At a glance
The decoration, made of exterior plywood, is currently in front of the Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce building, 114 N. Main St. in Wellsville. Students in the college’s building construction program built the Santa Claus and students in the digital media and animation program painted it.
A 16-foot-tall Santa Claus decoration is making spirits bright on Wellsville’s Main Street this holiday season, thanks to some Alfred State students.
The decoration, made of exterior plywood, is currently in front of the Wellsville Area Chamber of Commerce building, 114 N. Main St. in Wellsville. Students in the college’s building construction program built the Santa Claus and students in the digital media and animation program painted it.
Joe Richardson, chair of the Building Trades Department, said the idea for the decoration came about through Alfred State President Dr. Skip Sullivan and Wellsville Mayor Judy Lynch discussing how the college could help out the village community.
“The mayor brought up the idea of recreating the Santa that was displayed in the late ‘50s, early ‘60s on Main Street,” Richardson said. “I have no idea what happened to the original, but we used an old newspaper photo to come up with the design.”
Richardson said the building construction students created a grid, laid out the outline for the decoration, and also painted some of the base color for the suit. His department then called on Digital Media and Animation Department Assistant Professor Constance Pennisi to see if she had any talented students who could add artistic details to the display.
“These students traveled from Alfred and over a four-day period provided the artistry to bring this to life,” Richardson said. “The students who worked on this were highly motivated to help out the community with this exciting project. I personally feel that the group did an amazing job, having started with almost no information other than the old photo.”
The project took about three-and-a-half weeks to complete, according to Richardson. Digital media and animation students involved in the project included Skyler Reisner, of Olean; Taylor Stevenson, of West Seneca; Alexis Parker, of Honeoye Falls; and Deanna Barber, of Rochester.
Building construction students involved in the endeavor were Brennan Zenoski, of Belmont; Robert Smith, of Bronx; Jacob Vannorman, of Mount Morris; John Sexton, of Sunnyside; Robert Walsh, of Wellsville; Brandon Whittle, of Tioga, PA; Sean Ryan, of Batavia; Courtney Yauchzee, of Le Roy; Ryan Williams, of New Baltimore; Chandler Winling, of Pavilion; Glenn Proctor, of Belfast; Autumn Wells, of Madrid; and Kevin Rogers, of Frewsburg.
Pictured are building construction students, along with Louis Zver, lecturer in the Building Trades Department (far right). From left to right are Brennan Zenoski, of Belmont; Robert Smith, of Bronx; Jacob Vannorman, of Mount Morris; John Sexton, of Sunnyside; Robert Walsh, of Wellsville; Brandon Whittle, of Tioga, PA; Sean Ryan, of Batavia; Courtney Yauchzee, of Le Roy; Ryan Williams, of New Baltimore; Chandler Winling, of Pavilion; Glenn Proctor, of Belfast; Autumn Wells, of Madrid; Kevin Rogers, of Frewsburg; and Zver.