After 22 years, Ed the Security Guy plans one last Christmas tree pickup

KAMLOOPS — For more than two decades, Ed LaPierre, maybe better known as ‘Ed the Security Guy,’ has picked up Christmas trees from the citizens of Kamloops as a fundraiser for local charities.

“It’s been the last six years I’ve primarily been doing it for Kamloops Hospice,” LaPierre explains. “The first few years, I’d pick charities around town — the Kamloops Food Bank and such.”

Ed chose to donate the proceeds to the Kamloops Hospice Society because he, like so many others, has a special connection to that place.

“My brother spent his last week there. He passed away from pancreatic cancer,” Ed recalls. “Just a fabulous place, and they took so much care of him and the family. It was a whole experience.”

For a minimum $10 donation, Ed will come pick up your bare, used Christmas tree and take it to the city recycling locations for you.

“People can text me at (250) 851-1131 or they can email me at SecurityGuy@telus.net,” Ed suggests. “I need their address, their name and they can pick a date. This year we’re doing January 6, 7, 13 and 14.”

Of course, you can always drop off your trees at one of the several locations the city has for tree recycling.

“Some of the busiest sites we see through that program are Albert McGowan Park and McArthur Island, one on each side of the river,” City of Kamloops Streets and Environmental Services Supervisor Glen Farrow tells CFJC Today. “We see a lot of volume at those two sites, right in the middle of those residential neighbourhoods.”

You can check the city’s website for the full list of drop-off locations. But instead, for a small donation, why not let Ed do all the hard work?

“This the 22nd year, and will be my last year doing Christmas tree pickups,” Ed reveals. “Twenty-two was a number my brother favoured in his sporting events and 22 is my company number. We’re going to pick up something else next year to keep supporting Kamloops Hospice but in a different way.”