2006 Distinguished Alumnus Earl Deal

Each year the NC State Alumni Association hosts "Evening of the Stars" celebrating College Distinguished Alumni Awards and the Alumni Association Awards. The evening highlights NC State's community of alumni achievers as they are recognized for contributions and/or serivce to NC State, their communities and/or career accomplishments. The college award winners are selected by the colleges, while the Alumni Association winners are chosen by a committee of the association's board of directors.

Earl Deal '66
Professor Emeritus, Gentleman Farmer

For the College of Natural Resources’ 2006 Distinguished Alumnus, Christmas is yearlong endeavor. Dr. Earl Deal is president of Cranberry Tree Services, owner of Smokey Holler Tree Farm and professor emeritus in the College of Natural Resources Department of Forest Biomaterials.

After a 25-year career at NC State, Earl retired to help manage more than 250,000 Christmas trees with his wife and son. But don’t think for a moment that this gentleman farmer is taking retirement seriously. He is a member of more than 10 professional and civic organizations and societies, including the board of directors of the Mount Rogers and Alleghany County Christmas Tree Associations. He chairs prominent committees for both the North Carolina and National Christmas Tree Associations.

In 2005, Earl had the distinct honor of providing the official White House Christmas tree. At NC State, Earl and his family have established the Deal Family Christmas Tree Research Endowment, and he actively encourages his fellow tree growers to contribute to the college’s research funds.

Meet More Distinguished Alumni from the College of Natural Resources at NC State University