Laura Spitzer stands next to a tree in front of her business, Indulge Salon and Spa in Fairmont. The tree was planted in memory of Spitzer’s daughter, Emmalyne, as part of a unique joint effort by Spitzer’s staff, Profinium of Fairmont, and Sherburn Nursery and Floral. (Photo by Charlie Sorrells)

FAIRMONT — Those driving along Downtown Plaza in Fairmont this time of year are usually treated to a festive display of lights and other decorations. This year is no different, but one decorated tree stands out as something rather special.

The tree, located in front of Indulge Salon and Spa, is dedicated to Emmalyne Spitzer.

Emmalyne, daughter of Tom and Laura Spitzer, was born March 3, 2019, and passed away on October 18, 2019, after struggling through many health complications. The tree, with a large ‘E’ on top, has a story to tell. Laura, the owner of the Salon, shares that story with the help of others in the community.

“After Emmalyne passed away my staff worked with the city to replace a dead tree in front of our Salon, so they came and removed it and the city planted a new one. It’s a Thunderchild Crabapple, so it will bloom a pretty pink every spring.

“For Christmas, we were nominated by a few different local families for the “Achieving Dreams” program through Profinium. Profinium purchased 40 trees to be planted all over Fairmont, and they worked with Tracie Schumann at Sherburn Nursery and Floral.

“Now Tracie and I have partnered up and are doing even more trees this year. Many people have been reaching out to purchase them and proceeds will be going to support families with critically ill children.”

Ian Bents with Profinium in Fairmont shares that the Achieving Dreams program is approximately in its fifth year. He talked about what the program is and what it does for the community.

“The program was really designed as a tool that was developed by our team at Profinium and is focused on identifying families in our communities to help them with pivotal moments. Many of these families are enduring hardships, whether those are financial or health-related.

“This is a great time of year where we collect nominations from community members of people they’re aware of that are undergoing some hardships. We’re able to step in and help make the holiday season a little brighter for them. We partner with area businesses and they really help bring the projects together, making contributions that make these projects possible.”

Bents noted that some completed projects include putting a new roof on someone’s house, helping a family buy hearing aids for a very young child, and helping people catch up financially who may have been having difficulty with work. As far as the Spitzer family situation, Bents noted that 40 trees were purchased.

“Those are all throughout town,” he said. “There are some businesses that purchased some, and some of Laura and Tom’s family members were able to take some to plant at their places. We were also able to help Laura’s family put in a memory garden at their place.”

Emily Wubbena, part of Spitzer’s staff, shares how the idea first came to her.

“I had got the idea from another family member who had lost a child,” she said. “So we thought, as a Salon, it was something we could do that she could see every day at work to remember her [Emmalyne] by. I wasn’t expecting it to turn into such a big thing, but it’s great that it has.

“I think the city did everything very quickly to make everything happen,” she continued. “They took care of everything, telling me what kind of tree to get, picking it up from the Sherburn Nursery and delivering it to the funeral home, and then picking it up again from the funeral home. So they were instrumental in making everything happen and making sure it was planted right.

“It was all done within a week and a half. So that was pretty great for them to do all of that so quickly.”

Schumann shared a few more details on how things will work in teaming up with Spitzer this year.

“The idea came from Emily Wubbena, and Profinium contacted us. We donated all of the labor for planting the trees and provided a discount on the trees. That’s what we’re going to be doing this year.

“We are going to sell more Thunderchild Crabapple trees, and raise money to help families in need,” she said. “We’re really just supplying the trees at a discounted rate. It’s going for an awesome cause, and we’re hoping for about 40 trees to be purchased.”

Spitzer has done previous work in Emmalyne’s name, putting together a fundraiser known as Emmalyne’s Angel Day. That event also helps families with critically ill children and is set to be held at the East Chain Activity Center on May 2, 2021. It will be tied into Spitzer’s tree project.

“I’ve already talked with a few different denominations of faith and when we do that special day, all the trees that will be sold and planted next year will have a special blessing over them by all the different denominations. So they will be blessed trees.

“There’s a lot to it,” she continued. “I don’t even know how many we ended up planting last year, and we have a huge list of people who already want to purchase them next year in her honor. Again, that will be through Forever Emmalyne.”

“It means a lot to our family,” she said. “Every time we’re down by the shop Emmalyne’s siblings] Carter, Kennedy, and Cecilia go and touch the tree and say hi to Emmalyne.”