Cherokee Santa Claus Will Be Inducted into Hall of Fame

Ball Ground resident Tim Cavender will be inducted into the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame in April.

The International Santa Claus Hall of Fame is the home of the celebration and study of famous Santa Clauses and Mrs. Clauses of the past and present.

Tim’s wife, Pam, submitted the nomination for his induction into the Hall of Fame. The International Santa Claus Hall of Fame exhibit is located inside the historic Santa’s Candy Castle in Santa Claus, Indiana.

This ongoing project preserves the historical documentation of the many men and women who have greatly contributed to the legend of Santa Claus. The International Santa Claus Hall of Fame is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the fourth century bishop known for his great deeds of generosity. He is the basis for the Santa Claus legend.

Cavender, a Santa Claus portrayer for over 40 years, is one of six in the world that will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015. The induction ceremony will be held at the Charles W. Howard Legendary Santa Claus Conference in Albion, New York, in April.

Howard established the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School which today is the oldest continuously-run Santa school in the world. He was also the Santa Claus for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City from 1948 to 1965.

Cavender and his wife, Pam, — who portrays Mrs. Claus — have appeared at the Georgia Governor’s mansion for the past six years during the lighting of the mansion’s Christmas tree.

“He (Tim) brings so much joy and delight to the thousands of children and their families,“ said Joy Forth, executive director of the Georgia Governor’s Mansion. “Tim looks just like the traditional Santa Claus and is so perfect to make photographs with the visitors to the Governor’s Mansion.”

Tim and Pam have used their Christmas personalities to assist many charities, including Toys for Tots, American Cancer Society’s Love Lights a Tree and WXIA’s annual Can-A Thon. They have also donated their time to visit patients at the Grady Hospital Burn Center.

When he’s not portraying Santa Claus, Cavender is the director of public affairs with Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services and is actively involved in the Ball Ground Historical Society, among other things.

One of the highlights of Tim’s career occurred in 2009. He and Mrs. Claus were able to make a little girl’s special Christmas wish come true. While visiting Santa in Ball Ground, she asked Santa to bring her daddy, who was a soldier, home from Afghanistan.

A few days later, Santa and Mrs. Claus delivered the dad to his little girl. The story was later picked up by CNN and was called “the story of the day.”

The initial selection process for the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame was developed by a legal firm in Des Moines, Iowa. Profiles of past and current Santas were given to a panel of columnist from news media outlets across the North American continent.

The Santa profiles included an overview of the Santa’s career and supporting documentation; no names, dates, country of origin or internet presence was included and no distinction between large cities or small villages was made. The candidates were held to a criteria including, over all career, service to their community or company, range of appearances, contribution to the Santa world, length of service, uniqueness of career, originality, and charity.

Some of the previous inductees to the Hall of Fame include Edmund Gwenn, who portrayed Santa in the 1947 motion picture called Miracle on 34th Street; and Mickey Rooney, who was the voice of Santa in the 1970 stop motion production of Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.

Photo credits: Tim Cavender