Supporting military families

Tree festival and auction benefits Travis Fisher House

A silver bells tree, a gift certificates tree, a pets tree, even a Star Wars tree. These are just some of the themed holiday trees that have been auctioned off over the past six years at the annual Travis Fisher House Holiday Tree Festival and Auction.

Sponsored by both the 60th Maintenance Operations Squadron and 349th Maintenance Operations Flight at Travis Air Force Base, the event features a silent auction of themed, full-size and tabletop holiday trees and gift baskets to take home for the holidays. All proceeds from the event are donated to the Travis Fisher House.

Officially known as the Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher House, it is considered a part of Travis’ David Grant USAF Medical Center—the largest Air Force medical facility on the West Coast, which provides health care and treatment to nearly 82,000 eligible recipients in the San Francisco-Sacramento region. However, the Travis Fisher House is not a treatment facility, hospice or counseling center, but a temporary residence that provides a no-cost place to stay for families with loved ones hospitalized across the street at the medical center.

When asked about his motivation for helping with the auction, Master Sgt. James Barber, co-chair of the event and chief of maintenance training at the 349th, says, “The cost of living in California is very high for most families and to save them the cost of somewhere to stay is a small sacrifice of myself I can give.

“Families are very important to today’s veteran. Without their support, [the military] would not be as strong. This [event] is a way of giving something back to them.”

The seventh annual festival and auction takes place 4-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 4. The festival is open to all military and Department of Defense ID cardholders and their guests. For more information or to donate auction items, contact Master Sgt. James Barber at (707) 424-4558.

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