in Fairmont: the 15^th Annual Tomato Festival & Hometown Market.

The Aug. 17 festival* paid homage to the tomato while promoting the local community and the importance of sustainable gardening – complete with a free giveaway of the aforementioned tree species sponsored by FirstEnergy’s Green Teams.

Green Teams Lead Jessica Shaffer, Advanced Scientist, helped organize and facilitate FirstEnergy’s participation at the event, where she and Mon Power’s Dollie Hayhurst, Administrative Technician III, and Krissy Michael, Regional External Affairs Consultant, volunteered and distributed 216 free trees to the public.

This giveaway is another example of employees living out the company’s core value of Stewardship in our communities in a meaningful way. The trees distributed at the event also count toward our corporate goal to plant 25,000 trees this year in the communities we serve.

“We started at 10 a.m. and ran out of trees right before 1 p.m.,” said Jessica. “The trees will provide beautiful blooms and pollinator sustenance for years to come, which is good news for all tomato gardeners or gardening enthusiasts, alike!”

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