Forty Years of Fresh Trees and Community Spirit: The Kiwanis Christmas Tree Lot

As the Kiwanis tree lot marks its 40th year, we explore why buying your tree here matters

Rick Koenig remembers the snowball fight. It was 1973 or '74, and snow - actual snow - had dusted the sidewalk along Pacific Coast Highway near the Community Center. Walking with his mother, a younger Rick watched as kids scraped together enough powder off the sidewalk to throw snowballs between the cars at the upholstery shop across the street.

It would be another decade before the Kiwanis Club would set up its tree lot on that same spot, but five decades later, Koenig is now the organization's regional Lt. Governor, and that lot has become something far bigger than anyone could have imagined when Cary Bichlmeier first took a camper truck and slept among the 200 trees he bought in 1985.

"That first year, he sold every one of them," Koenig says, sitting in Kiwanis Hall after the regular Wednesday club luncheon. "Now we're hoping to sell a couple of thousand."

Sleeping On The Job

Bichlmeier runs a local insurance firm, and began attending the club in 1979. He recalls that when he became president in 1984, fundraising had hit a problem. Back in those days, the main moneymaker was a bingo game which was suddenly impacted by an increase in Native American casinos. He says "we realized that we couldn't survive just on the proceeds from a pancake breakfast". Bichlmeier had a high school buddy who was running a tree lot, and proposed that Kiwanis could do the same. The trees were purchased and fellow member Charlie Imai offered his RV to the project. They set up shop in the space now occupied by the Veterans Memorial, and the Kiwanis Tree Lot was born.

Bichlmeier, who is the club's longest continuous servant, recalls the challenges. "We knew that we couldn't just leave all these trees there unattended overnight. That's where Charlie's RV came in. We agreed to take it in turns to sleep overnight with the trees. Somehow I ended up doing quite a lot of shifts." He laughs as he reminisces: "It would get a little cold, so we would all have a few drinks to keep warm".

As usual this year's lot will open at 9 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving, following the club's annual "Blessing of the Trees" ceremony on Thanksgiving Eve. But for anyone considering a quick run to Home Depot instead, Koenig has a simple pitch, delivered with a convincing folksiness: "Ours are typically three days out of the ground when we receive them. Their trees could be a month old." And today (Thursday 20th November), the first truck load arrived through the drizzle, with a small group of muscular Kiwanis volunteers waiting to unload them.

That freshness comes from three longtime growers in Oregon who've supplied the lot for decades. And according to Koenig, there's one more secret to keeping your tree vibrant through Christmas:

"Cheap vodka. Straight vodka in the bowl. The cheaper the better. Don't drink it, stand your tree in it."

It's practical advice delivered with an easy humor but behind the jokes lies something more serious. The tree lot isn't just a seasonal tradition - it's the Kiwanis Club's major fundraiser.

"Absolutely critical," Koenig says when asked about the lot's importance. "It's a make or break."

Every Penny Stays Locally

Each year, proceeds from the tree lot support over 55 different entities (most of them charities themselves) and fund 40 to 45 scholarships locally.

"We pay for our own paperclips," Koenig explains. "Every other penny gets reinvested in our community or in organizations that serve our community."

Recipients include Harbor Interfaith, which works extensively with unhoused residents and food insecurity in the South Bay; The Arc, who serve people with developmental disabilities; our own Historical Society Museum and scholarship programs ranging from middle schoolers transitioning to high school all the way up to college-bound seniors. Last year, the recipients included two local students who were accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis.

The club's community work extends to projects that often go unnoticed. Some years back, Koenig visited a non-profit's facilities at the Community Center and was dismayed by their condition. "The paint's peeling off the walls, the sinks don't work, the light fixtures are damaged - it was sad," he recalls.

He and other members pooled funds, secured a small grant from Kiwanis International, and spent several weekends renovating the space. "It didn't need to be in the newspapers," Koenig says. "We knew. We would drive by the community center and just...well, you feel good knowing what you had been a part of."

The Mayor of the North Pole

What sets the Kiwanis lot apart isn't just the fresh trees or the cause - it's the community experience. There's Santa, of course. For the past five years, Hermosa Beach Mayor Rob Saemann (now also the club president) has donned a custom-made suit and transformed completely. "It's like he's put on a superhero costume," Koenig says. "The love and the kindness that comes out - that's his alter ego. He's not Mayor Saemann or a gruff contractor once that suit goes on."

Koenig recalls one particular tree lot moment with real fondness. One Friday evening a few years back, he says a mother and daughter walked through the lot. The girl, maybe six or seven years old, seemed hesitant when she was invited up to talk to Santa. But she climbed up, and they began talking. The mother started to cry quietly.

"My daughter struggles with autism," she explained, "and this is the first time she's spoken to anybody other than me in three years."

These moments accumulate over 40 years. Koenig served one man who shared that his grandfather had brought him to this very lot when he was the same age as his young son, now standing beside him. "So this is a generational thing," Koenig reflects.

It's part of what he calls the "hidden hand" of Kiwanis : work that creates value without visibility, community members contributing in ways that might never make headlines but that sustain the fabric of a small town. (To be clear, we had to convince Koenig to sit down for this interview. These Kiwanians don't seek publicity !)

The lot has evolved considerably from those early days. What started as a flat lot where "nobody cared" now requires permits, inspections, and safety infrastructure. There's the main tree sales area, and then there's the fabled "Christmas Voodoo Lounge" - a back trailer that Koenig diplomatically describes as being 'rather quiet' these days today, serving cocoa instead of something stronger. Koenig recalls a local comedian describing Hermosa Beach as having 'the only Christmas tree lot in America with a two drink minimum' back in the day.

A Challenging Market

Like so many local businesses, Koenig says that last year proved difficult. They bought their usual quantity, but ended up with some unsold by Christmas Eve. "With our tight margins, that's real money for us," he admits.

He attributes the slowdown partly to post-COVID travel patterns resuming and partly to competition from artificial trees, in addition to pressure from the big chain stores.

Corporate sales have also nearly disappeared. Banks and investment firms that once ordered 10 or 12-foot trees for their foyers have largely stopped.

Still, Koenig remains optimistic. The lot draws about 80% of its customers from Hermosa, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach, with many driving from as far as Palos Verdes to maintain their family tradition. "They know they can get a better deal for a crappier tree," he says, "but they also know that this is kind of their way of feeling like they're paying tithe and keeping things local"

The 2025 Kiwanis Tree Ornament

Only available to those who purchase a tree at the Kiwanis tree lot - a specially commissioned and engraved wooden tree ornament

A Century of Service

The tree lot's 40th anniversary comes just ahead of an even bigger milestone: in February 2026, the Kiwanis Club of Hermosa Beach will celebrate its centenary. The club received its charter on February 26, 1926 - just 11 years after Kiwanis International was founded in 1915.

The current hall, where the club still meets for those Wednesday lunches, was built in 1957 by member Austin Blankenship, a contractor, with support from Judge Eric Rafter. The members constructed it and donated it to the city with the understanding that the club could use it in perpetuity for one dollar per year. That lease currently runs through 2030.

For Koenig, who joined in February 2000 after being invited by member Jean Lombardo, the club represents something essential in his life.

Growing up in Hermosa, Koenig had walked past the Kiwanis Hall every day on his way to school, assuming it was just "a bunch of guys that, you know, like the reason guys buy a boat to just get away from their wives a little bit and drink some beer."

He says today that he couldn't have been more wrong.

"I think it's the most rewarding thing to not only know that you are in a room with people that you can trust, that can be hopefully lifelong friends, but that you can give back to a community that has given so much to you," he says. "One person can make a difference. Ten people can make a bigger difference."

At every Wednesday club luncheon, everyone around the table (including guests) are invited to tell the room how they feel this week and why. They are asked to contribute 'a Happy Dollar or a Sad Dollar' as they talk. After hearing the stories, it seems like the Kiwanis tree lot really is a place to spend Hermosa Happy Dollars this holiday season.

As Koenig reminds me, "You are buying more than just a tree".

The Kiwanis Christmas Tree Lot opens November 28th at 9 a.m. at the Hermosa Beach Community Center. Delivery available. Wreaths, unique photo frames from the local Young At Art group, and that special wooden tree ornament also for sale. All proceeds support local charities and scholarships. Cash and cards accepted.

The Blessing of the Trees ceremony takes place November 26th (the day before Thanksgiving) at noon with Brett Armstrong of Guidestone Church officiating.

For more information about Kiwanis Club of Hermosa Beach or to inquire about membership, contact Rick Koenig at (310) 990-0673