KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Santa Claus will be making appearances in Native villages around Kodiak Island all this week, courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Santa and his elves will be flown to villages on a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter as part of the annual Santa to Villages program. Teresa Williams is the co-chair of the Coast Guard Spouses Association which organizes the trips. She said this is the 35th year Coast Guard wives have brought Christmas to kids in the villages of the Kodiak Archipelago.
Over 200 children will receive gifts, hand-made clothing and fresh fruit.
Williams says the children in the villages have come to eagerly await Santa’s arrival, searching the skies for the bright orange helicopter.
The volunteers who fill Santa’s big shoes include retired Coast Guard Commander Scott Williams, Douglas Beaver and Commander Patrick Dugan, facilities branch chief at Integrated Support Command Kodiak.
