Ryan Klesko Highlights Arbor Day Celebration

Baseball great Ryan Klesko will make a special appearance at Georgia’s official 2009 National Arbor Day Ceremony on Friday, April 24, in Milledgeville. Klesko will be the keynote speaker at the annual event which is co-hosted by the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) and Department of Veterans Service at Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery. The public is urged to attend the observance, which begins at 11:00 a.m., and features a commemorative tree planting in honor of all veterans.

“National Arbor Day is an opportunity to acknowledge two valuable American resources,” said Robert Farris, Director of the GFC. “We salute our veterans, who have provided protection to our great country. And, with Georgia tree farmer and baseball hero Ryan Klesko’s support, we recognize the importance of trees, which provide clean air, clean water, and abundant products for every American.”

Ryan Klesko and his fellow Major League baseball colleague, John Smoltz, co-own 1600 acres of Georgia forest land, known as “Big K Farm.” In 2008, the property became the first location to be accepted in the new Georgia Carbon Registry, which provides landowners with official carbon storage and accumulation records that may be used in the emerging market for the sale of carbon offset credits. Trees remove and store an estimated 62 million tons of carbon dioxide annually from Georgia’s atmosphere.

In addition to comments by Klesko and Farris, the ceremony will include a performance by the Georgia Military Band and free GFC tree seedlings will be distributed, while they last.
Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery is located in Milledgeville on Highway 112 (Vinson Highway). For detailed directions and further information about the ceremony and about services of the GFC, visit GaTrees.org. For more information about Georgia’s Carbon Sequestration Registry, visit gacarbon.org.
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