A Christmas miracle came early this year for 16-year-old Kaitlyn Metscher. The Washington teen, who took over her family's Christmas tree business this year and hopes to use the earnings for her college education, saved the tree lot from being shut down this week, Fox 12 News reports.
For more than a decade, Kaitlyn's family has owned a Christmas tree lot in Clark County, Washington. Earlier this week, county authorities told Kaitlyn that because she was operating a business in a residential area, her lot violated a zoning ordinance. Kaitlyn suspects that her competitors may have tipped off the county.
"We've had some rivalries with the competitors up the street," she told Fox 12 News. "It's kind of hard to compete with $8 Christmas trees so we think that's largely what happened."
Watch the video above to hear Kaitlyn tell her story, and head over to Fox 12 News for the original article.
But Kaitlyn wasn't going to let that stop her -- she decided to double-check the codes, according to the Columbian. The young businesswoman, who hopes to pursue a career in law, looked through the state and county restrictions herself. The county commissioners were so impressed by her determination that they voted to approve an emergency ordinance allowing tree stands on residential areas.
"An average person might not have thought to research it and just believed what was said, but I kind of like this -- that's why I want to be an attorney," she laughed.
Kaitlyn's family business isn't the only Christmas tree lot supporting education this year. A handful of tree farms in northern and central California are donating their holiday proceeds to schools and scholarship programs.
Are you impressed by Kaitlyn's story? Share your thoughts in the comments below or tweet @HuffPostTeen!
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