CAMDEN — By SHEA WILSON
Feature writer
Judy Brooks of Camden is home after a whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C., where she helped decorate the White House for Christmas.
Brooks is owner of Judy’s Flowers & Gifts in Camden.
She was among around 150 volunteers who were chosen from 7,000 nominations to assist with decorating.
Volunteers worked in groups of five to decorate based on the vision of First Lady Melania Trump, which was executed by White House designer Nick Watts.
Each group included a florist, interior designer and three laypeople.
Brooks stated that her group was assigned to the Diplomatic Reception Room, which is one of three oval rooms on the ground floor, and is used as an entrance from the South Lawn.
The room is a reception area for foreign ambassadors.
Brooks decorated the mantle and helped decorate two Christmas trees in the room.
The two trees were 15-feet-tall and required 34 to 36 strands of lights running up and down – and no wires could show.
Then came the red and gold handmade bows and ornaments.
Metal eagles served as toppers.
“They gave us Melania’s vision and we went from there,” Brooks said.
“It was a memorable event. Everything had to be measured and precise.”
Brooks said the volunteers worked from 6:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. and ate their meals in the state dining room.
“They really welcomed us,” said Brooks.
“Everyone was super, super nice and professional.”
Brooks shared that it took all the volunteers to complete the 40 cranberry topiary trees.
“It just looked like Santa’s workshop. Everyone was working and not talking.”
The volunteers worked over a period of three days in November and were treated to a reception hosted by the first lady, where she thanked them for carrying out her vision.
“It was very nice, and it just makes you proud to be an American,” Brooks said.
This year’s holiday decorations were unveiled in a feature on Home & Garden Television. HGTV presented the White House Christmas special on Sunday.
More information about the program can be found at https://www.hgtv.com/shows/white-house-christmas-2018/episodes/white-house-christmas-2018.