Santa visits light up smiles at hospital, homes as part of Carson City Sheriff's Office tradition
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 12/25/2019 - 12:10pm
A surprise early visit from Santa Claus and his band of decked-out merry helpers brought beaming smiles and joy to dozens of capital city children and their families Christmas Eve, a tradition held for nearly 40 years by the Carson City Sheriff's Office Reserve Santa program.
Dressed to the hilt in his familiar red suit and happily proclaiming pleasure to see as many faces he can before getting down to serious work, Santa breezed through more than 50 homes and the pediatric ward at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center on Tuesday evening delivering gifts and good cheer to all.
What keeps this Carson City tradition alive and thriving for as long as it has? Commitment to community, says Tom Crawford, Commander of the Sheriff's Office Reserve, who has organized the event for the past 17 years.
"We do this because we can, we are small enough of a community and we are well received," said Crawford. "It is our way of doing something different for the community, which is to actually go to homes and the hospital and surprise the kids."
Carson City Sheriff's Office Deputy Reservists in patrol vehicles escorted five Santa Clauses for the home visits. Along with volunteer elves, the caravan delivered the surprises, as well as pre-arranged gifts that families hid away so that Santa could present to them.
Among the 50-plus families, an estimated 225 children saw Santa as part of the home visits and the stop at the hospital's pediatric unit.
Those who were outfitted as Santa Claus were volunteers Nick McGahuey, Chris Wolken, Mike Mason, Tyler Ehlen and Mike Creager. Those CCSO Deputy Reserves who served as Santa's drivers were Guy Jessop, Kenny Perotti, Todd Sampson, Nathan Trapp, and Tom Crawford. Santa volunteer elves were Karen Jessop and Kelley Perotti. CCSO young cadets taking part were Steven Siomiak, Christy Evans and Axel Wall.
A measure of the evening is the young faces that light up the moment Santa walks through the door. Having seen that, the idea of Christmas is deeply satisfying to those who volunteer for the event.
"Seeing how these kids react is absolutely the best," said Crawford.
For those unfamiliar with the CCSO Reserve Santa program, here's how it works:
Beginning the first week of December, the Carson City Sheriff's Office Reserve distributes a hotline phone number for parents or guardians to call who would like their children to experience a visit from Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Contact information is obtained from those who respond. Then plans are made for the much-anticipated, but surprise visit.
For the hospital visit, parents are informed that Santa has arrived bringing well wishes, good cheer and a gift especially for their child. The event brings smiles from hospital staff and emotional moments among parents whose children are hospitalized. Parents of children who were visited by Santa at the hospital gave Carson Now permission to take photos.
When Santa arrived at homes secured from the hotline, the gift packages supplied by families were already neatly wrapped and ready for him to put in his pack before ringing the door bell.
And that's when the magic of Christmas happens.
"My Dad did this for me and I've been doing it for my kids," said Kelli Parker, whose husband Beau and children Collin and Alex received high fives, best wishes and a big Merry Christmas cheer from Santa.
Kelli Parker's father, Larry Morelli, who was at Tuesday's family gathering, said from the first year they requested a Santa some 30-plus years ago to the Tuesday night, Dec. 24, 2019 visit, he hopes the tradition will be able to continue for the next generation of family members.
"It's just awesome. We are grateful for this, the years they've been doing this and what the sheriff's office does for our community," he said.
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