New lighted Christmas tree shines in Central Park

The newest addition to Christmas decorations in downtown Owatonna is a 26 foot lighted Christmas tree that stands as the dominant feature of the park’s holiday décor.

The tree was donated to the city by Federated Insurance, which has its home office in downtown Owatonna across from the park.

Federated chairman, president and chief executive officer Nicholas Lower was on hand for the lighting ceremony along with his wife, Jessica, and Michael, their Big Brothers Big Sisters little. Michael is the family’s first little, Lowers said, and they have been active with BBBS since moving to Owatonna.

Lower succeeded Jeff Fetters as president and chief executive officer on Jan. 1.

Following the Dec. 5 Holiday Parade down Cedar Avenue in Owatonna, Michael led the countdown to the lighting of the tree for the first time.

After the tree lighting program, Lowers said that he, and Federated, anticipate the tree will add beauty to the Central Park decorations and people will enjoy it for many years to come.

Federated Insurance has been a part of Owatonna for 121 years, Lowers said. Federated employs 3,000 people, he said, and is “blessed to be headquartered in Owatonna.” The company, he said, has a history of supporting the community.

Federated has supported the BBBS since the Federated Challenge was started in 2005. According to information on the Federated Challenge website, since it began, the organization has raised more than $57 million dollars to support the organization. The Federated Challenge is a two-day gala and golf event. The Lowers were hosts for the event in July.

This year’s event raised $4,945,000 for BBBS.

In addition to the funds raised by the Federated Challenge numerous employees also support the organization by volunteering as Bigs, company officials said.