A community Winter Wonderland

The Christmas tree has long been a staple of holiday celebration. At First American Bank, they have taken the awe of a winter wonderland to a new level, raising funds where money is needed all over Las Cruces.

The bank had been involved in fundraisers for Tough Enough to Wear Pink and Cowboys for Cancer. Having done a raffle before, Judy Cassles, a retired First American employee and her former co-worker, Janet, also retired at that point, felt a different direction was needed when they were approached by Joe Bullock, at that time the market president for First American, to raise money once again.

From that, Winter Wonderland was born, or rather, the idea was copied from other First American branches.

“We wanted it to have some impact,” Cassles said. “Winter Wonderland wasn't our idea. Artesia had done it once. Roswell continues to do it. Alamo continues to do it. They have had very good participation, and it has been a very lucrative endeavor.”

Bullock agreed, and since the bank’s staff was familiar with everything from a marketing standpoint, they didn’t need to start from square one.

Cowboys for Cancer was the beneficiary the first two years, and then the funding moved to a combination of Boys and Girls Club and Big Sisters and Big Brothers. One year was Boys and Girls Club alone.

After three years of raising money for Big Brothers, Big Sisters, First American has now partnered with the Las Cruces Public Schools Fund. A change in the partner can lead to challenges, but the First American staff has been the constant.

“There's a learning curve when you're dealing with a different clientele and different contacts but fortunately the bank itself is so involved in the community that they have a very good outreach of people who will come to the table in and help purchase trees to be decorated or bid,” Cassles said.

The beautiful collection of trees that is displayed for more than a month at First American comes from donations provided by local businesses and community organizations. Some choose to decorate their own trees, and some ask Cassles to help. She is the bank’s official tree decorator.

The trees are then auctioned off the first week of December, and the bank arranges for delivery of each purchased tree.

There is no set theme for the trees each year. Each tree donator decides how they will dress up their creation. For the trees First American decorates, Cassles varies the theme from tree to tree.

“Last year was, we had 14 trees, 13 different themes,” she said. “And some of them repeat from year to year because they are popular Christmas themes. You learn what sells the best and what doesn't but that can change too depending on your audience and the people who are there auctioning.”

Cassles keeps it original so it's not the same thing year after year. This year, she created a gingerbread tree that was strictly gingerbread houses with a caramel-colored look, lots of copper and ribbons.

“One year, which was probably one of my favorites, but probably didn't get as much attention was a polar bear tree,” Cassles said. “It was just polar bears of all different sizes in the tree on a white tree and black balls, very simplistic but I think that was one I enjoyed doing because it ended up meeting the vision I had in my head.”

The grinch or aa tree in the shape of a Santa hat are popular choices, and one year she had a set of three saguaro cactuses.

“It almost looked like underwater coral that was very sparse in branch covering so we decorated it to look like it was underwater,” she said.

One client takes the decorating to a different level, even making their own ornaments. The ornaments are 3D-printed.

“They built a doghouse one year,” said current Las Cruces market president, Farrah Marquez. “Their tree theme was animals, pets, and so it had a dog house and dog treats next to the tree, and they 3D printed all the ornaments that went on it. Then this past year, they had a stick horse. That one was kind of Western-themed or farm-themed.”

Marquez says the event is unique because it incorporates the community—local organizations, customers who come in and provide the trees. This year, Cassles’ designs incorporated the school colors of the LCPSD’s four high schools.

Cassles gets an early start on her ideas. She’s already formulating a plan for 2026. As soon as the event is over, she's planning for the next year.

The largest number of trees the Winter Wonderland has received in a single year, so far, is 28. There were 23 submissions in 2025. One year, the project raised $100,000. This year, that number came in at about $77,000.

The Las Cruces Public Schools Fund, the current beneficiary, raises money for supply grants for the classroom, Marquez says.

“They spend a lot of money in the classroom, so we raise money to give back to those teachers,” Marquez said. “Typically, we have so much set aside every year that 9 out of 10 times you can accommodate everyone based on the money we raise or donations we get. Funds also go towards innovative teacher grants. Teachers apply for them to do things outside of the box that the district wouldn't normally cover so we supply those grants for those teachers to do that.”