FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY—As of February 2020, New York City is now host to one of the 49 affiliated chapters of the International Brotherhood of Real Bearded Santas (IBRBS), the largest Christmas organization in the world. This chapter is the first ever IBRBS group in NYC.

First lines of business include finalizing a name and logo. Stay tuned for a Facebook and Instagram presence along with a list of quarterly events support neighboring chapters, including the Lower Hudson Valley Santas.

President Ann Votaw, Vice President Gary Dreifus, and Secretary George McTyre have thus far discussed field trips, educational events, and meet and greets. One short-term goal is to generate a contact sheet for area Santas (all genders) who may need substitutes during the holiday season. Each event will feature the lastest news from the national IBRBS crew.

All Santas love a good story. Here’s how this one started. A small group of seven Clauses met for coffee Jan. 3, 2020 at the Winter Village at Bryant Park shortly after Christmas. Exhausted, they just wanted to hang out and review the last two busy months. Two of the guys walked from their temporary apartment near Radio City, where they may or may not have still been working. Wink! Wink!

This gathering kick-started the idea of a formal chapter representing Santas in all five boroughs, neighboring areas, and visitors who work in NYC during the season.

An especially big thank you to brothers in red, Keith Carson and Howard Graham, who are on the board of IBRBS. And additional thanks to Nicholas Alan Gillotte and Bernard Prior of the Lower Hudson Valley Santas. Other St. Nicks representing Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Connecticut came to the January coffee meet-up that caused “a stir” among tourists and customers in Bryant Park’s “The Lodge.” The more the merrier.

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