December 18, 2024 New Lights and Old Traditions: Sturgeon Electric Brings Joy to Children’s Hospital Colorado Patient Ambassador, Brightening His Holiday Season
The company’s century-old history with outdoor Christmas lights continues to bring joy to children year after year
Five-year-old Beckett didn’t know what to make of his parents covering his eyes and ushering him out into his front yard when the sun began to set on Friday, December 6th. He certainly wasn’t expecting to find his home in Colorado Springs decked from lawn to roof into a wonderland of Christmas lights. And yet, that’s exactly the sight that greeted him.
For Sturgeon Electric Company, Inc.’s (Sturgeon Electric) Colorado district, surprising children like Beckett, a Children’s Hospital Colorado patient ambassador, with a Christmas lights home makeover has become a beloved annual tradition.
“Many of our Patient Ambassadors are past their initial diagnoses, but they still have appointments, treatments, and illnesses that fill their daily lives,” said Deannah Baesel, manager of Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation’s annual givings program. “Surprising them with a home covered in lights is such a special gift, because it takes a big task off the family’s list, not only giving them the joy and beauty of a decorated home, but also time that can be spent together.”
This heartwarming tradition also celebrates Sturgeon Electric’s unique and festive history.
The company’s founder, David Dwight “D.D.” Sturgeon, is believed to have invented the outdoor colored Christmas lights strung up across the world every year. Legend has it, just before Christmas of 1914, D.D.’s son David fell ill, confined to his bed on the second floor of the Sturgeon home in Denver. Too sick to go downstairs and enjoy the family tree, David was delighted when his father decorated the trees outside his son’s bedroom, draping them in ordinary lightbulbs which he dipped in red and green paint and strung on electrical lines among the balsam branches. Little did the electrician know he had just started a holiday tradition that would spread across the globe and continue to bring joy to the world 110 years later.
Sturgeon Electric continues to live out D.D.’s innovative and festive spirit by working with Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs to decorate the homes of patient ambassadors every holiday season since 2019.
“I think we’re all passionate about it, because it’s a special feeling to do that for a child who has health challenges,” said Ryan Yates, the Sturgeon Electric project manager who has led these efforts since 2021. “To be able to give back to them and see Beckett’s happiness is what we all look forward to.”
Beckett has frequented Children’s Hospital Colorado to treat health issues that resulted from being born at 33 weeks weighing only two pounds. Ultimately, the joy on the Beckett’s face when he was greeted with his newly decorated home is what this tradition is all about – every child deserves a merry and bright holiday season, and Sturgeon Electric is proud to help deliver that to the children in their community.
Read more about the history of D.D. Sturgeon’s innovative and joyous creation: https://sturgeonelectric.com/news/sturgeon-electrics-founder-invents-outdoor-christmas-lights/
Take a look at the local media coverage of the reveal here: https://www.fox21news.com/news/local/childrens-hospital-patient-receives-surprise-light-display/