by Katie Hightower
Raymond Brandon is well-known for his role as Jackson County’s Santa Claus. For over 30 years, Brandon has served families of Jackson County as Santa. Brandon said he was working to retire from the role this year, but plans to continue being Santa for families he served in the past until the children are grown. He believes in serving his community to the fullest.
While his Santa duties slowed down, Brandon stayed busy. He is a veteran first and he lives to serve his fellow soldiers and their families. Helping his brethren gives Brandon the most satisfaction in life. That thirst to help was what got Brandon involved with the VFW. He found working together with other veterans made a huge impact on his brothers and sisters who serve.
One of Brandon’s first veterans projects involved helping Desert Storm soldiers feel welcome when they came home. Brandon and other veterans teamed together to arrange a Welcome Home parade for the young men and women being escorted home. With their hard work, entire communities lined the streets with flags and signs and cheered for the veterans as they were escorted to their destination.
“When we came home from Vietnam, they wouldn’t let us wear uniforms home because of the feelings people had towards the Vietnam Veterans. So we promised ourselves that would never happen again,” Brandon said.
Brandon made sure to always lend his ear and his heart to veterans who needed someone to talk to and pray with. One instance has a special place in Brandon’s memory and heart. He received a call about a young suicidal man and was asked to assist with the situation. Brandon said when he arrived at the man’s home, the man showed a lot of agitation. After talking with him, Brandon learned the man was dealing with a lot of relationship stress and issues with transportation. Within two hours of talking together and praying together, the man calmed down and a network of other fellow veterans helped arrange for a team of mechanics to come and repair his means of transportation. The man ended up going home to his mother and getting the help he needed thanks to the help of veterans like Brandon.
Brandon not only helped veterans with emotional needs. He teamed up with other veterans and together, they used their muscles and poured their sweat into manual labor to build ramps for their brethren who needed wheelchair access. He recounted a story where one disabled veteran was so happy to just have the opportunity to be outside, that he spent the rest of the afternoon outdoors on his electric wheelchair. The joy of giving back and being able to assist veterans drove Brandon to continue his passion helping his fellow vets.
While Brandon’s hard work saved the lives of veterans contemplating suicide and improved the lives of disabled vets, his help extended even further to the families of veterans experiencing loss. As state chaplain for the VFW and his involvement with the state color guard, Brandon helps with many veterans’ funerals each month. Brandon sees helping with the funerals as an opportunity to help comfort families going through the grieving process.
Honoring the fallen through remembrance is extremely important to Brandon. Brandon gave tours of the Veterans Memorial on Heroes Drive to students. He has been active in Memorial Day ceremonies with his presentation of the POW memorial table. Each year on Christmas Eve, Brandon takes time to visit the memorial to remember his brethren.
As Santa, Brandon spent a lot of time with active duty families. He saw tearful moments of absolute heartache as well as moments of pure joy.
“When a little girl crawled onto my lap and said, ‘I just want my daddy to come back,’ Santa lost it,” he said.
Brandon’s most joyful moment as Santa was when he surprised a mother with her active-duty son’s return at a Christmas party.
“Even now when I see her, she says, ‘I believe,’” he said.
Brandon enjoyed his time as Santa, but he said it is time for him to pass the torch on to the next generation.
“I have too many irons in the fire and too much going on. I’d like to take some time to enjoy my grandkids during the holidays,” he said.
To say Santa earned his retirement would be an understatement. Jackson County’s Santa Claus achieved the work of many lifetimes and touched the hearts of all who believe.
