Santa Rick
Conway man fills role of jolly old elf
When kids ask Rick Sublett, aka Santa Rick, if he’s real, he has a standard answer.
“I hold my fingers out and let them squeeze them, and I say, ‘What do you think?’”
The Conway man really is Santa, at least part of the year. By Monday — Christmas Day — he will have participated in 50 events this year.
Sublett became Santa about 10 years ago, he said, using a fake beard for a couple of years before sprouting his own.
He is bona fide — he is a graduate of the International University of Santa Claus in Branson, Missouri.
He learned about the business side of being Santa, as well as Santa Claus history. Newbies had to learn how to ho, ho, ho.
“I had that down before I got there,” Sublett said.
This month alone, he’s attended 30 events.
“It’s the hardest work you’ll ever do sitting down,” Sublett said.
Santa Rick has participated in the Greenbrier Christmas Parade for two years and led the 17th annual Conway Regional Toy Drive this month, his second time to do so.
Sublett said he and Buddy the Elf, aka Bill Helton, ride in a sleigh pulled on a
trailer. They wave to people as they make their way with a parade of bikers from Toad Suck Harley Davidson to Conway Regional Medical Center. It’s a sight to see.
“It’s a shock to people on the road,” Sublett said.
He said 615 toys were collected for the hospital this year, which makes Santa Rick and the kids happy.
“I haven’t had any sad requests this year,” he said. “I have had a lot of kids ask that they just want their family to be together. The rest want drones, hoverboards and iPhones. Drones are a big deal now.”
Sublett said he used his magic to breathe life into the Kiwanis Club’s Pancake Days, held the weekend before Thanksgiving.
He said about five years ago, it was “kind of a dying event.”
Then members started Breakfast With Santa, who was Sublett.
“We had maybe 500 people come through the door, which was an improvement. It progressed to this year, we had 1,400 come through the door,” Sublett said.
He also enjoys attending Christmas gatherings for an association of parents who have children with Down syndrome.
“I get to visit with those kids and read a story. They’re special; they love Santa. It’s good to work with them, and they can be in an environment where they’re comfortable,” he said.
“Home visits are my favorite,” Sublett said. “I go in, and I’ll greet the kids and sit them down, and we’ll read a story.
The Night Before Christmas or How the Grinch Stole Christmas is popular with the kids. I’ve done everything on home visits from decorating cookies to reading stories, typical things like that.”
He poses for pictures, listens to requests and passes out gifts. Sublett said he tells children that the elves tell him the sleigh is getting too full, and they want him to send out a few gifts early.
“I have a lot of repeat customers over the years that have built up, that I’ve been to their houses multiple times,” Sublett said.
Dr. Steve Magie of Conway said Sublett has come more than once to his family’s Christmas get-togethers, including this year.
“He’s the real deal. He is Santa Claus; I’m telling you,” Magie said. “It’s his way of giving back to others during this season; he does it out of the goodness of his heart. He always comes in and reads a Christmas story, like The Night Before Christmas. The kids, they all gather around. You can just tell by the looks on their faces that he’s the real deal, not only their faces but the faces of all the adults there. He’s a real blessing during the holiday season.”
Sublett will make an appearance at a large family gathering at midnight tonight.
“Big families are fun,” he said. Sometimes the families have Santa Rick give out presents of new pajamas; then the kids change and come back for a picture.
“Everybody’s got their own tradition about it.”
He said his visits add a “little bit more magic to Christmas,” and that’s what it’s all about.
Sublett has a Facebook page and a website, hedoesexist.com.
One weekend this month, he made an appearance at Ace Hardware locations in Morrilton and Conway with a live reindeer.
“I did four hours in Morrilton and four hours in Conway, and there’s no telling how many kids. It was incredible,” he said.
Sublett said he donates his time to Community Connections, a nonprofit organization for children with special needs, as well as the Arkansas Down Syndrome Association and other groups.
It’s not just children who love Santa.
Stephanie Chunn, activities director for The Manor assistedliving community in Little Rock, said Sublett came for Cookies With Santa this year, and last year, he attended the Christmas party.
“He was just so great. It’s almost like the thrill of it brings them back to their childhood,” she said.
“It allows them to reminisce on what they used to do on Christmas and how they loved Santa. The old and young do love Santa,” Chunn said.
“I get to be a rock star for about 30 days,” Sublett said. “Then I go back to being an old fat man with a beard for 11 months.”