Published by CounciLINK on December 20, 2018
No doubt, many of us enjoy the Holiday Season and the joy it brings in terms of fellowship with family and friends through many ways of celebrating. But it’s the people who selflessly give back to the less fortunate who really put the heart in the holidays.
The Council’s Ron Pukacz is one of those special people.
Pukacz is a member of Baltimore’s Curtis Bay Athletic Association and, since 1960, the group has visited children and their families at various locations in the area to bring them a little holiday cheer. And guess who plays Santa Claus? You guessed it. Pukacz himself.
“It’s part of a remarkable time with these children because they tell you stories that you won’t believe unless you’re there by yourself,” said Pukacz, who has played St. Nick since 1977. “I mean, I hear stories (such as) ‘Get my father out of jail,’ ‘We can’t afford a tree so I’m going to draw a picture and tape it to the wall,’ ‘Santa Claus, do you have clothes for Christmas?’ So I get a lot of stories being Santa.”
Each year, the club – which has roughly 120 members – will hit several locations to see roughly 300 children at each stop. Every child gets a gift, a stocking, ice cream sodas, cake and other goodies. Every child also gets gloves and mittens.
Pukacz said the club also seeks out between six and nine families that are in dire need and donates food and a decorated Christmas tree – delivered, of course, on Christmas Eve.
“The most remarkable thing is that it’s sponsored by an athletic club in Baltimore that’s been in existence since 1938. And for the past 30 years, they’ve done everything they could to help the community, to give back,” said Pukacz, who has gone through five Santa uniforms and nine beards. “This is one of the last real athletic clubs where they play baseball, softball, football, basketball. So it’s a remarkable group of people who are involved with it.”
So how long will he keep playing Mr. Claus?
“I’ve got to do it forever because the story goes that whoever quits passes away the following year,” he said with a little bit of a North Pole chuckle. “That was part of the Santa clause in this contract.”
Pukacz brought his own special brand of joy and good tidings Wednesday to children at the Barbara Chambers Children’s Center in Washington, DC. Pukacz and the Council’s Vilma Williams, who brought her guitar, staged a singalong of Christmas songs for the children. No word on the whereabouts of Rudolph!
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In Janie’s prior role, she was the Vice President of Administration at Equal Justice Works, where she was responsible for leading human resources, financial operations, facilities management, and information technology. She was also accountable for developing and implementing Equal Justice Works Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy focused on attracting diverse, mission-oriented talent and creating an inclusive and equitable workplace environment. With more than fifteen years of private, federal, and not-for-profit experience, Janie is known for her intuitive skill in administration management, human resources management, designing and leading complex system change, diversity and inclusion, and social justice reform efforts.
Before joining Equal Justice Works, Janie was the Vice President of Human Resources and Chief Diversity Officer for Global Communities, where she was responsible for the design, implementation, and management of integrated HR and diversity strategies. Her work impacted employees in over twenty-two countries. She was responsible for the effective management of different cultural, legal, regulatory, and economic systems for both domestic and international employees. Prior to Global Communities, Janie enjoyed a ten-year career with the federal government. As a member of the Senior Executive Service, she held key strategic human resources positions with multiple cabinet-level agencies and served as an advisor and senior coach to leaders across the federal sector. In these roles, she received recognition from management, industry publications, peers, and staff for driving the creation and execution of programs that created an engaged and productive workforce.
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Janie received her M.A. in Organization Development from American University. She holds numerous professional development certificates in Human Capital Management and Change Management, including a Diversity and Inclusion in Human Resources certificate from Cornell University. She completed the year-long Maryland Equity and Inclusion Leadership Program sponsored by The Schaefer Center for Public Policy and The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights. She is a trained mediator and Certified Professional Coach. She is a graduate of Leadership America, former board chair of the NTL Institute and currently co-steward of the organization’s social justice community of practice, and a member of The Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally, Janie is the Board Chairperson for the Special Education Citizens Advisory Council for Prince Georges County where she is active in developing partnerships that facilitate discussion between parents, families, educators, community leaders, and the PG County school administration to enhance services for students with disabilities which is her passion. She and her husband Randolph reside in Fort Washington Maryland.
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