Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas

Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas

FORBS Trademark - USPTO
Formation	January 1995
Type	501c7
Headquarters	Orange County, CA
Region served	National
Membership	850
Chairman	Ric Erwin
President	Bob Callahan
Website	forbsantas.com

The Fraternal Order of Real Bearded Santas (FORBS) is a professional fraternity (501c7) for all American men who perform as Santa Claus. Members must grow & maintain their own facial hair for that purpose, and agree to promote a positive image of Santa. The organization is a non-profit, mutual benefit, voting member corporation based in Orange County, California.^[1] It has members in nearly every state, with local & regional chapters^[2] meeting monthly for socializing, peer support & training. Membership dues are $25.00 per year.

FORBS has pioneered the most comprehensive professional benefits package in the Christmas Community—including in-depth background checks provided by the same company which serves the U.S. Departments of State & Defense, as well as the entertainment industry's first liability insurance policy to also defend performers against false allegations of abuse or molestation; protection ranges from $2,000,000 - $4,000,000 coverage per member.^[3]

History[]

In 1994, German catalog giant OTTO Versand landed supermodel Cindy Crawford for the cover of their Fall/Winter edition, and decided to celebrate with one of the most ambitious TV commercials of all time: the theme was to be "Thanks To Our Catalog, This Year Santa's Going To Need A LOT Of Help!"—and would feature not just one or two, but TEN Santas bustling up & down Paramount's Brownstone Street set, bumping into one another as they delivered armfuls of wrapped gifts & packages. The shoot lasted more than 12 hours, and between takes the Santas did what actors always do: they swapped war stories about their most- and least-favorite gigs! They had so much fun that they decided to get together to "do lunch"—after their upcoming Christmas Season ended, of course. They all met on the final Sunday in January, 1995 beneath the perpetually-snow-covered eaves of Clearman's Northwoods Inn (La Mirada, CA), and one of them suggested their group needed a name; remembering the casting call to which they had all responded ("Santa Wanted-- Must have own suit and REAL BEARD"), the commercial's lead actor, Santa Tom Hartsfield, suggested the rather whimsical "Amalgamated Order of Real Bearded Santas"; the name stuck instantly, and the luncheon was so much fun that they decided to meet again on the same Sunday the following year! This time, a couple of them thought to bring along a Santa buddy—and by the third year, there were over twenty of them around the table!^[4] This casual "lunch date" continued to grow & expand over the following decade, until there were 150 or more professional Santas & Mrs. Clauses gathering each January for what became known as the "Annual Santa Luncheon".^[5]

In 2003, with so many guests attending the event, FORBS Founder Tom Hartsfield reached out for help to perhaps the country's most famous Claus, Santa Tim Connaghan (the "Hollywood Parade Santa"). In response to guest inquiries regarding where to purchase quality suits and other accoutrements, Connaghan invited Adele's of Hollywood to display some of her famous Santa wear, which soon led to other vendors being invited; in an amazingly short period of time, an entire support industry sprang up to support the needs of a rapidly-growing Claus community: from custom costumers, to belt & boot makers, to reindeer ranchers.

In 2005, with so many guests travelling from around the country to attend the Sunday Luncheon, Connaghan began hosting a "Meet & Greet" on Saturday evening, and the following year some of their most experienced & expert Santas started offering formal training in the form of professional workshops & seminars during the day on Saturday—and so, of course, the "Vendor Faire" also became a 2-day event!

By 2008, the AORBS mailing list had grown to more than 800 devotees, and leaders decided the time had come to form a 501c7, so that they could begin offering tangible professional benefits to the nation's Christmas Corps. Their name was changed to the FRATERNAL Order of Real Bearded Santas, they began assessing annual dues, and a Board of Directors was formed consisting of five fiduciary officers (Chairman, President, Vice President, Secretary & Treasurer) along with one representative from each of eight Founding Chapters.

In 2009, with H1N1 threatening that year's Christmas Season, FORBS leaders struck a deal with the CDC to allow enough professional Santas to get early vaccinations that they were able to save nearly all major municipal & corporate events that year—not to mention countless smaller events & private parties, as well.^[6]

For nearly three decades, the organization has remained steadfast in its dedication to maintaining an unbroken historical thread all the way back to that original "casual lunch date"—to use their own vernacular, "We Pledge Allegiance To The Reunion Luncheon -- The Spring From Which Has Flowed The Entire, Modern Professional Santa World."

In 2019, FORBS celebrated its 25th Anniversary with their SILVER JUBILEE REUNION.^[7]

In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic raging worldwide, FORBS again petitioned the CDC for early vaccinations;^[8] Chairman Ric Erwin addressed the Advisory Committee for Immunization Procedures (ACIP) on Aug 26th,^[9] reminding them that Christmas would be America's only chance to end the Worst. Year. EVER on the best note possible. Simultaneously, FORBS also launched "Operation SANI-Claus",^[10] to provide members with free personal protective equipment, and to lead the industry in pioneering new & innovative methods to safely serve the public during the Holidays: some malls & shopping centers were encouraged to separate the guests from the performers using plexiglass shields, while others used chromakey technology to create the family's annual Santa picture by digitally uniting the performers with guests located in a separate location. One of the most popular solutions was the "Santa Snow Globe", a plastic dome which spared parents from explaining public health concerns to children by simply claiming that Santa had been trapped in a snow globe by an elf magician's accident!

With the pandemic unabated in January 2021, FORBS conducted the world's first "Virtual Santa Reunion", inviting the nation's largest schools & booking agencies to participate and demonstrate the techniques that had been used to keep the public and the Claus Community safe during the preceding Christmas Season.^[11]

Documentary films & television[]

The organization and its members are a popular recurring theme in the media:

• 2017 - Believe: The True Story of Real Bearded Santas - "A cinematic sleigh ride into the world of FORBS, the most exclusive & elite collection of Santas in the world."
• 2014 - I Am Santa Claus - A documentary of an entire year in the lives of five real-bearded professional Santa Clauses to find out what the rest of the year is like for a man who perpetually looks like Jolly Saint Nick, featuring wrestler Mick Foley
• 2011 - Becoming Santa - Hollywood producer Jack Sanderson documents his personal quest to become a professional Santa
• 2010 - The Mentalist: Jolly Red Elf - The largest paid gathering of Santa performers in history; CBI visits "Santa-palooza" to investigate the death of a professional Santa
• 2008 - Scenes From A Mall - Christmas episode of NPR's This American Life

References[]