Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 5:00 p.m..
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi, joined by the acting architect of the Capitol, members of the Arizona congressional delegation, the governor of Arizona, and 12-year-old Kaitlyn Ferencik of Surprise, Ariz., lit the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree during a ceremony this evening. This year's tree, a 85-foot blue spruce, came from Arizona's Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. As part of the Capitol's continuing commitment to save energy, strands of energy-efficient LED lights were used to decorate the tree.
It is tradition that one child from the tree’s state light the Capitol Christmas Tree with the Speaker of the House. Students who submitted ornaments for the outside tree were invited to submit a drawing form along with their ornament. The Capitol Christmas Tree 2009 student winner was Kaitlyn Ferencik from Surprise, Arizona. A seventh grade student at Canyon Ridge School, Kaitlyn traveled to Washington, D.C. with her parents Erika and Troy Ferencik and her teacher Natalie Moore.
[click on SLIDESHOW bar on right for a full screen view]