Ten Finalists

Our top ten finalists for Regional HQ in Sector 3 have been rushed to us. Santa evidently wants this process moving along faster. We anticipate that our selection from this final list of ten will be made within the next month or so. Here is where they are located:

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This is a very interesting list. Some of these locations we have looked at before. Here are some things to know:

  • Iceland as a whole remains an intriguing choice. We have deliberated over various locations in Iceland for years. Santa is very popular in Iceland and Christmas overall is widely celebrated. Our trouble has been finding a suitable location that has the Internet we need. We have focused mostly around the capitol city of Reykjavik in the past. Our scouts must have found something special in the little village of Hellissandur this year that we have not noticed before.
  • Towns named Bethlehem are always a popular choice and our list this year has two – one in South Africa and one in Wales. Bethlehem, Wales actually hosted us a few years ago. But we were found out and large crowds gathered outside on Christmas Eve, making it noisy for us at times. We could go back there, for sure, but if we announce that is where we will be I worry the crowds might be bigger.
  • Bari, Italy is a place of great interest for our Regional staff. The city there has on display some of the interred bones of the ancient Saint Nicholas. When I shared this list in the office here yesterday the team actually cheered when this one was announced.

In all, this is a very exciting list with lots of great possibilities.

I will let you know as soon as a final selection is made.

Elf Rolf Janssen - avatar
About this Elf: Elf Rolf Janssen Verified Elf

Elf Rolf is a native of Austria. As a young man he moved to Russia and was a refugee of that country in 1915 when he found his way to Santa’s employ. Skilled in carpentry, Rolf was given duties in Santa’s workshop where he worked for many years. Charged with building the first airplane Santa ever flew in 1927 — thanks to his wood working skills — Elf Rolf was transferred to the Research and Development Department where he served for many years as a sleigh designer and eventually as a flight test pilot.

Rolf took a departure from that work in the mid-1960s when he pursued a degree in computer science, a pioneering field for the North Pole. He returned in 1968 and for years served in data processing before being transferred to the North Pole Tracking and Flight Command Center as an IT specialist. He was instrumental in helping Santa to set up a network of satellites that have become the backbone of North Pole information systems to this day.

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