When Mark Lambert (Allied Industry Member, National Corn Growers Association, Chesterfield, MO) read about Sabrina Hill’s second vocation as Mrs. Santa Claus (featured in our December newsletter), he contacted her to relate his own performances as Santa himself. Through the wonders of PhotoShop, Sabrina combined his and her photos to compose this family photo of Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.
“Most people don’t make a focused, well-thought-
out decision to become the merry fat guy in the red suit. You know, the head elf, Pere Noel, Dun Che Lao Ren, Babbo Natale, or the Kringle,” says Mark Lambert, senior communications manager for the National Corn Growers Association. “That is certainly the case for me. Moonlighting as Santa for me was an impulse-buy gone-seriously-right three years ago. I had become a grandfather for the first time, and I thought it would be fun if Santa made an appearance to make Christmas memorable for my granddaughter. It was that for sure. I don’t think she remembers that first visit, but my ears and those of every dog in the neighborhood remember the screaming fondly.” While waiting for his ego and his ears to heal, opportunity knocked. Mark’s wife, Nancy, came home one night from a local meeting to mention they needed a Santa for their St. Louis, MO, neighborhood Christmas event. “Word was out I had the suit, so what’s St. Nick supposed to do? That first outing went ‘pretty well’. Nobody was successful in pulling the beard off, the parents seemed happy with their photo opportunity, and no blood was spilled. Have you seen the point kids lick on a candy cane?” Lambert said. “Seriously, all the clichés you hear about are true. Kids are in awe of Santa, and it is pretty rewarding to see those big eyes and trepidation turn into big smiles and giggling. I have only been unsuccessful getting two children, three if you count my granddaughter, to sit on my lap and visit. Yes, I count, and I’m proud of that statistic. I intend to whittle that down to two children this year if the world’s most perfect grandchild cooperates.” He notes he is batting 1,000 with adults who seem to revel in the opportunity to get a selfie with Santa if there is a lull between kids.
“I don’t talk about the Santa gig much. After seeing Sabrina Hill’s (Ag Net West) photo as Mrs. Claus in ‘Airing on the Side of Agriculture,’ I sent her a note and photo telling her about my Santa alter ego. She ended up ‘photo-shopping’ us together. I thought it was funny so I shared it with the NAFB staff, and let’s say a lot more people know about my Santa hobby now. It’s just something I do for the kids, and I certainly enjoy it, too. Some people were shocked I started doing this, because I have a bit of a reputation as a Grinch that hates the commercialism of Christmas. Being Santa made it fun again, and it’s a great change from my day job. I deal with a lot of complex issues from biofuels to GMOs, so there is a lot of educating taking place to earn the public’s hearts and minds. Santa definitely doesn’t need a public relations flack.”
