SALT LAKE CITY — When someone needs some holiday cheer or even just a little floral "zing" for their space, a call is placed to Mountain America Credit Union Deposit Operations Manager Linda Gentry.
"They call me the Christmas tree whisperer," joked Gentry. "At first it was just a few Christmas decorations I designed along with a few creative arrangements for some branches and it's become like a tradition here."
She is the unofficial holiday decorator for some 15 branches including the MACU corporate headquarters. She has also lent her floral vision to quite a few weddings for friends and family.
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Gentry says she first put her crafting talents to good use when she was a single mom as a way to make extra money for her kids' Christmas presents.
"It all started with my homemade wreaths and soon other employees wanted some to give as gifts then I was asked to create arrangements for raffle prizes and it grew from there," said Gentry. "I have a lot of fun with it and the thrill is creating something beautiful that looks high end on a budget."
Gentry starts thinking about her decoration designs from October and by three weeks before December she is in full production mode–ironically leaving her with little time to do her own tree or decorating around the house.
"It is a lot of work and I always think this is the year I'll retire from it but then you get the call 'I need help' or 'can you make this' and it is hard for me to ever say no," said Gentry.
Of all her trees over the years Gentry is proudest of her work at the MACU corporate headquarters.
"That tree was so huge and it was my challenge how to do it beautifully from the ornaments to the colors and I have to tell you I don't like bare trees so it took a lot of time but I was really happy with the end result," said Gentry.
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