Sector Lead Announcement

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After waiting for what felt like forever in hearing back from Elf Crash and Santa, I can now officially announce we have a new Sector Lead in Sector 5.

Elf NotJack, who has several years experience tracking Santa for Santa, will be our sector lead as he gear up for this season. She will be helping new elves, promoting the recruitment of elves and sharing news on social media, and helping me to get the word out on news and events that affect tracker elves in Sector 5.

I’m very excited to have someone so capable. She’s smart, she’s savvy, she’s alert, aware and dedicated to the cause of Santa Claus. Girl power in Sector 5!!!

(Sorry, guys. I’m just teasing).

Both Santa and Elf Crash heartily endorsed Elf NotJack. Santa said this was a very wise choice and he’s excited to have so much experience at the lead in Sector 5. Elf Crash said he could endorse my selection of Elf NotJack “with both hands high in the air”.

It is a great moment in Sector 5. Please join me in welcoming her to her new elf job.

The Elf Rush is On

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The Elf rush is on — meaning we’re getting bombarded with new elf activity.

So…this post is mostly going out to those who are new. You long-term stalwart North Pole Elves might not learn anything new from this post. For those of you helping the new elves on the Elf Wall, thank you! You will likely see more new elves there as we are approving them as fast as we can.

If you are new, let’s catch up a little bit. Your main job as a tracker elf is to provide local information to North Pole Flight Command that will be useful to Santa when he flies on Christmas Eve.

Most tracker by now have done roof reports, chimney inspections and loads of weather reports. If you haven’t done any reporting yet, do those reports first.

The other reports will come in time as we get closer to launch.

Now, and this is for all elves, we need a fresh Local Christmas Report. We suspect, when it comes to Christmas, things look different than they did a few weeks ago. This report will tell us.

And lastly, I’m pleased to announced that I will be announcing very soon about our new Sector Lead. I have just a few details to attend to before I can make that official. Please stand by for news.

Thanks, Elves!

Record Numbers of Sleigh Sightings

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North Pole Flight Command is reporting that sleigh sighting reports have spiked from tracker elves in nearly every sector over the past month.

“We’ve never seen anything like it,” said Elf Wilbur Boeing, a flight analyst at Flight Command. “Freelance elf reports seem to be dominating this trend and they appear to be coming from a lot of coastal areas, such as the Pacific Coast of Canada, the USA and Mexico. That makes sense because that’s the flight corridor to the North Pole for inbound traffic.”

Elf Pinky of Sector 5 says the reports coming in from trackers are “off the charts” for October. She says the sleigh sighting reports are plentiful but she also reports robust activity with weather, roof and local Christmas reports.

Likewise in Sector 1, which largely has seen reporting increase from the South China Sea to the North Pacific – another popular flight corridor, Elf Randi says that because of so many sleigh sightings they are also seeing a corresponding increase in tracker elf sign-ups in Sector 1. “What’s happening is that word of these sleighs in the skies is spreading, mostly I think on social media, and as people ask ‘what is that?’ and they learn they are flying sleighs, they naturally get curious about Santa and the work the North Pole does, so they sign up.” Elf Randi said.

The same thing is happening in the Atlantic, according to Elf Rolf, Elf Supervisor for Sector 3 in Europe and Africa. “All this traffic to and from the North Pole in September and October has led to a lot more new elf sign-ups. People are interested. They want to help.”

Elf Flip has promised an update on the total count of tracker elves world wide in the coming days. We will see what impact this has had on all the recruiting numbers for new elves.

Report Needed from All Sectors

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Hi Elves!

I have a report I need from all elves in all sectors at this time – a Local Christmas Report. Please go to this link to send it in to your Elf Supervisor.

We are not expecting a huge positive response from this report. But let me tell you why we’re doing this.

North Pole Flight Command has detected a general problem with Christmas spirit, which is not unusual just a couple of weeks out from Halloween. But they are concerned that the Crisis in Santa’s Workshop could be discouraging people about this Christmas season.

So we’re asking for this report now and we will be asking for it again after Halloween. And we may be asking for it several times between now and when Santa launches, especially it concerns about this increase.

We also have the North Pole Post Office watching general feedback as well.

I have asked the Elf Supervisors to keep communication at a minimum unless there are pressing needs. This is a pressing need but I need this information from all Sectors, so instead of five different announcements I am making just this one.

Please continue on with the schedule of reports that your Elf Supervisors have asked for.

I can tell you that we are in good shape for the kinds of reports we are receiving and the number of elves we have working worldwide. If there are new needs you will see announcements either from me or from your Elf Supervisor.

We hope you are keeping informed of the news, listening to the radio news reports and the podcasts, and following North Pole Flight Command developments.

Time to Recruit Elves

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Boy, what a day it has been. Meetings, phone calls, Zoom meetings – we have just had it all going on.

Basically it all boils down to this, gang: this crisis in Santa’s workshop is changing the face of tracking Santa for Santa this year. I’m still trying to figure out how it is going to do that but I can tell you that Santa suddenly had big concerns about how many active QUALITY tracker elves we have this year.

Remember last year when Crash told us it didn’t matter how many elves we have? Remember when Elf Moe and Santa said we’d rather focus on quality elves rather than having a bunch of elves.

Well, that was last year.

This year is different.

The other Elf Supervisors might be speaking to this soon too. They were in all the meetings and all the calls. The message wasn’t just for me.

But don’t kid yourself. We’re the biggest sector and during most of these meetings I felt like Santa was talking directly to me.

We’re the target guys. We’re the last sector he delivers to. We’re the biggest sector he delivers to. This whole workshop thing is going to affect us the most. Mark it down right now. Christmas Eve has the potential to be really hairy tracking Santa.

Every North Pole Department is on this problem. And every one of those departments all say the same thing: Sector 5, Sector 5, Sector 5.

So, for whatever is coming for this year we need more elves for it. A. LOT. MORE. ELVES.

How many? Santa said he’d be checking in on me about the numbers.

That being said, right now, we’re at about 6 million verified trackers of different types – independent, North Pole and Junior Trackers – and we’re going to need MILLIONS more in Sector 5.

So…it is time to start talking to your family and friends. Seek out believers first. Start talking to them about the situation at Santa’s Workshop. Tell them that Santa needs our help this year. Help them understand that you will teach them how to track Santa for Santa.

In the meantime, I’ll try to figure out what kind of final figure Santa has in mind.

Thank you.

Canada Very Active

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Hi Gang,

Right now we are kind of in a holding pattern with Flight Command. I’ve asked them for clear direction of how we can help them and they keep telling me to just wait.

All the sleigh flight activity that’s not related to the test flights of Santa’s sleigh so far seems to be in Canada – most specifically in the Yukon, which is pretty sparsely populated. That’s also a land of a lot of lumber and it is told to me that wood is coming from there to supply Santa’s Workshop.

That is a place and that is a product that moves regardless of the weather. They do have plenty of early winter weather there and Flight Command knows all about it.

If that changes, I’ll let you know.

But for now, Sector 5 is going to focus on our regular work.

So – if you haven’t done roof reports and chimney inspections yet please close that up. And keep the weekly weather reports coming from your area.

Thanks, Elves!

All Trackers on Alert

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It is only the end of September but I feel compelled to issue an alert for all Santa Trackers world wide.

There is a crisis in Santa’s Workshop and elves from nearly every department at the North Pole are mobilizing to help in the effort. We are equally called upon to join in the effort.

Starting TODAY, I am meeting via Zoom with Elf Supervisors, who are all at their stations at the Regional Tracking Centers. We are going through the latest instructions from North Pole Flight Command.

You can expect some specific instructions coming from each of them over the course of the next couple of days.

In addition, I have asked, and I believe he has already posted on the Elf Wall, for Elf Harold Star to remind you about the North Pole Chat already scheduled at SantaUpdate.com for this Sunday at 3pm EDT.

I hope to have new information and instruction that I can share at that time. As usual, chat recaps will be posted.

I do not yet have details to share at this time but I suspect most of what might be required of us will be added and specific weather reports for certain areas. I believe special missions to route needed supplies to the North Pole are being devised at this time and our instructions will be related to those missions.

What part, if any, Santa will play in these events are unknown. I can tell you, however, that is he very hands on with this whole process and that we can expect to hear more from him about this situation in the days and weeks ahead.

For now, my hope for each of you is that you will:

  1. Follow the news coming from this site, from SantaUpdate.com and from NorthPoleFlightCommand.com closely. Check in daily.
  2. Send your elf supervisor an Elf Status Report. If you are available for duty or not right now, your Elf Supervisor needs to know.
  3. Be prepared to respond to further reporting requests in the days ahead.

Thanks!

Promotion Questions in Sector 5

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I cannot speak for any of the other Elf Supervisors but since made the announcement about promotions yesterday I have been flooded with questions. Let me see if I can make this more clear for elves in Sector 5.

First of all, if you want added responsibility as an elf, I want to streamline the process. Especially for all of our new Junior Tracker Elves. It is as simple as this:

If you want to be a North Pole Elf, just send me a message telling me that. Elf Moe has promised I can instantly promote you.

Because of this, I need a lot more Elf Trainers. If we will have new elves with the ability to get on the Elf Wall, we will need other North Pole elves to show them what to do and to help them out. If you are an experienced North Pole Elf and want this responsibility, just send me a message.

I would also remind you that I still need a Sector Lead in our sector. This is a big job and it isn’t for every elf, especially a new elf. I need an experienced elf to be my right hand this year. If you qualify and want that responsibility, please let me know.

Many of you have written is saying you’re willing to do anything. I’m thinking it over now and will be messaging you in the days ahead privately to discuss special jobs or missions I have in mind for you.

Thank you for your many responses. Keep them coming!

Elf Promotions Active

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Fellow Elves and Trackers in the Service of Santa,

It is shaping up to be an interesting season already. While I can report that we are on track with our early reporting in our efforts to track Santa for Santa I can tell you now that more will be asked of us this year.

While I cannot yet share full details of what is going on – that will be coming out soon — I can tell you our need for GOOD elves is growing by the minute.

As such, I have directed our Elf Supervisors today to effect as many elf promotions as possible.

That means that as a Freelance or Junior Tracker elf you can be elevate to full North Pole Elf status and obtain greater status and accessibility on this website just by sending your elf supervisor a message.

I am not entirely sure at this time what more will be asked of us in the Tracking Department. But we want to be ready. To be ready means more elves are trained and ready to serve Santa.

More details will be forthcoming. Those elves able and smart enough to act on this message will be rewarded. We need more good elves.

Back to Business

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As North Pole Flight Command announced earlier the test flights of Santa’s Sleigh will soon be in Sector 3. That means it is time for us to get back to business. But, a little fun first:

Elf Z in Flight Command was able to secure for us some great shots of the test flights that have been made available for release. We received hundreds of thousands of sleigh sighting reports over the past month  in our sector and many of those reports included pictures and videos. These are interesting:

 

Sleigh Sighting in Iowa

Taken somewhere in Iowa this shot shows multiple test flight sleighs during a high speed test. This is a confirmed sighting, recorded at a fairly low altitude.

Vancouver BC Sleigh Sighting

This was one of the few verified sleigh sightings on the Pacific Coast, taken in Vancouver BC it is a singular sleigh testing launch angles from the deck of a ship from the North Pole Navy.

Nova Scotia Sleigh Sighting

This was just a few days ago taken by an elf staffer here in Nova Scotia. Yes, we knew the sleighs were near us because Flight Command arranged it. What makes this interesting is the low level of this sighting, not far off the water. This was taken from a boat but we didn’t know exactly where it would happen but the coastal fog made for outstanding conditions for testing on-board lights. Santa does not like to use bright lights because he doesn’t want to wake people up. But sometimes he just needs additional lighting. His complaints are that the on board lighting is either too bright or too dim. So they are testing adjustable lights that can be controlled by voice.

 

I appreciate Elf Z sending these images because they give us a much better idea of the kind of work these test pilot teams do. It’s not all just blazing through the skies – they are DOING stuff out there that they hope will help Santa.

And that’s what we do too. So, back to business. We enjoyed the test flights over our sector the past several weeks but we have spent so much time and reporting in trying to find the test flights we have fallen a little behind in our usual work. So let’s catch up by doing the following:

  1. Chimney Inspections – please do them sooner rather than later. We don’t want you trying to do these in bad weather and by all means **keep your feet on the ground**. Please turn these in by the end of September.
  2. Roof Reports – these are among the most important we can do. If you want to prevent Santa from damaging your roof, please check it out and let us know in advance if there are issues. We are compiling as many pictures to these reports as we can so if you can submit a roof picture use the photo submission report for that.

For now, that’s it. I’m not going to try to ask you for additional reports between now and the end of October unless Flight Command or Santa comes up with something special. Don’t hold me to it but I want to see if the next two months will give us a chance to do a very thorough job with these reports.

Thanks – you’re the best!

Test Flights Over the US West Coast

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Yesterday, Elf Z from North Pole Flight Command posted that the test flights of Santa’s sleigh are headed to the US and Canada Pacific Coast areas over the next week:

Flight plans from North Pole Flight Command show that the test flights of Santa’s sleigh are indeed now over Sector 5 and the plan for the next several takes will take those flights up the Pacific Coast, thru California, Oregon, Washington and then up into Canada.

Major metropolitan areas include Los Angeles, Fresno, Sacramento, the SF Bay Area, Redding, Bend, Portland, Seattle, Vancouver BC. It’s possible flights might be visible in Reno, and maybe Boise.

In my briefing with Elf Buck Sanchez this morning he confirmed the same information.

Remember, the Santa Tracker Map is not going to show you the absolute location of the test flights or the broad areas covered by the fleet of 12 test flight sleighs. So if the map says “Los Angeles” you might see test flights in the skies anywhere in that surrounding area.

We are sure hoping we get a lot of reports. We are expecting a lot of coverage in the northern areas of the sector and, from what I am told, the US and Canada will have a lot of exposure to the test flights all month.

Please use the sleigh sighting report if you think you see one.

 

Hot August Nights Set for Sector 5

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North Pole Flight Command has just informed me of a special operation to be conducted over Sector 5 called Hot August Nights.

The test flights of Santa’s sleigh will be over Sector 5 during the month of August specifically to be seen. That’s right – you read that correctly – they want you to SEE Santa’s sleigh in flight. And they want us to report on it.

The flights will be going day and night. I have been told that I will be updated on flight plans at least once a week, starting tomorrow August 1st.

Flight Command believes that visibility of Santa’s sleigh will be better at night than it will during the day. Commercial air traffic is heavier during the day and given the altitudes that the sleighs will be flying at it is just more difficult to see the sleigh from the ground during the day even with special equipment.

In addition, I’m told that the test flights will be aided by “extra illumination” – they want to be seen! So night time observation during Hot August Nights is strongly encouraged.

They are hoping not only to receive reports – in the form of the sleigh sighting report – but they are hoping trackers will also take photos and videos and send them to Flight Command.

Please be advised that these are all planned flights. There are no plans for landings or on-the-ground sighting opportunities.

This, of course, means a lot more communication with trackers than is normal. Mostly everyday, I’m guessing. So please check in frequently and I will do the best I can to inform you of possible flight plans in your area.

Stand by for further updates.