On the road to Washington: Artesia trucking company delivers Christmas tree to the U.S. Capitol

• New Mexico was chosen to provide this year's Christmas tree to the U.S. Capitol.
• It will come from Carson National Forest.
• An oilfield trucking company in Artesia was selected to make the delivery.

Lance Wilbanks’s father Ronnie started Wilbanks Trucking Services in Artesia in 1987 with just 25 employees.

Able to capitalize on the continuous boom and bust cycles of southeast New Mexico’s oil and gas industry, the company known for hauling oil rigs grew to 250 employees in the decades since it was founded.

News of the company’s success reached across the Permian Basin, but this year it will bring Wilbanks to the doorstep of U.S. President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol.

Wilbanks’ company was chosen to haul the tree that will be used in the White House’s annual Christmas ceremony from Carson National Forest near Taos in northern New Mexico, about 1,800 miles to the nation’s capital.

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“This is a little bit out of our wheelhouse,” Wilbanks said. “But our day-to-day business is hauling drilling rigs. These guys are used to over-sized loads.”

The tree will be accompanied by about 70 companion trees to be displayed around Washington, D.C. in numerous federal offices.

Wilbanks will provide the cranes to load the trees onto a new truck.

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Once that’s complete, he and three other drivers will set out for Washington to deliver the tree on Nov. 25.

They’ll make stops along the way in Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Louisiana and Virginia, hoping to promote the beauty of New Mexico and ingenuity of their company.

“Along the trail, they’ll really try to build up the story,” Wilbanks said. “They really wanted people that show what the company is all about.”

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A 'family' affair

For his crew, Wilbanks chose two drivers who were second-generation employees including Josh Garcia whose father Martin was Wilbanks’ first employee in 1987.

“I think they’ll represent the company as a family business,” Wilbanks said. “We’re all family.”

The trip will start on the third week of November and will take about two weeks to complete.

Then, the drivers will help install the tree on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building and were invited to attend a ceremony at the White House.

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The experience will be an honor, Wilbanks said, not just for his company but to represent the “diversity” of New Mexico – from the massive, scenic forests of the north to the industrial powerhouses of the south.

“I think this speaks to the diversity of our state,” he said. “Northern New Mexico is full of trees that would be ideal for the ceremony, but you also have a southern rig-moving company. That’s what makes New Mexico such a diverse place.”

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Wilbanks said he was notified in March that his company was a finalist for the mission, and he received word he was selected in April.

The trip is on a completely volunteer basis.

He said he was honored to perform such an iconic task and was eager to meet Trump who Wilbanks championed as supportive of oil and gas.

“I’m hopeful that I get to meet him and shake his hand,” Wilbanks said of Trump. “We’re an oil and gas company, and certainly that administration has been supportive of oil and gas. I certainly am a fan, and it will be an honor to get to shake his hand and be there with him.”

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The company was chosen, Wilbanks said, due to its strong record of safety.

Safety Director Shane Phipps said the company embraces a culture of safety and considers its workers family.

“It starts at the top,” Phipps said. “Lance believes safety is what’s going to help the company win in the end. I believe this will go very well. The drivers we’ve chosen have years and years of experience, and we’re confident they’ll get the job done.”

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For Wilbanks, it’s all about getting workers he’s known for generations home safe. It’s a philosophy he said will ensure a smooth ride to Washington, the Christmas tree in tow.  

“There’s many second-generation employees here. We’re family,” he said. “This is a dangerous environment, especially with all the growth in operations. You want your employees to go home in the same condition they arrived in.”

‘A true gem’

The selection of New Mexico to provide the 2019 tree was announced in February. The tree was found in the Questa Ranger District of Carson National Forest in July.

The selected tree was a 60-foot blue spruce with an almost 100 percent live-crown ratio and full foliage from 360 degrees, read a news release from the National Forest Service.

It will be displayed on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building at a public tree-lighting ceremony in early December.

“The selected tree is a true gem that all New Mexicans will be proud of,” said Questa District Ranger Jack Lewis.

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The tree was chosen by Jim Kaufmann, director of the U.S. Capitol Grounds and Arboretum.

“The tree represents not just the Carson National Forest, but all of New Mexico,” he said. “Forest employees identified about a dozen trees, and it was a fun process to review the candidate trees to see which one will make a perfect tree for the Capitol.”

New Mexico communities were encouraged to contribute to the tree’s decorations, as more than 10,000 handmade ornaments will be hung on its branches.

Applications to decorate the tree were available online at https://www.uscapitolchristmastree.com/participate/decoratethetree.

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“New Mexico’s public lands are treasured all across the state, and it is an incredible honor for all New Mexicans to have our beautiful landscapes represented to the nation with a tree from the Carson National Forest,” said New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

“I hope this wonderful event inspires all New Mexicans to continue to celebrate and value our public lands and our proud history of stewardship.”

The Forest Service provided the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree every year since 1970, with an Engelmann Spruce coming from Santa Fe in 2005, and another blue spruce from Carson National Forest in 1991.

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.