Iceland Back to Track Soon

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Just a heads up today, Sector 3.

The big cheeses at North Pole Flight Command today informed me that our temporary home here in Norway may soon close so we can move back to our original tracking location in Iceland.

Santa has authorized a team of engineers to confer again with Icelandic officials in making the move back. He wants to ensure it is safe.

Why do it?

There are contracts, plans and operational advantages to using Iceland as our Regional HQ in Sector 3. All of our plans all year long have centered on tracking Santa from Iceland. The conversion to another location, even one as close here in Norway, is complicated and problematic, especially with Santa’s flight now just a few weeks away.

While nothing definitive has been determined yet we wanted to let you know this could be happening and it could be soon.

I will try to keep you updated as I can.

Otherwise, there is not a lot of other news to report in Europe and Africa other than this: we are on track and reporting for Santa’s flight is going very well.

Public Observance Report Needed

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Hello Sector 3! We have a new request from North Pole Flight Command today for a Public Observance Report from all areas of our Sector.

Not stated reason has been provided for this request. They are asking that we get it in to them within the next week if that’s possible.

I did check with Elf Agent X in North Pole Security and he did confirm that his department is in part responsible for this request. They are mapping Santa’s flight and want to know “areas of concern” that might exist in certain major population centers.

As you know, tensions are running high, particular in Europe, so these reports are proving more necessary by the day.

By no means are you to put yourself in any danger or harm’s way to do this report. Just go about your regular business, observing what you can and reporting to the North Pole what you see and feel. The purpose of this report is safety and we cannot compromise your safety in the name of getting this report done! Be careful out there.

Thank you all for your efforts.

Stocking Mail is NOT for Tracking

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At some point in the upcoming weeks there will be a conversation over at SantaUpdate.com about Stocking Mail. It usually generates confusion.

Unfortunately that confusion starts here in the tracker elf community.

So we wanted to put something out about it now so that mistakes can be avoided in the weeks ahead.

The North Pole Post Office is charged with getting Santa his mail, no matter where he is and no matter what date, time or place it may be.

Most of the time that is best handled online. Yes, many still write hand-written letters. But as time and technology has advanced messaging for Santa comes in many forms: texts, emails, messages, faxes, etc.

Several years ago the North Pole Research and Development Department invented a ground-breaking new messaging system we call Stocking Mail. When implemented the system uses a Christmas stocking as kind of a portal. If a note is put in the stocking at the right time when the system is engaged that message gets transmitted to the North Pole Post Office and thus to Santa.

Pretty cool, right?

Well, here’s what you need to understand about it.

  1. It’s not perfect. It can only handle paper. If things are written on plastic or cloth or something else it doesn’t work. Some have tried to send Santa other things via stocking mail, like cookies or food for the reindeer. That stuff doesn’t work either. In fact it all gums up the system.
  2. It only works when the system is turned on. Turning it on is a complex process that requires special facilities, lots of technical equipment and thousands of elves. For the reason, it only gets turned on for a brief period of time each year. Usually, when Elf Hugo contacts Santa to say that time or other resources are running low to keep other messaging options flowing, that is when Stocking Mail is activated. It does not get activated until and unless Santa approves it.
  3. Stocking Mail is NOT for transmitting any kind of information except messages for Santa. It could be a wish list or some sort of note for Santa – but that’s it. It is NOT for sending tracking information for Flight Command. Don’t do it. They will never see it. You must communicate with North Pole Flight Command as directed at SantaTrackers.net.

We want all tracker elves to know and understand the proper use of Stocking Mail. You should be prepared to explain it to “normies” out there when it is activated come December 23rd and December 24th.

Of course, the News Department at the North Pole will do their part in trying to communicate how it all works. But you know that people don’t read everything we put out. Sometimes you just have to tell them.

Stocking Mail is most useful for the little ones. They will frequently change their minds about what they want for Christmas. Or, they will remember something at the last minute that they just want Santa to know. This is why Stocking Mail was invented.

If properly used and implemented, Stocking Mail will transmit information to Santa from any stocking anywhere in the world directly to him, even while he is on the sleigh. Frequently, Stocking Mail isn’t even utilized until Santa has taken off from the North Pole.

Have questions? As them here, in the comments below or on the Elf Wall. We want everyone to understand this.

New Sector Lead

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We are so very pleased and excited to announce that we now have a new lead elf in Sector 3 – Elf Frosty McSnowflake!

Elf Frosty in just three years as a tracker has been elevated to this position thanks to an ever present effort, a cheerful disposition and helpful abilities with elves of all types.

A Sector Lead elf functions as a leader in the sector. As lead Elf Frosty will share news, train new elves, and advise the Elf Supervisor in times of need. Occasionally it may be necessary for the Sector Lead to help recruit new elves, to advise Flight Command and to communicate critical and urgent issues to other elves.

Elf Frosty will also automatically be joined to the group of Senior Elves who work to keep the Elf Community on Santa Trackers.net on track.

We are grateful for Elf Frosty McSnowflake’s example and willingness to serve!

 

Claim the City Captain Job

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Any elf can be City Captain for the city, town or village where they live. You just need to claim the job. You can do this at the City Captain Job page.

A City Captain Elf is responsible for representing the geographical operations of the North Pole in the city in which they live.

As such, they may be contacted by the North Pole to assist in leading Operation Merry Christmas for Santa Claus and the North Pole in the months, weeks and days leading up to Christmas.

The City Captain assumes responsibility for local recruiting efforts of new elves and in communicating, training and executing elf operations locally.

Santa would like as many city captains as possible.

As City Captains claim the jobs I will post announcements about once a week between now and Christmas. We will also work with Elf Max to see that points and badges are set up in your profile.

If you have questions please post in the comments below or on the Elf Wall.

Thanks!

Personal Tracker Reports

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Personal Tracker Reports are reports about you. The Elf Supervisors use your submitted information.

As I was in Norway this week dealing a little bit with the situation with Sector 3 Elf Rolf showed me a big wall of pictures of tracker elves. That’s what he does with the Elfie Selfies you send him. He puts it up on his wall and labels each picture with your elf name.

In talking with all the Elf Supervisors this week I learned they all use the information you submit differently. But they all use it.

They also all said we don’t ask often enough to have that information update. So that’s what I’m asking for today.

When you get an opportunity, please send in all three of these reports (they are linked below):

1. Elf Status Report – this tells us your availability. You should update this as your situation changes between now and Christmas.

2. Elfie Selfie – this is a picture of you, hopefully in front of your Christmas tree, your Santa tracking map or at your home tracking center. The Elf Supervisors LOVE these pictures. Make sure your parents/guardians/wife/mother/significant other are okay with this.

3. Home and Family Report – this is a report shared with Santa, out of concern for all you live with.

None of these are **required**. But it sure is nice to have them.

Ask any questions you have in the comments below.

Thanks!

Sector 3 HQ in Iceland Suspends Operations

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After consultation with Icelandic authorities and after meeting with a senior team of elves in North Pole Flight Command, Santa Claus today authorized the suspension of operations at the Regional Tracking Center located in Vik, Iceland.

The move comes out of “an abundance of caution” due to recent volcanic and earthquake activity in Iceland.

For more information of the changing situation in Iceland surround this natural event, please see this link: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/iceland-evacuees-brace-volcanic-eruption-2023-11-13/

“We are not and have not been in any danger,” said Operations Director for the Vik facility, Elf Gretchen Green. “The government of Iceland still wants us here and hopefully the situation will stabilize before Christmas so that operations can return to Vik.”

The Regional Tracking Center in Vik, Iceland coordinates flight operations for Santa, collects tracker reports, weather information and other vital data used in Santa’s flights for all of Sector, which covers all of Europe and Africa.

Elf Roger Star, Director of North Pole Flight Command, outlined the plan that will take place over the next five days:

1. Elf Supervisor Rolf Jannsen and his senior operations team will move to a temporary location set up in Renn, Norway. Support teams from Flight Command are assisting Rolf to be operational by Saturday, November 19th.

2. Some elf specialists from the Vik team have been temporarily re-assigned to the Regional Tracking Centers for Sector 4, in San Nicolas, Aruba and for Sector 5, in Cold Lake Canada. They will continue their work, mostly related to multi-lingual operations, reporting and data analysis, until the Norway facility is fully open for business.

3. Elf Supervisors in Sector 4 and Sector 5 – namely, Elf Tubby Ryder and Elf Pinky Yates – will assume communication and operations authority while Elf Rolf gets the Norway Facility open.

4. The SS Donner, a support vessel of the North Pole Navy, will stay anchored between Iceland and Norway to assist with communications and logistics.

5. A small dedicated team will remain in Vik to secure the facility and to run minimal operations. If ordered to evacuate by local authorities they are equipped to do so quickly and safely.

All of these operations are being coordinated to keep Tracker Elves in Sector 3 working.

“We believe Tracker Elves can continue reporting, whether they are freelance or remote North Pole elves, without interruption,” said International Director of Santa Trackers, Elf Crash Murphy. “In fact, it is critical that they do not stop reporting. We need weather reports ongoing. With winter quickly settling in up North, chimney inspections are crucial. Test flights for Santa’s sleigh are headed for Europe soon and we need eyes on the skies. We appreciate all Santa, Elf Roger Star, North Pole Flight Command and the North Pole Navy are doing to keep us rolling.”

Tracker Elves, especially in Sector 3, are encouraged to keep a very close eye on Sector news pages and Elf Wall announcements from any of the Elf Supervisors for at the least the next five days.

This is a developing story, with updates soon coming to NorthPoleFlightCommand.com, SantaUpdate.com and SantaTrackers.net

Local Christmas Report Needed

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Good afternoon, elves of Sector 3!

First of all, we have been fielding some questions about the earthquakes and volcanic activity near to us at the Regional Tracking Center here in Vik, Iceland.

I want to assure you that we are safe. Elf Roger Star of North Pole Flight Command dispatch a team of specialists and emergency personnel to monitor the situation since it became apparent earlier this week that a major event is happening in Iceland. So far, the Regional Tracking Center here remains operational. If a need to move comes the decision will be made under the direction of local government. We are ready for anything that might happen.

In the meantime, we remain hard at work in preparing for Santa’s flight in our Sector.

We have been asked by North Pole Flight Command – sector-wide, so all of Europe and Africa – to send in a current Local Christmas Report as soon as possible (within 10 days).

This is not an unusual request and it likely will not be the last time it will be requested of us.

Also, we have been informed that the test flights of Santa’s sleigh will be over our sector some time later this month. I don’t know dates yet but will let you know when I know.

Thank you!

Special Instructions for All Trackers

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Hello, Trackers – Crash here.

I wanted to give you an update on some things and to provide some instruction of things we can be doing between now and Thanksgiving.

1. Elf Chat with Santa – the chat with Santa and I will be held Saturday at 11am EST in Elf Chat at SantaTrackers.net. It is important that you remember what this chat is for: it’s for elf business. It’s for tracking Santa for Santa. It’s NOT for asking Santa for things for Christmas or about his favorite cookies or about why you didn’t get what you wanted for Christmas. We need to all be ready to talk about our jobs as elves, what Santa needs for his flight and exactly what is most important about Tracking Santa for Santa this year. That being said, I don’t want you to be shy in asking questions. But ask about stuff in your elf life, not your normal life.

2. Roof Reports – We’ve talked about this before but I just wanted to remind you. One of our most basic tracker reports is the roof report. Elf Roger at North Pole Flight Command tells us the time in getting short and we need to get these in as soon as possible. Report on roofs that you can see all around you. Only do it from the ground. Take pictures if you can. Be as thorough as possible. Be prepared if someone from North Pole Flight Command contacts you to ask questions.

3. Account Activity – Elf Moe and team are doing a great job making sure only North Pole Elves are on SantaTrackers.net community features such as the Elf Wall. They’ve got a mandate from Santa. If you’re new, get your profile and Elf name in line. There are lots of elves around to help you. Inactive accounts are getting deleted all the time. By this point in the year you should be logging in at least once a week, if not more. If you don’t your account could be deleted.

4. City Captains – I am pleased to announce a new process for those wanting to be a City Captain. To be a City Captain all you will need to do going forward is to claim it for the city or town you live in. Elf Sandy will soon be posting a new form that will allow you to do it. Elf Resources will check to make sure nobody else has already claimed it, but this move should more or less clear up the log jam for this elf job.

5. Other Elf Jobs – we want to fill the Country and State/Province Representative positions right away. Please apply if interested.

Between now and Thanksgiving there may not be a lot of instruction coming from me or the Supes. That’s by design. After Thanksgiving is a different story.

Please check in often, elves.

Thank you.

Alert for All Elves in All Sectors

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Attention all Trackers: In a conversation this morning with Elf Roger Star, Director of North Pole Flight Command, he referenced this posted news at North Pole Flight Command.

Flight Command is working to meet Santa’s requests for changes to the sleigh. It will require some assistance from us over the next couple of days. If you can report from your local area to meet this need it would be very helpful.

The sleigh will be made lighter, which will require re-testing it in certain weather conditions. While it is anticipated that the changes Santa wants will not result in performance problems with the sleigh Elf Roger wants to erase any doubts by putting the sleigh through some rigorous testing in adverse weather conditions. To do that, they need to know where severe weather may be in the forecast over the next few weeks.

They are asking all trackers to research weather forecasts for any severe weather events – it can be rain, snow, wind, hail, tornados, blizzards – anything extreme.

Their plan is to put the modified sleighs – some loaded, some not – directly in the path of as much severe weather as they can find.

I have already alerted the Elf Supervisors to this request. They may be posting specifics to their sector over the next 10-days or so. The goal is to get enough flights tests done in these areas over the next three weeks to discover performance issues and make adjustments.

You can help by:

1. Checking your local weather DAILY.

2. IF there is any sign of extreme weather forecast for your area, copy and paste a weather link in the weather report form and send it in.

All staff at the Regional Tracking Centers are working on this too and will be looking for your reports.

Keep It Close to Home, Elves

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Unsettling world events have caused many elves in Sector 3 to express concerns for the upcoming tracking season.

Yes, this could affect our efforts. The safety and well-being of our elves, of Santa, the sleigh and the reindeer are of utmost importance.

That is why, at this time of heightened concern, we ask that ALL reporting within Sector 3 stay confined to the immediate area around your home and in the direct supervision of your parents or guardians.

That being said: the most important reports needed from Sector 3, especially in areas to the North are:

1. Roof inspections
2. Chimney inspections
3. Weather reports

We would like but DO NOT require local Christmas reports at this time. If you are out and about in the safe company of your family, by all means, please share what you see locally. But do not venture out to do these reports at this time.

We are monitoring the situation closely and will be providing further direction as events unfold.

Stay safe, elves!

Getting Your Elf Profile Right

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Fellow Elves in the Service of Santa,

We’re getting busier. With new elves comes a bit of chaos. There are questions and concerns. I appreciate the help of elves who have been here in years past to help bring the new elves up to speed.

As we work with new elves I’m asking ALL elves to please do the following:

1. Update your profile. To do that, go to “Elf Profile” under the login button at the top.

2. On the submenu bar click on the down arrow on the right and select “Profile Settings”:

Profile Settings

3. On that page select the green icon for “Profile Avatar”. This is the little picture that represents YOU. Every elf needs an avatar. If you can’t find one or don’t have one, please let me or Max or really anyone know, we’ll help you get one.

4. Once that is set up go to the pink icon on the Profile Settings page. This is the “cover” for your profile – the long horizontal picture that serves as the background on your profile header. That image needs to be larger than 1350 px wide and at least 350 px tall. Again, if you don’t have one, let me know and we’ll help you get one.

5. Then go into the Elf Info area and add the word “Elf” in front of your name. For example, my name is Moe so my elf info says “Elf Moe” in the name field. Every elf MUST have the word “Elf” in front of their name.

If your profile is not updated to these specs before Sunday October 22nd your account will default to “retired”, which limits your site access. You don’t want that if you want to be active tracking Santa for Santa in the months ahead.

Retired accounts CAN be restored within 90 days. But to restore it you need to be prepared to get your elf profile in line with the above.

Retired accounts are deleted after 90 days.

This is just elf business. It’s nothing personal. Santa likes a tidy house and this just helps keep things in order.

If you have any questions, please ask. We’re here to help.

SantaTrackers.net