Page 30 - January 2020 FOP Magazine

Erin Bauer, left, and her daughter, Grace, share a laugh with Santa during the visit to their home.
OPERATION SANTA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 29
A beautiful thing
Operation Santa begins each day with an 8 a.m. roll call, and as muster time approaches on Saturday, it’s clear that this is a classic operation. The only glitch in the plan comes when one of the key personnel runs a few minutes late, but there is no mis- sion without him. Finally, Santa Claus walks in, and the opera- tion can officially commence. Santa’s true identity is Mike Wolf, a retired Des Plaines officer who comes from Arizona every year. Usually, his wife, Shirley, a retired Area 4 detective, accompanies him as Mrs. Claus, but she was not able to attend this year.
The muster has been extended the past two years to bring families of officers who are currently deployed to see Santa at the districts (see story, page 36). And then, it’s time to go. Day one rounds this year were devoted to the northern families and emanated from the First District. Nearly 50 officers, CPMF staff- ers and assorted volunteers pile into patrol units and will soon realize what 17-year department veteran Brenda Valadez feels. She is also a Gold Star family member, having lost her brother Alejandro, whose family will be the second-to-last stop on day two.
“It’s a bittersweet day,” she confirms. “It’s a beautiful thing. It’s wonderful to see. But it’s sad knowing why we’re here.”
A state police detail shuts down highways and roads in the city and beyond to escort the caravan. But you can’t go without the gifts. And so the caravan stops at Macy’s on State and Ran- dolph to load up, many of them going into a vehicle adorned with antlers. This truck also shows the Operation Santa em- blem. It’s Santa’s sleigh.
You can get through it together
The first stop has been the first stop for the past 10 years, and it’s significant because of the operation traditions it beholds: a family that has been honored since the initial years, children who have grown up knowing their father only through his brothers and sisters who come every year, and the food.
Kathy Smetana, whose husband Myles was lost in 1999, in- vites everybody into the house her family moved to in Arling- ton Heights. She has a massive spread with hot food, subs and a bakery of sweets. It’s 10 a.m.
Kathy’s 24-year-old daughter Kaitlyn gushes about how much this day means to her mom because she loves to be the host. Kathy puts out the spread as a tribute to Myles and the depart- ment for what Operation Santa has done for her children. “It gives them their dad,” she proclaims.
Her youngest, Erin, is now 20 and a junior at the U of I. She shares memories of past operations, years when she would re- ceive board games and the arts and crafts she loved so much. “I was like ‘Bye, guys’ and went to all the toys,” Erin quips.
The Smetana kids present a perspective on how the Gary, Marmolejo, Jimenez and Bauer sons and daughters will en-
30 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JANUARY 2020
Katarina Perez, eldest daughter of fallen of- ficer Ben Perez, helps load gifts into Santa’s sleigh, which will de- liver them to homes the next two days.
dure. And how the CPMF inspires that. “It’s a great support system. Don’t be afraid to use it,” Erin ad- vises. “It’s hard at first, but as long as you have everyone
around you who’s there for you, you can get through it together.” Nothing is more evident than when Ebony, Julian and Ange- lina Jimenez see the gift cards Santa has delivered at the next stop. “Mom, can we go shopping?” they ask Crystal. Here is bit-
tersweet, with a heavy dose of sweet.
From the Jimenez house, the caravan makes a 15-minute run
to the home of Adam Wazny, who was shot and nearly bled out in September. Seeing the blue lights flashing compels people on the street to stop and wave at the motorcade. Perhaps they won- der who the dignitary is inside one of the cars. But the president never received a police escort like this in Chicago.
At Wazny’s house, somebody is missing. Adam is taking the sergeant’s exam on the day it is offered once every four years. Even Santa couldn’t change that schedule.
Annie Wazny wishes Adam could have been here because she says it’s support like this that has been so therapeutic for him in his recovery. She is moved to tears seeing Alex and Ava Wazny light up when receiving their gifts and wonders who will stay behind to help build “The Rise of Skywalker” Lego set. The op- eration has left her at a loss for words, but Annie admits, “We have this whole new family supporting us that we never knew we had.” Mission accomplished.
The next visit accentuates more of Operation Santa’s bril- liance. The daughter of Michael Gordon, who was killed when an unlicensed drunk driver ran a red light and barreled into his patrol car in 2004, was 1 when her dad was lost. Chicago Police Officers have helped her mom, Guin, raise Grace.
Guin calls it a celebration when she and Grace sit on the couch with Santa and update visitors about her life. She is 16 and about to take driver’s ed. “I don’t know how to put it into words, but it feels like they are honoring Dad,” she explains.
The last two stops of day one offer tribute to the dedication of Chicago Police Officers. Maria Morones is still recovering from being dragged by a car when pursuing a report of a man with a gun in September 2019. She has marveled at how every