Santa is a Bisons fan?
Chris Pepple |
Look in the stands at most volleyball and basketball games and you’ll see Santa cheering for the Bisons. “He has been very supportive over the past several years,” says Brandon Rosenthal, head coach of the women’s volleyball team. “It’s been fun to have him around. It’s great to have such a loyal supporter.” And it’s true: when Paul Shoun (’64) comes to the games, it often looks like Santa is in the stands. Shoun has a natural white beard that looks exactly like the whiskers you would expect on good old Saint Nick.
Shoun has fun looking like Santa. He just started his fourth year of being the Santa for the Hickory Hollow mall. Shoun graduated from Lipscomb University in 1964 as a mathematics major. He then began a forty-year career with Genesco, Inc. “In 2002,” Shoun states, “I took a two-month leave of absence to see if I liked playing Santa in the mall. The next year, I retired from Genesco right before Santa season and have enjoyed being in the mall every Christmas.”
Playing Santa isn’t all fun and games. “I work 11 hours a day from mid-November through Christmas Eve. The only day I get off is Thanksgiving. I really don’t see my family for two months.”
On top of the long hours, Shoun hears many heartbreaking stories from children each year as Santa. “There are the kids whose parents are sick or gone. They want Santa to make things better. Every year I have a number of kids who ask for their Daddy to come home. I tell them I can’t make that happen, but I can pray about it.”
The funny stories come along with the job, too, though. Shoun remembers one little boy who was asking for quite a number of things, many of them large and expensive. As Santa, Shoun knew he couldn’t make a promise to bring everything on the list. He reminded the child that Santa could only pack so much in the sleigh and had to save room for other gifts for other children and that some things were very expensive to make. The boy’s response was, “Well, that’s OK. Papa has a credit card.”
Some children have seen Shoun from year to year at the mall. He remembers special children who come back often. Early in the season, the lines to see Santa aren’t lengthy. Shoun gets to visit longer with the children who swing through with their parents. He chats with a child with Down’s syndrome who looks forward to seeing him every year. One foster mother brings the children in her care through frequently. Twins who feared Santa came one year. Their father spent several hours around the mall talking to the boy and girl about happy holiday traditions. Before the day was over, both children put their fears aside and sat on Santa’s lap.
When it isn’t Santa season, Shoun is a true Bisons fan. “I joined the booster club when it started,” Shoun comments. “I love to come back and support Lipscomb this way. Basketball is my favorite sport to come back and watch, but I also really enjoy volleyball and softball. The women’s sports teams really appreciate their fans.”
The volleyball team showed up for a photo shoot with Santa to show their appreciation of his support. The team recently finished their regular season with a 6-3 conference record for the year. The Lady Bisons are the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament which is scheduled for Nov. 17 and Nov. 18 at Belmont University. The Lady Bisons will play Mercer, the No. 6 seed, in the opening round. The Lipscomb Lady Bisons volleyball team placed two players on the 2006 All-Atlantic Sun Conference First Team. Senior opposite Lindsey Rutherford from Hendersonville, Tenn., and senior libero Ann Mullins from Nashville were both voted to the squad by the conference coaches.
Lipscomb connections run in the Shoun family. Paul Shoun met his wife, Janet Loyd Shoun, on campus. She graduated from Lipscomb in 1966 after majoring in home economics and minoring in sociology. Their son, Jake Shoun, graduated from Lipscomb in 2000. He majored in Bible and now serves as a missionary in Honduras partially supported by the Secret Givers Foundation which exists to provide encouragement and assistance to the people of Honduras. Along with assistance from his father and sister, Jake Shoun started the foundation. His sister, Janel Shoun works at Lipscomb University as the Media Relations Manager for the Office of Communication and Creative Services.
Paul Shoun keeps Lipscomb close to his heart. When you see him coming, you know that Santa is a Bisons fan.
--Chris Pepple