As the holiday season winds to a close, Santa Claus has reported that he made more than 32 different trips in the greater Avon Grove community to visit girls and boys of all ages this Christmas season.

Transporting Santa Claus is a very important mission of the West Grove Fire Company each year, something WGFC members look forward to each year. Request for Santa visits to developments begin arriving to our Santa Committee as early July each year, and the calendar often gets quite full.

Our engines are specially equipped to safely transport Santa, with Rescue 22 even having a specially built seat on the front hitch assembly, complete with seat belt! Santa rides up front with emergency lights flashing, and horns and sirens blaring. On cold nights, and snowy nights, Santa is joined by WGFC volunteers, complete with candy canes for the kids and hearty holiday greetings for parents and others alike.

Hundreds of children got to see Santa this year, and the fire company is most appreciative for the kind words of citizens, occasional hot chocolate and cookies, and donations offered.

We are grateful to our member Charles Foy, Sr., who coordinates with the North Pole and schedules all the Santa visits -- his hard work made this a busy and successful Santa season, with last Santa run coming on Christmas eve in New London ... before Santa sped away to deliver presents all night to make the holidays bright all over the world.

Those interested in a Santa visit can contact the fire company through the "Requests" button on the WGFC Website. We look forward to seeing many of you again next year!