 Spurring the legal incorporation of the group was the projected cost of the 1955 event, which was estimated to be between $35,000 and $50,000.The group was incorporated on September 30, 1955, with the Board of Trade providing the seed money for the new nonprofit organization.President Eisenhower had suffered a serious heart attack on September 24, 1955, and was recuperating at his farm near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, so the 1955 tree was lit remotely once more.