Status Report Requested

/2 Comments/in , , /by

Howdy Elves in Sector 5,

I am pleased to report that Sector 5’s regional tracking center in St. Nicholas, Minnesota is now fully operational. We’re open for business completely.

Our thanks to the crack crew of elves from Flight Command and Santa’s Workshop for getting us up and running.

All things considered, we feel like we are in good shape.

Some of you are writing in asking “what about us?” as you see requests coming from other Elf Supervisors for their sector. This is especially true of chimney inspections which have been kind of a hot topic.

We do NOT feel the need to put out a similar request at this time. HOWEVER, if you have NOT yet done chimney inspections in your area please think about doing them soon. I’m targeting November 10th for this task in our sector.

I did check with Elf Roger and he tells me the forecast, especially for Canada in our Sector, is not the same as what we’re seeing in other Sectors. Elf Roger did advise “a regular schedule” for our region.

I think, just to stay organized, we’d like to request at this time an Elf Status Report for all elves in Sector 5. If you can get that done it would give us an idea of how many elves we have active right now. That may determine what we ask to have done.

We might also be asking for this same status report in the months and weeks ahead. So please check in here frequently.

The Elf Status Report can be found at this link.

Thanks. You guys rock.

Chimney Inspections in Sector 2

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Hi Sector 2 – we’re going to piggy-back on the call for chimney inspections in Sector 3 by asking all elves in any northern area of Sector 2 to do the same.

Elf Roger and Elf Seymour reached out to me after talking with Sector 3 and encouraged us to do the same.

If you haven’t yet done the chimney inspections we urge you to do it soon. Here’s the link.

Thanks!

Special Reporting Needs in Greenland

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Hello my fellow Elves!

A lot of people forget that Greenland is a part of Sector 4. That is largely because there are very few people who actually live in Greenland. It’s kind of a unique place.

But it is a critical part of Santa’s flight. He has to go there and it is fraught, frankly speaking, with dangers for him.

We reviewed our needs in Greenland with Elf Roger Star, who had some special requests from Santa.

We can either get more elves there or solicit the help of elves who might travel there to help report on conditions in Greenland.

We do not believe it is possible to get many new elves in Greenland. There are a few. But their are far apart and their reports are not adequate to meet the needs there.

So we are asking folks who may travel there on business or on pleasure, for their work in the military of various nations and such, and others who have reason to go there between now and Santa’s flight time, to take on these reporting needs if possible.

Please reach out to me personally on this project and I will direct you with what we’d like you to do. For security purposes, we cannot outline our needs in Greenland a this time.

Thanks!

Chimney Inspections Now in Sector 3

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Hi Elves!

Elf Seymour Snow in the Weather Department at North Pole Flight Command just shared the weather forecast for Northern and Eastern Europe through the end of October. They are predicting cold and unsettled weather.

After conferring with Elf Roger Star, we have determined to push up chimney inspections in those areas. We want you to get those inspections in now while it is safe to do so.

To file a chimney inspection report, please go to this link.

We have a lot of chimneys in these areas, so we know this is a big job. You only need to inspect the chimney on your own house and the ones on either side of your home. If you can do more, we appreciate the information.

If you have already completed the chimney inspections, thank you, you do not need to do them again.

Thanks, elves!

Growing Needs for Elves in Russia

/1 Comment/in , , /by

Hello Elves of Sector 2,

Russia is a very big country, the largest in our sector by physical size. It also has a lot of people.

We need more elves in Russia. A LOT more elves.

I’m asking all elves in Sector 2 to please reach out to your friends in Russia and to recruit them to be elves.

We have about 100 days to improve our numbers there.

I know we can do it.

Planning a Landing Zone for Santa

/3 Comments/in , /by

Hi Elves,

We have been getting some messages from elves about landing zones for Santa. Since we are still quite a ways away from Santa’s launch we thought we’d talk about this now, just so those of you who want to do this have time to plan.

We actually see quite a lot of landing zones for Santa set up in Sector 1. In fact, more in our sector than any other out there. We think that may have more to do with the good weather in most places of Sector 1 than anything else. Here are some things you need to know.

  1. You don’t HAVE to have a landing zone for Santa. Santa has been to many homes many times. He has a good idea where to put the sleigh. But if you want to identify a spot, Santa will be glad to use it. Santa does admit that sometimes he lands the sleigh in places that people do not appreciate. He doesn’t mean to damage the flowers or run over things left laying around. The sleigh is a big vehicle and Santa sometimes can’t see everything on the ground or on a roof. So if you have a designated spot, Santa is happy to use it.
  2. Santa’s sleigh is huge. What most people do not realize is the sheer size a landing zone needs to be. And just because you clear a spot doesn’t always mean Santa can use it. Last year, for example, an Elf named Elf Trevor in Australia had a landing zone for Santa set up on the side of his house. The weather was good and the zone was huge. But there were trees all along the side of the house that made flying in too steep for the space that Elf Trevor selected. We think Trevor also had a couple of web cams set up to capture Santa on video, which Santa doesn’t mind. But being as close to the house as it was just wasn’t a safe option for Santa to use the zone, especially with the trees so close to it all. Remember, Santa does not only have to think about potential damage to the house and the yard, but also potential dangers to the reindeer, the sleigh and himself.
  3. The roof is a much preferred spot for a landing zone. But it is most often very problematic, mostly because many roofs are too small for the sleigh. In those cases, the reindeer and the sleigh will actually just hover over the house and not actually land. Santa descends from the sleigh from a rope when this is the case. If you do think Santa’s sleigh will fit on the roof, he’s okay with lights set up there as long as it is safe to do so and that the home owner (usually your parents) agree. It’s not required by any means.
  4. Food for the reindeer or for Santa should NOT be kept in or near the landing zone. Santa prefers to retrieve this stuff while in the house. That is because local dogs, cats and other wildlife will wander into the zone, attracted by the food, thus putting them in harms way.
  5. If you feed the reindeer, as always, remember to use natural seeds, nuts and fruits and vegetables. Again, keep them out of the zone.
  6. Picture of the zone, before and/or after, are fine. Videos are cool. Just be willing to share them with North Pole Flight Command or right here on SantaTrackers.net.
  7. If you have a landing zone, please report it. Santa would like to know in advance if possible.

And that’s about it. If you have other questions don’t be afraid to ask about them in the replies below. If you are in another Sector and have questions you might want to post them to your Elf Supervisor. Different Sectors may have different conditions that require additional direction.

Thanks!

Roof Reports Requested Now

/0 Comments/in , /by

Fellow Trackers,

For whatever reason, North Pole Flight Command has requested that we in Sector 2 “step on the gas” with our roof reports. As the largest geographical sector in the world we have some of the most diverse rooftops you could imagine.

Our southern areas of roof tops some times of straw or grass, while our northern-most roofs are steep and built to handle heavy snow. The work of summarizing for Santa just what he will run into on Christmas Eve is quite extensive.

In fact, they tell me it takes them the longest to program roof and chimney information for our sector than any other place in the world. The detail work of this is just a huge job.

So they want it top of mind for elves in our sector.

If you’ve never done a roof report before, check it out. Each elf is expected to do a roof report for their own home, and for homes on either side of them.

That by all means doesn’t cover all the roofs in our sector. But it does a lot and every report helps Santa.

Thanks.

Sector Lead Needed

/2 Comments/in , /by

Hello elves of Sector 2,

We approach a season in Sector 2 where the experts are projecting a lot of growth. In fact, the rate of growth in Sector 2 with tracker elves is supposed to be bigger than any other sector.

That’s a great prediction. We are, at present, the sector with the fewest elves.

I am asking that we get a Sector Lead this year in Sector 2. The biggest qualification is that you live in our sector. I would ask our many freelance elves out there to consider applying for this position and to also consider becoming a part of the Elf Community here at SantaTrackers.net.

We need to raise our profile in Sector 2 and I think it would be most useful if we had a Sector Lead to do it. An active Sector Lead for our sector would go a long way to helping new elves to sign up.

I’m hoping one of you out there will step up for this. I would hate to go through another Christmas without a strong Sector Lead for Sector 2.

Heading to Minnesota

/3 Comments/in , /by

The time has finally come! Hopefully, you’ve seen the news out of SantaUpdate.com – we in Sector 5 are no longer homeless. We are headed to St. Nicholas, Minnesota even as I type this.

I have not heard the whole story yet of how this happened. I am quite surprised that we will be in the United States this Christmas. So many other places were talked about and it bounced around for months so much so that I thought it would be impossible to go back to the US so soon.

I reached the point where I didn’t really care, honestly. I just wanted it done.

Well, now it is and we’re more than ready for it. We’re going to get set up there as fast as we can and THEN you’re going to get some news, Sector 5.

We’re very excited and we thank Elf Crusader very much for the idea.

New Tracker Elf Recruits Spike

/2 Comments/in , /by

As the calendar has flipped from August to September we are seeing a spike in new recruits and tracker elf reports via SantaTrackers.net.

Freelance elves outnumber new North Pole Elf recruits by 10 to 1, a number that Elf Crash Murphy says is not surprising.

“We always want more elves joining us a SantaTrackers.net, but at this stage of the season we welcome those new freelance elves as well.” Elf Crash Murphy said. Elf Crash is the International Director of Santa Trackers. “Right now we’re compiling information that will be useful for Santa in building his flight plan. That’s job #1. The more eyes we have out there reporting on local conditions the better. It’s all about good and current information for Santa.”

It has been a pattern that from this point forward in the season the numbers of new elves will only continue to increase. Elf Crash says he would rather see them sign on earlier than later because there is time right now for them to train, ask questions and, more importantly, to “do quality work”.

We encourage all active elves to recruit their friends and family to become elves.

Test Flights Transitioning to a New Sector

/1 Comment/in , /by

North Pole Flight Command today held a meeting to discuss the next few weeks of test flights for Santa’s sleigh. The test flights are transitioning to a new field of action and are in the process of heading east.

We also expect an announcement about a transition for the North Pole Navy. The fleet has been stationed in the Pacific for about 8 weeks.

It is an interesting time for the test flights. There is a lot of conflict going on in various war zones around the globe and North Pole Flight Command is trying to avoid them.

So far the tests have been uneventful and results are still good, at least as far as we have been told. The sleigh, which is based on last year’s record-breaking model, has yet to see a new version introduced.

With the early return of the reindeer some have speculated that the test flights of Santa’s sleigh might use teams from the general reindeer pool at the North Pole. Elf Victor, head of Reindeer Operations, squashed that rumor today and said that none of the reindeer at the North Pole are expected to be assigned test flight duty and they all will be pursuing customary training schedules as they do each year.

As we approach the 100-day countdown milestone to Santa’s launch it appears Santa’s new sleigh is right on track.

We will keep you posted.

Latest Updates For Trackers!

/4 Comments/in , /by

As you know we found out about the rumor of the reindeer coming back to the north pole as I said in the news video I posted about 20 or 28 days ago, and we found out at Santa Update that they we’re coming back to the north pole in the radio news yesterday which is two days before September, which is unusual because the earliest the reindeer have returned is September. But the reindeer are back at the north pole with the reindeer operation elves.

Now to our update with the chat this month of September…

Now we heard yesterday that there is a chat with Elf Bernard on the 21st this month. If you have any questions that you want to share with Elf Bernard go to Ask an Elf here’s the link! santaupdate.com/north-pole-post-office/ask-an-elf/ . Frank will be interviewing Elf Bernard soon and will send a reminder in a few days. So Subscribe to the North Pole for news you might miss!

Enjoy your September!

We are getting to Christmas so keep it up elf friends!

This is Elf Westover Signing off!

And Remember…

STAY JOLLY!