Sherri Heath

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Sherri was born and raised in the wonderful state of Michigan  surrounded by the Great Lakes.  She began sewing clothes for her dolls by hand at the age of 5 yrs. She went on to sew prom dresses, pageant costumes, wedding attire and more. Her passion for sewing has carried on for 62 years of experience as she expanded her talents to include designing and creating a remarkable signature line "Sew Santa" for Santa and Mrs. Claus clothing.  Sherri has become well known in the Santa Community by attending various conventions and state gatherings as a vendor.  Sherri wants to give back some of the blessings she has experienced by heading up this Santa Family Reunion in Gatlinburg, TN. ​

Sherri's role as Director and Founder of the Santa Family Reunion will be in the financial planning, coordination with convention center and overall production of a convention that provides continuing education to enhance your professionalism as a Santa, Mrs. Claus or Elf.  Sherri will be assisted by Santa Mel Rickard

Born and raised in the beautiful state of Tennessee, Trish has finally landed in Murrells Inlet, SC after several military moves.  Trish has  portrayed Mrs. Claus for 30 + years alongside her Santa (Dale Parris). They​​ work mostly as a team and being Mrs. Claus has been a great life experience.  Dale and Trish are both retired US Marines and he is retired from the US Federal Government as well.

Trish has worked in the local school system, volunteered at school and church, run a private business (or two) and assisted with multiple major “Santa” conventions as a volunteer, board member and co-director.  Retiring after 20 years in the Marine Corps has given her the opportunity to put her organizational skills to work doing what she loves.  She enjoys helping others in making the right choices for them in their portrayal of Mrs. Claus.  Her hobbies include traveling, grandkids, quilting, cooking and anything Christmas!

Trish's role as Co-Director will be using her expert organizational skills in planning & producing the Santa Family Reunion.  You will see her across all the platforms at the convention.  Trish will be assisted in her role by Rich & Debbie Donati.   

Paul and Cathy Davis have been blessed being Santa & Mrs. Claus for over 25 years. When not in the chair they enjoy participating in the lives of their 2 children, 5 grandchildren & 1 great grandchild, and proudly brag about all of their accomplishments. In their spare time they make time to travel. They love going to visit their best friends in Murrells Inlet SC, and cruising wherever the ships are sailing!​

Cathy and Paul's role at Santa Family Reunion:  will be to plan and organize the Special Events, such as our  Charity Auctions,  Stuff the Sleigh or other exciting ideas we may come up with! We are very pleased to have them aboard again this year to make things run smoothly for a successful charity fundraising  outcome.    

Jumbo Cletis Helsel is also from Michigan.   He has been Santa since 1983 when he took the rains over from his Dad.  "Yes, I'm a second generation Santa."  In 2008, Jumbo retired and became a Mall Santa.   He is  very active in the Santa Community and has attended several Santa Schools.  He also has attended all the Gatlinburg gatherings, Santa Claus, IN and Albion, NY.  Jumbo is the President of the Great Lakes Santas Inc. which is 501(c)3 nonprofit charity.  This special charity is all about helping children and their families at Christmas .  He also works hard raising donations for St. Clair County Child Abuse Prevention. 

We are delighted to have Jumbo as the team member in charge of the Vendor Showcase!

Jumbo's role at the Santa Family Reunion will be to assist during set up and take down of the vendor showcase, as well as be available during the hours of operation for any questions or help needed by exhibiting vendors. 

Charlie is a lifelong resident of the Mitten State (Michigan); except for a brief 20-year stint in the US Army; and has been portraying Santa for about 15+ years, doing home and corporate visits and events as well as one of the Santas on the Coopersville & Marne Railway Santa Train. He has been involved in community theatre for 20+ years as an actor, set builder, and operating the sound board for plays and musicals, which may explain why he's the AV tech for the Santa Family Reunion.

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Charlie's role at Santa Family Reunion is to coordinate with the other team members and keep our visual and audio needs running smoothly. Charlie will be assisted by: Michael Howe, Michael Beurer,  Bruce Norred, & Mel Rickard.  We are so grateful that Charlie has offered his time and talent to head this very important aspect of the convention.  

If ever there was a man born to be Santa Claus, it is Phillip L. Wenz. As a four-year-old child, he donned his first Santa outfit. By the time he was fourteen he was in his first parade and at the ripe old age of twenty-three, he became the year-round Santa Claus for the iconic Santa’s Village Theme Park in Dundee, Illinois. It is an association he has now had for over 35 years. He is the longest tenured Santa in the park’s 65 plus-year history and is one of the very few true full-time year around professional Santas in history. He appears in costume at the park and at special events over 200-plus days a year. He is also the author of the Santa Claus Oath.

Wenz has appeared in over 60 Christmas Parades including the nationally televised parades in Chicago, Illinois and Houston, Texas. He has been Santa on numerous TV shows, billboards, commercials, and magazine covers, along with appearing at some of the nation’s largest corporate and civic holiday events, including emceeing the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremonies in both Chicago and Houston. As Santa he has been given the title of "Chicago's Very Own" by WGN-TV, awarded the 1994 Brass Ring Award for Best Theme Park Commercial by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA), and received the "Hats Off 2 Houston" award from KPRC-TV in Houston. In 2012 he was presented the “Spirit of St. Nicholas” award from the St. Nicholas Institute in Detroit, Michigan.

In December 2010, Wenz was bestowed with the highest honor a Santa Claus can receive, enshrinement as a charter member into the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame in Santa Claus, Indiana. Of the original 14 honorees, including the first department store Santa and several men born in the 19th century, Wenz was the first living Santa to be inducted. He was also recognized by his peers from the Santa Claus Community in March 2013 by receiving the first ever “Legendary Santa Claus” award.