By Amelia Tarallo
Hometown Weekly Staff
On Saturday, December 12, members from the Medfield Lions Club came to the parking lot of St. Edward the Confessor Church to sell the last of their Christmas tree supplies before closing shop for the season. This year’s iteration has been different from those prior, with a pandemic necessitating additional health precautions, and a brand new location for the sale. However, the Lions adapted admirably, and have managed yet another successful year of selling trees to benefit their community.
Regular Lions tree customers all encountered a different tree searching experience this year. Before they could even start looking at trees, potential customers were asked to check in and fill out a contact tracing form on their phones using a QR code. After completing the form, customers were able to browse and pick out the perfect tree for Christmas.
This year has required an enormous amount of planning. In addition to contact tracing, the Lions have added a number of precautions to ensure the safety of customers and volunteers. Placing signs pointing customers to walk one way, spreading the trees out, having the option for contactless payment, and wearing masks were all part of making this year’s tree sale safe.
The move to the lot behind St. Edward from the Shaws Plaza has given the Lions more room than they ever had before this year. “We are over the moon with this space, explained Colleen Sullivan, "because it’s level, because we have way more space to social distance, and have the racks so people can actually look at the trees without bumping into each other.” Overall, the new space is perfect to help clear the hurdles created by COVID-19.
Despite the challenges, and moving to a new place, the Lions Club had yet another successful tree sale. Within the first weekend of opening, all the Frasier fir trees were sold out. On Saturday, December 14, there were only about a dozen Balsam firs left in the lot. Customers coming by pointed out the success. “There are the only ones you have?” one customer asked.
“That’s it. Only a dozen left,” replied Sullivan.
“Congratulations on a successful year!”
“It’ll more successful if you buy four,” joked another Lion.
The motto of the Lions Club is “We Serve,” and it’s no surprise that they were happy to go on with the tree sale this year, despite a world-altering pandemic. As with years prior, proceeds from the sale will go back into community projects and scholarships. Despite COVID, the Lions Club raised plenty of Christmas spirit - and funds - to help their community.
