Cyclist raises $100K for TREE Fund

For the 16th consecutive year, Steve Geist, plant pathologist for Denver-based Swingle Lawn, Tree & Landscape Care, will ride in the STIHL Tour des Trees to benefit the Tree Research and Education Endowment (TREE) Fund. This year, Geist set and achieved a goal of raising more than $100,000 in cumulative sponsorships over his 16 years of participation. The TREE Fund said this makes Geist, “one of our largest all-time fundraisers.”

“One of my professional goals is a safer and healthier urban forest,” said Geist, who has been with Swingle for 30 years. “My personal objective to support that goal is to raise $6,700 this year.” Geist contributed $1,000 of his own money. Swingle also made a substantial contribution.

The STIHL Tour des Trees, now in its 22nd year, is the signature fundraising event for the TREE Fund, and America’s largest fundraiser for tree research and education. This year’s ride launched from Niagara Falls, Ontario, on July 28 and runs a counterclockwise route around Lake Ontario, concluding a week later in Toronto at the International Society of Arboriculture’s annual conference. Geist will represent Swingle at the conference. “Provided,” he said, “I can finish all 585 miles of the course.”