Elf Frank Myrrh Gets Personal in New Podcast

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Santa Trackers Podcast
Santa Tracker Podcast
Elf Frank Myrrh Gets Personal in New Podcast
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Elf Frank Myrrh, North Pole Radio News lead news anchor, gets personal in a new episode of the Santa Trackers Podcast.

In this episode Elf Crash Murphy hijacks the hosting duties in the podcast to interview Frank. Crash asks questions on behalf of fans and listeners who have written in. Crash attempts to get a little information about Frank, including where he is from and how he got into radio.

Frank does tell his elf story, albeit hesitantly. But when it comes to the questions from fans that’s when things take a very interesting turn.

This episode was prepared in advance of the Elf Chat with Elf Frank Myrrh scheduled this weekend on SantaTrackers.net.

If you have additional questions for Frank in advance of the chat, feel free to ask them in the comments below.

Elf Harold

 

Good Progress in Sector 5

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Hi Elves!

It’s been a monster week in Sector 5 – but you ain’t seen nothin’ yet! People are GETTING IN THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT!!!!!!

Here’s our numbers —

North Pole Tracker Elves: 101,177
Freelance Tracker Elves: 10,557,961
Total Tracker Elves: 10,659,138

[cl-counter final=”33,306,388″ title=”Tracker Reports from Sector 5″ title_color=”#dd3333″]

Hahaha – here’s the report numbers:

North Pole Tracker Elf Reports: 576,709
Freelance Tracker Elf Reports: 32,729,679
Total Tracker Elf Reports: 33,306,388

How’s that for a great week? Ok, ok – I’ll calm down. Here’s your message from Santa –

Feedback from Santa: WOW, Sector 5! Are you ready for Christmas or what? But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s time to take a good look up – as in at roofs and chimneys, especially chimneys. Pinky will direct you. I want to be so prepared before I get to Sector 5 this year that I can see it all in my head without looking at maps or notes. That means I need you to be really descriptive in your reports, send in a lot of pictures if you can, and tell us exactly when you think you see something that could be a problem for me, the sleigh or the reindeer. Keep up the good work, Sector 5! You’re doing great – Santa

Your duties this week:

Biggest Week of the Year So Far

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Greetings Elves!

I am pleased to report that last week saw a huge increase in the number of new elves and new reports tallied in North Pole Flight Command.

This is not entirely a surprise. The week of Thanksgiving usually sees a big increase in interest in tracking Santa for Santa. So many people out there, for whatever reason, decide the week of Thanksgiving that they want to become elves. We give them that chance.

The big questions to be answered are: What kind of elves will they be? Will their reports really help Santa? Can they get enough training behind them in time to really know how to file a quality report?

The answers to those questions only come in the weeks ahead. For now, here are the numbers:

North Pole Tracker Elves: 117,620
Freelance Tracker Elves: 13,639,943

Total Elves Tracking Santa for Santa = 13,757,563

As you can tell, the vast number of new elves are freelance elves. That has a huge bearing over the quality of reports we are seeing in Flight Command. I have met with each elf supervisor to discuss this issue. Most elf supervisors are thrilled to have so many new elves but most are also frustrated because the report data they are receiving is not good.

In fact, elf supervisors have decided to start “culling” elves while in season – meaning they will dismiss those elves who either submit sub-standard reports or no reports at all. They just don’t have time for people who want to be elves in name only. I’m sure they will address this individually in their reports this week.

Elf Moe also reports a number of issues monitoring the Elf Community on SantaTrackers.net. This is not surprising, just disappointing. Knowing and living by the Elf Code is new for many elves and we’re trying to give as many elves a chance as we can.

As far as reports go this week, it was very productive:

Reports from North Pole Tracker Elves: 106,251,961
Reports from Freelance Tracker Elves: 176,824,740

Total Reports from Tracker Elves Worldwide = 283,086,701

This new tally shows that we are 28% to goal, roughly, so far. This is an acceptable performance.

In Flight Command we are grappling with organizing all this information and making it useful for Santa. We are gratified to have new information about places we had nothing on before. It is exciting to see this. Santa has not yet seen some of this information but we have meetings set up with him soon to start presenting it to him.

Elves, keep up the good work. Please focus on your Elf Supervisor. They will tell you what is more important to work on this week.

Elf Roger Star

Sector 5 Standing Tall

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Elves of Sector 5, you are the best. Always have been. We just love Santa more in Sector 5, I guess.

Here’s where we stand so far for this year:

North Pole Tracker Elves: 55,986
Freelance Tracker Elves: 6,387,669
Total Tracker Elves: 6,443,655

That’s a huge number but it’s not great. We have had many, many more elves in the past and I think we’re going to get clobbered with new elves in the next several weeks. New elves, however, are not BETTER elves. In fact, it hurts our quality scores a lot.

So if you see new elves on the Elf Wall do your best to bring them up to speed as fast as you can. You have been here all year and you know all that has happened. You understand that Santa is more concerned with our reporting quality than any other number, such as elves, that we hit. We need to do good work as elves.

As far as our reports go, here’s the tally:

North Pole Tracker Elf Reports: 212,747
Freelance Tracker Elf Reports: 21,718,075
Total Tracker Elf Reports: 21,930,821

Our tracker elf report ratio is 3.4, highest in the world. Our target is 8. So we have work to do. Here is what Santa has to say to us this year:

Feedback from Santa:
Friends in Sector 5 – you’re like no other place in the world. Most number of elves, most number of reports. But you also have a lot going for you that most sectors do not. You have greater Internet access. Better information at your disposal. More active elves. Huge amounts of Christmas spirit in the stores, the schools, the town squares and on the city streets. Where much is given much is expected. I have worries in Sector 5. More people are hurting there this year, more than I’ve seen in a long time. We must help them. That begins by being eyes-up and looking for ways to serve. That’s what we as elves do. So I want to hear from you about any special situations or concerns. I know of many things but I don’t know of everything. Please help me find those who need help. Especially with food. It’s weird to say that in Sector 5 but this year it is a real thing. You should see some of the letters I get. In terms of tracking and delivery, there are two big things on my mind: roof tops and whether or not they can hold my sleigh. And are people being nice? Elf Pinky will direct you on how you can help get information about these concerns to me. Have a great Thanksgiving, friends! I’ll be celebrating it too! — Santa

Your duties this week:

With Thanksgiving this week I know many of you have time off from school and jobs. It would be easy, I think, to flood you will work to do. But Santa and I don’t want that. Enjoy your families. Do what you can to spread the good cheer of Christmas and invite others to become elves. Show them what you do.

We always need more elves!

Chat with Santa

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Chat with Santa Claus this Sunday in North Pole Chat at SantaUpdate.com.

This event has been posted at SantaUpdate.com for about a week now but I wanted to make note of it here as well. Santa has very limited availability this year due to all of his travels before Christmas so we want to make sure everyone is aware of this event.

We have already received many questions for Santa via the other website. If you cannot make this scheduled event for Sunday, please leave your question for Santa in the comments below. We will try to get as many of them answered as we possibly can.

Chat with Santa

Celebrate the Elf Parade

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The Thanksgiving Day Elf Parade is a tradition celebrated by elves everywhere – including you! (We hope)

Just as we did last year, we are encouraging tracker elves everywhere to join in the festivities of Thanksgiving by sharing photos of themselves in their elf outfit, of their home tracking center, of their decorated trikes, bikes, scooters, long boards or other vehicular transport of choice, or even of themselves in front of their Christmas tree. You can either post them to the Elf Wall or share them via the form below.

We will collect images from this site and from SantaUpdate.com to share with everyone later.

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!

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Elf Crusader Named Sector Lead for Sector 5

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I am pleased to announce that Elf Crusader has been promoted to Sector Lead in Sector 5. As such, he in effect becomes my assistant here at SantaTrackers.net.

Most Sector 5 elves are already well aware of Elf Crusader. Crusader is the North Pole Naturalist, a city captain, a Senior Elf, a member of Santa’s Council and a popular elf podcaster and a dedicated tracker elf whose presence on these boards is well known and appreciated. He is a mentor to many elves and a constant source of good information.

As Sector Lead Elf Crusader will step up his efforts to communicate with tracker elves of Sector 5 on a daily basis. Outside of my own occasional news reports Elf Crusader will keep elves informed in things I might share with him as we get closer to Santa’s launch. He is trusted, calm and responsible. I find Elf Crusader ideally suited for this role and you can depend on him to provide you with timely information.

My reports post each Friday. Elf Crusader will be sharing information with you via the elf wall daily on a more informal basis.

He will answer your questions. When he can’t answer something Elf Crusader has contacts both with me and other elves he knows at the North Pole and North Pole Flight Command to answer your questions.

He will be available to guide you through your training. He will assist Elf Moe, if necessary, in policing troubled posts. He will remind you of rules, deadlines, expectations and needs.

Elf Crusader will even be able to reach Santa from time to time on matters of tracking and Operation Merry Christmas.

Elf Crusader will work from his home tracking center – for now – but could be called upon if needed for service either here in Mistletoe or at the North Pole.

Some, in applying for the Lead position, have asked me if this position could lead to other positions in an elf career, possibly even a position at the North Pole. The answer to that is yes. This appointment has been approved by both Elf Roger and Santa himself.

Elf Crusader continues to be a pioneer of sorts. He is the first Sector lead to be named. I do not know what progress has been made in naming Sector leads in other Sectors but Santa has told me that we have not wanted to rush this process. It is unknown at this time if other leads will be named this year. However, Santa did say that the choice of Elf Crusader is inspired and that he “wishes this young elf all the best”.

Please join me in thanking Elf Crusader in advance for his time and efforts and in congratulating him on this new position. It is well deserved and I’m excited to have him on the Sector 5 team as our lead elf.

Sector Lead

Elf Promotions at Regional HQ

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Elf promotions at our Regional HQ in Mistletoe, Kentucky are effective immediately. These promotions needed to be made in advance of Operation Merry Christmas, which kicks off in just a couple of days.

I do not expect you to know these elves as they usually do not have time to be active on SantaTrackers.net. Yet they contribute a great deal to our efforts in Sector.

As you may or may not be aware, Sector 5 is the largest sector in terms of our count of elves and our flow of reports. We need these extra administrators to help us process information for operations at Flight Command.

These elves will serve in the following positions over the course of Operation Merry Christmas this year;

Elf Jennie Quade – Map Room Supervisor
Elf Jennie heads up the Map Room, a very important position that requires a huge amount of organizational skills. This giant room is filled with large computer screens that show weather maps, topographical maps, real estate maps, and transit maps. She also has on files copies or original vintage maps for reference. A staff of more than 40 elves supports her in the efforts to find information about any place within our sector quickly. Frequently she will be tasked with putting together fast reports for Santa about areas where he lacks information. When we do not have an elf in a neighborhood or near a home Santa is headed to Jennie will get the call to provide information quickly. One of her little known tools is an army of drones that she operates with the support of staff from Flight Command. When she needs more information quickly she can contact FC and they will dispatch drones to any location she specifies within 3 feet of her geographical coordinates. She can feed that information directly to Santa via live video feed or video archives.

Elf Gary Fronk – Flight Operations Coordinator
Elf Gary has spent years in Flight Command in Flight Operations and knows global sleigh flight protocols like few others. He will serve as a critical link with North Pole Flight Command as they shuttle sleighs in and out of Sector 5. Any sleigh entering our sector automatically comes under the direction of Elf Gary and his team. With a staff of more than 350 elves Gary leads the largest team at our Mistletoe, Kentucky headquarters. He must know where every sleigh is every minute they are in our sector and where they are going. He needs to keep them on schedule. They need to move with precision and accomplish their missions safely on time every time. This is a vital role and one Gary is very well suited for.

Elf Debbie Bartles – Messaging Director
Elf Debbie has spent decades working for Elf Ernest in the Public Relations Department at the North Pole. She is knew to remote location work this year and was selected to help keep the mail flowing to Santa within Sector 5. Her team of 80 elves directs all incoming electronic communications from internal sources, from government contacts, from military and industrial complex leadership, from states and municipalities and other authorities who seek coordination with North Pole Flight Command about Santa’s flight, Operation Air Lift and all other sleigh flights originating from the North Pole. She directs the most important messages to the correct party at the right time to keep communications current and timely. It’s a huge job. She also works with the North Pole Post Office to keep messages to Santa flowing back and forth between the North Pole and Santa.

Please stand-by for at least one more announcement of an important promotion that will affect elves worldwide.

Tracker Elf Conference Survey

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A tracker elf conference is held every December. This has been the tradition of the past five years. Key elves from Flight Command and even Santa himself take the time to discuss tracking Santa for Santa and what is needed in that particular year.

The Elf Supervisors are thinking of doing the Tracker Elf Conference a little differently this year. They are asking, in advance of scheduling this event, for your questions, comments and needs BEFORE the Conference.

How and when the Tracker Elf Conference will be held is yet to be announced. But we can proceed in getting your input right away.

We are asking all elves to provide the following information so we can make the Tracker Elf Conference more useful for you. You can fill this form out as many times as you like so that all of your questions can be considered:

Elf Supervisors are considering a new format for the Tracker Elf Conference this year. Your feedback on this question is very important

Sector 5 Elves Needed to Report

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Happy November, Elves!

With Santa’s Sleigh taking a test flight dip into Sector 5 I was expecting to get a report request. Well, I got one but it wasn’t for anything to have to do with Santa’s Sleigh.

Flight Command has told me they want to see a Public Observance Report from Sector 5 now that Halloween is over. Please click on this link to access the report.

Freelance elves can use this link to report.

I’m not expecting Santa’s sleigh to be in our sector very long. I would expect them to keep mostly to Canada this time around but it appears to me they are on their way to somewhere else. I haven’t heard anything from Flight Command about this current round of test flights.

You’re doing a great job, elves! Thank you for your ongoing efforts.

 

Elf Chat Scheduled

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Elf Chat this week welcomes Elf Crash Murphy on Saturday, November 5th at 6pm EST on SantaTrackers.net.

Elf Crash Murphy serves as Santa’s eye-in-the-sky reporter. For more than a decade he has followed Santa on Christmas Eve and reported his activities during the Tracking Santa Around the World Show on Kringle Radio. Elf Crash has been instrumental in the development of the Santa Tracker program at the North Pole and works year round in the Elf Community at SantaTrackers.net. He is co-host of the Santa Tracker Podcast as well as the North Pole Podcast with Elf Frank Myrrh.

The chat this week will focus on Santa tracker elf questions for the upcoming tracker season.

If you cannot make the chat we encourage posting your questions for Crash below and we will make sure he answers them during the chat.

Elf Chat

Improvements Seen in Elf Reports

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I have reviewed the progress so far in each Sector. I have met with each Elf Supervisor. I am pleased to report that thanks to change initiated by Santa after last Christmas that we find ourselves way ahead of last year in terms of information we have and the preparations we are making for Santa’s flight around the world.

We are doing this with fewer elves but with greater reporting.

So far, freelance elves outnumber North Pole elves by a factor of 12 to 1. That is why we have seen such a rapid increase in reports in the past four weeks. Freelance elves, which are the only new elves we are allowing this year, have started joining us, as they do every year, in massive numbers in every sector.

Even though most of them are new and relying on Elf University for their training the quality of reports coming from freelancers is vastly improved over a year ago. We are seeing very good results in every sector so far. On the whole, freelance elves have sent in 84% more reports with an average quality score of 5 (on a scale of 10). The number of reports per elf so far received from the freelance ranks is about 3.1.

But the real progress is being shown among experienced North Pole elves. Those elves have sent in a whopping 231% more reports and their quality score is over 8 (on the same scale of 10). The average number of reports from our North Pole elves is 7.3.

I can tell you now, based on these early reports, it has to be a big goal after this Christmas to turn more freelance elves into North Pole elves.

Each Sector Elf Supervisor reports they are working with many candidates. None of them will make it before Christmas, but several have the opportunity to be invited into the Elf Community in the New Year if they keep up the work they are doing now.

Quality remains our watchword. If you put forth good information in your reports you WILL advance in your elf career. It’s as simple as that.

We are only in the tens of millions of reports Santa says that he wants. The target this year is 1 billion reports. We are just getting started.

But for where we are at right now, as we near the end of October, things are going very, very well.

What will November and early December look like for trackers?

Just follow the lead of your Elf Supervisor.

All of this is happening just as Santa said it would.

Thank you for your efforts.

Elf Roger Star