By Kayla Bruch

Christmas comes early to children in the North

Dec 19, 2014 | 5:53 AM

Excitement and joy were on the faces of several young children in Fond-du-Lac, Wollaston Lake and Stony Rapids, as they met face-to-face with Father Christmas. 

On Thursday, during the 14th annual Santa Claus run, Transwest Air, along with Santa delivered 1,700 toques, 25 boxes of oranges and several boxes of candies.

The Santa run was quite a journey

The children in Fond-du-Lac couldn’t wait for Santa to get off the plane. Instead, they greeted him outside the airport terminal; and they instantly crowded him when he finally got inside and sat down.

After that busy visit, Santa got a bit of a break when he arrived in Wollaston Lake, only to learn the school he was supposed to visit had an early dismissal. However, Santa stayed in character and he handed out treats to locals waiting in the airport.

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After greeting the locals, it was time to hit the last stop, Stony Rapids. This location had quite a few less kids and they were quite a bit shyer. But with a smile and a gift in hand, Santa said hello to the children at the airport.

Who is Santa?

Santa, known to his colleagues as Rob Garneau, is an information technology manager for Transwest Air. He said everyone with the airline really gets excited about the northern trip, and so does he. 

“Just seeing the smiles on their faces when Santa walks in the door…it’s almost an escape back to childhood for me,” said Garneau. 

Gord Dent, parking manager with Transwest Air said this trip is one way the airline company gives back to these communities. 

“They (children) lose the toques, they lose the mittens every day, now we’ve got 1,700 fresh toques in the communities,” said Dent. “It just warms your heart this time of year to come up and see the kids so happy.” 

When thinking back to past years, Dent said each year the kid’s smiles grow, along with their height. 

“What I’ve enjoyed even from last year and to this year is seeing the kids come back again and they’re all three inches taller,” said Dent. 

Dent and Garneau both said Transwest has received nothing but positive feedback from the children they meet and communities they visit while on the Santa run.

“Everybody appreciates everything, “said Garneau. “You get to see Santa, you get a nice little present, you get a delicious treat, (and) you’re warm on the top of your head, who can complain about that?”

One nine year old in Fond-du-Lac was really looking forward to meeting Santa for the first time.

“[What] I want for Christmas is lots of Barbies,” she said.

Garneau said the most common gift he was asked for was an xBox 1; and all he asked for in return was a few treats on Christmas Eve.

“Cookies, milk, carrots for the reindeer, I think I’d be happy,” he said.

Dent said they are going to make next year’s run even “bigger and better.” 

This was Garneau’s second year playing the role of Santa. To read more about his first year as Santa, click here. 

kbruch@panow.com

On Twitter: @KaylaBruch1