Rick Trehearne has been an anonymous Santa for thirteen years. Just before school breaks up for the Christmas holidays, he dons his white beard and padded red suit and mounts ... not a sleigh, but a motorbike. Then he visits each school in the Vernon District, spreading Christmas cheer.

As president of Santas Anonymous, a not-for-profit organization focused on helping the less fortunate, he began dressing as Santa for practical reasons. One snowy winter, Vernon Secondary School called to say they had a large donation that their students wanted to formally present at their final assembly. They'd seen Rick Trehearne riding his motorcylce on the Santas Anonymous annual Toy Run through town and asked him to ride his bike to collect it. To keep himself warm, he dressed in a Santa suit. Motorists honked their horns and waved. Once he realized they weren't honking at him for obstruction but because he made them feel good, he decided to visit every school in the district. He recalls one elderly lady shuffling along the sidewalk, her bent body screaming, "I hate getting old; I hate winter; I hate the snow," until she looked up and saw him. She straightened and waved, "Hi Santa!" "That was it; I was hooked from then on," he grins.

VSS still donates every year to the cause and Santa Trehearne still dons his suit to collect.

Vernon's Santas Anonymous started twenty years ago when a biker named Lyle Peterson volunteered his garage as a base for year-round toy collection in response to a mother's question, "What can I do with all the toys my children have outgrown?"

The Society did very well for several years. Then membership and interest dwindled. So founding member Judy Mallett and current Vice President Barbara Lall sent out a distress call in the Vernon Daily News. Rick Trehearne read it and decided to join. It wasn't long before he became President and, inevitably, Santa.

A funeral director in "real life," he finds great pleasure in his alter ego. And it shows. Trim, spry and brimming with energy, the 72-year-old looks more like Santa's elf than the robust man himself.

He was born in England but grew up in Vernon. At fourteen, he rode his first motorcycle and has hardly been off one since.

When he was eighteen, he spent two years riding a motorcycle with London's Metropolitan Police. Then he joined the Royal Air Force and served throughout the Mediterranean. As a member of the Military Police in Cyprus, there he was, once again, on a motorbike.

Back in Canada, he found work first as a private investigator and then as an apprentice embalmer. He practised in Edmonton, Lacombe and Chilliwack before returning to his roots in the Okanagan. He joined the Vernon Funeral Home in 1980 and still works with the company on a full-time basis.

The list of his volunteer activities has extended from president of the Red Cross Association to a director of the Vernon United Way to Sgt-at-Arms and Newsletter Editor for the local Wing of the Air Force Association. He also admits to a compulsion for donating blood and is a self-confessed workaholic.

However, when he talks of Santas Anonymous, he is quick to point out that he is only the front man for a team of dedicated volunteers. Barbara Lall organizes everything behind the scenes, from the day-to-day running of the office, workshop and outlet on 29th Street to coordinating "Santa's elves." These "elves" vary in age, gender and background. There's Ed, Guy, Ken, Marshall and Al who help every Tuesday throughout the year. Then there's one Dorothy who does the dolls and another who does the bags, Doris and Jen who do the books, Carolyn who collects them and Joan who makes baskets of goodies for the older children. There's Joyce, Carolyn, Cyrstal, Anne and Martin, Shirley who's been in the kitchen for years and Kelly and Vi who are newcomers. Then there are Maureen, Wendy and Angie who come in especially at Christmastime to help deliver, sort, restore and display gift items for babies and young people up to the age of twelve.

"Santa's workshop" in Vernon boasts a busy, productive atmosphere that is as happy as any at the North Pole. Anyone wishing to join in as a volunteer is always welcomed.

Rick Trehearne also pays tribute to the four hundred bikers who ride from Vernon to Lumby on the Annual Toy Run each September. The event is the biggest fund-raiser in Santas Anonymous' calendar. Bikers not only collect thousands of dollars worth of toys and games but donate cash as well. They come from all walks of life. "They just happen to ride motorbikes, love children and have generous hearts," says Trehearne.

Cans in local Vernon businesses collect money for the cause and barrels in stores collect toys and games. To maintain its high profile, Santa Trehearne rides in Vernon's Winter Carnival Parade every year, while volunteers roast marshmallows at the Downtown Christmas Light Up.

At their staff parties, many offices opt to donate children's gifts instead of exchanging presents with each other. "One small business donates about $500 worth of creative and educational toys every year," says Trehearne.

Now that the holiday season has begun, the 29th Street centre is open five days a week. Anyone in need can call 250 542 4448 to make an appointment to go in and choose Christmas gifts for their children, anonymously. Birthdays are catered for, all year round, as well.

Everyone in the joyful band of volunteers that make up Santas Anonymous is living proof that it isn't money, but the spirit of giving that makes the world go round.

As they say, "You just have to see children's faces light up and hear their squeals of delight, to know that it's all worthwhile."