PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- For the second year in a row, First Lady Michelle Obama took time from her schedule to deliver holiday cheer to children across America by personally answering phone calls on Santa's journey as part of the annual NORAD Tracks Santa program run by the North American Aerospace Defense Command.
Answering the telephone with, "Hello, this is First Lady Michelle Obama with NORAD Tracks Santa. How may I help you?", Mrs. Obama fielded calls from Hawaii to surprised children calling in to find out where Santa is on his trip around the world. Mrs. Obama answered children's questions about Santa's exact location using NORAD's global Santa Tracker and when he was expected to drop by their house. She assured the children that NORAD is tracking Santa's progress closely and that his journey was going well this Christmas Eve.
“It is wonderful to be part of this holiday tradition. I love answering calls from children who were anxious to learn where Santa was and when he would arrive at their home. I passed on to each child the current location of Santa and reminded them that he would come to their house only after they were in bed sleeping.”
The NORAD Tracks Santa program began in 1955 after a phone call was made to the Continental Air Defense Command Operations Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The call was from a local youngster who dialed a misprinted telephone number in a local newspaper advertisement. The commander on duty who answered the phone that night gave the youngster the information requested - the whereabouts of Santa. This began the tradition of tracking Santa, a tradition that was carried on by NORAD when it was formed in 1958.
The NORAD Tracks Santa program has grown immensely since first presented on the Internet in 1998. The website receives millions of unique visitors from hundreds of countries and territories around the world. In addition, a live Operations Center is occupied for 25 hours with more than 1,200 volunteers each year who receive hundreds of thousands of phone calls and emails from families around the world.