A Before and After Photo of the Rockefeller Christmas tree 

in

Vestal NY and Rockefeller Center NYC

Although the first principle of her profession is "being of service to others", Jackie McGinley didn't imagine she would put it to use the way she has this holiday season .. by donating the 80-foot fall, 43-foot wide and 12-ton Norway Spruce in her side yard to be the official Rockefeller Center Christmas tree for 2023.  The tree is covered with more than 50,000 multi-colored, energy-efficient LED lights on approximately 5 miles of wire!  The star on the top of the tree was designed by architect, Daniel Libeskind in 2018.  The three-dimensional Swarovski star weighs approximately 900 pounds and features 70 spikes covered in 3 million crystals.  The diameter of the star is 9 feet, 4 inches. The tree will be on display through January 13, 2024. 

McGinley is a licensed social worker, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work and the program director for Binghamton University's new online Master of Social Work program.  McGinley earned her master's degree at Rutgers University and her doctorate from the University of Buffalo.  Prior to joining the university faculty, she had four years of experience as a social work educator, teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. 

"It was one of the easiest decision that we've ever made.  As a social worker and a core of my own family's identity is this idea of service. We really try to think about how we can be of service to other people, whether that's our friends and family or our neighbors .. and now millions of people we hopefully will get to know or those we can just impact in a small way."

"Somebody might be having a wonderful time in New York City and they're going to cap off their trip with a stroll through the plaza.  Others might have just received some really devastating news or had a really terrible day.  And they're just trying to escape for a moment and take something in, maybe tap into a memory or create a new one of happiness or joy.  That's one of the coolest things about this space .. it's public, it is open to everyone.  Whenever you need that spark of joy, you can enter into that space and get it."

Jackie McGinley

Along with her family's support, McGinley worked with Eric Pauze, the head gardener of the Rockefeller Center, who was the first to spot the tree during a drive-by for another evergreen in the area that had been nominated for the coveted position.  Every few weeks from June to September, Pauze would stop by the property to check on the tree and by October, the McGinley family knew their tree had been selected.

Once the tree was removed from their property, the news spread locally thanks to an interview on The Today Show.  McGinley and her family were stunned at the magnitude of joy and pride people expressed after hearing their story.  McGinley and her family dedicated the tree to her mother-in-law who passed just two months after they relocated to the area to be near her, yet who made an indelible impact on their lives.  

"Something happened when the tree arrived at Rockefeller Center.  It's not our tree anymore.  It's your tree.  It's their tree.  It's the world's tree.  This is not about us.  It's really about the meanings that people apply.  I've heard from alumni, colleagues, current students and members of the community, how meaningful it is to them that the tree came from the university's backyard and the pride they take in that.  They feel connected to it; they've created memories themselves.  And that experience has been really wonderful."

Jackie McGinley

Once the tree is taken down and removed from the Plaza, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is milled into lumber for Habitat for Humanity with the receiving affiliate determining how the lumber will be used.  The tree is then replaced with new tree(s) on the donor's property.  

The first-ever Rockefeller tree was put up by construction workers building the Center in 1931.  The first formal lighting ceremony took place in 1933.

The Tradition Continues