The competitive business of recruiting pro Santas
The professional Santa business can be cutthroat and demanding — and sometimes, it takes an agent to guide the sleigh.
BY ZACHARY CROCKETT DECEMBER 15, 2018 The Hustle   EXCERPT:   Eight years ago, Kelly Ferrell, a 51-year-old retired cop, was sitting on a bench at a shopping mall in Texas when he was approached by an unfamiliar woman.
“Pardon me, sir,” she implored, “but have you ever considered… being Santa Claus?”
Ferrell certainly looked the part: Since stepping down from the force, he’d grown a “big ‘ol white beard.” He was a little on the heavier-set side, with rosy cheeks and kind eyes He had, the woman said, the potential for greatness.
And so, Ferrell “became” Santa — not by the grace of self-determination or the Spirit of Christmas, but the keen eye of a Santa scout.
Beneath its wholesome exterior, the professional Santa business is a complex, occasionally cutthroat industry, where top performers are sought after much like professional athletes. But once you’re in the minor leagues, how do you learn the ropes? How do you navigate the business side of things, or negotiate contracts?
You get a Santa agent.
The Santa industrial complex
As it turned out, the woman who approached Ferrell worked for the Noerr Corporation (now Cherry Hill), a Santa training and staffing agency.
“I call them Santa wranglers,” says Ferrell. “They hang out at malls or other populated areas and throw their pitch at every white-bearded guy who comes through. They really beat the bushes to find us.”
Intrigued by the adventure of it all, Ferrell agreed to give it a shot.
SOURCE   https://thehustle.co/professional-santa-claus-business

Disneyland Float Collapse Launches Santa off Sled During Parade
Date:  12/16/18
Author:  Alexandra Deabler, Fox News

According to WDWNT, the sleigh broke during the parade and launched Mr. Claus right out of his seat. He was left dangling by his safety harness while he waited for crew members to help him down.
Link to Article:    https://www.foxnews.com/travel/disneyland-float-collapse-launches-santa-off-sled-during-parade
 

Dorcas Reilly, Creator of Green Bean Casserole, Dies at 92
Friends and family are mourning the creator of an iconic recipe and a Thanksgiving staple.
NBC Connecticut
By David Chang
October 23, 2018

EXCERPT:
Friends and family are mourning the creator of an iconic recipe and a Thanksgiving staple.
Dorcas Reilly, the inventor of Campbell’s green bean casserole, died on Oct. 15. She was 92. 
“Dorcas was an incredible woman, whose legacy will live on in more than 20 million American households this Thanksgiving,” the Campbell Soup Company wrote on its website. 
Reilly, of Haddonfield, New Jersey, gained fame while working for Campbell’s Home Economics department in 1955. She combined green beans and Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup to create what was originally called “Green Bean Bake.” The recipe would later be known as green bean casserole, referred to by Campbell as “the mother of all comfort foods.” 
Dorcas left Campbell's in 1961 and returned in 1981 to serve as manager of the Campbell’s Kitchen. She then retired in 1988. Campbell's donated Dorcas’ original recipe for green bean casserole to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2002. 
A spokesperson described Dorcas as a person who was admired for her “humble and unassuming nature.” 
“Dorcas would often share that the first time she made her famous recipe, it did not receive the highest rating in Campbell’s internal testing," the spokesperson wrote. "Yet, it was her persistence and creativity that led to an enduring recipe that will live on for decades to come.”
SOURCE: https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/national-international/Dorcas-Reilly-Campbell-Green-Bean-Casserole-Death-498372271.html