Sandi and Mike Rogers are this year’s Olde Tyme Christmas Grand Marshals

This year’s Grand Marshals for Stockton’s Olde Tyme Christmas Parade are Sandi and Mike Rogers, two familiar faces in our community. When they were asked to be this year’s Grand Marshals Sandi said, “We were surprised and honored.”

Why they would be surprised is a surprise to anyone who knows them since they have been involved in so many organizations, are wonderful volunteers and are always involved in school and community projects.

Mike moved to Stockton in 1967 and worked for KDOT for more than fourteen years. He married Sandi on May 1st, 1976 and the two have been part of the community since that time, raising their six children: Phillip, Angie, Amber, Annie, Amanda and Alexa. While their children were in school they attended hundreds of sports games and school functions with Sandi an active member of the PTA.

As many people know by seeing her friendly face at the Stockton City Office, Sandi worked in the clerk’s office for over 20 years before retiring. Then she served as a city commissioner for three terms, and has been working at the Stockton Mealsite for the past nine years helping deliver meals.

Sandi was very active in the PRIDE organization and faithfully watered the Main Street flowers throughout the summer months. She has recently volunteered to serve on the Valley View/Stockton Housing Authority Board, and the two of them volunteer once a month as Nova Theatre managers. Together they rent out the “Little Red Schoolhouse” to hunters and people visiting Stockton for weddings, family reunions, etc.

Mike has been a member of the Stockton Lions Club for the past 47 years and everyone knows him as part of the Stockton football chain gang. Mike stood on the sidelines for 45 years in good and bad weather while making sure to jump out of the way when a tackle got a little too close for comfort!

Mike also served for sixteen years on the Stockton Fire Department and is now the Stockton Food Pantry’s vice president.

Of course everyone knows that Mike was one of Santa’s biggest helpers for many years, listening to all the girls and boys’ Christmas wishes at Olde Tyme Christmas, and taking the long list back to Santa each year. Mike enjoyed watching the kids grow up and stated he liked the times when it was cold and wintery the best since it set the right mood for the event.

When they are not volunteering, the two love to watch their seventeen grandchildren play sports. Mike also enjoys getting in some pinochle games in Woodston with the two of them also enjoying spending time at home. Mike stated, “I am getting more and more into cooking,” to which Sandi replied, “and I am working on retiring from cooking.”

Even though the two are “retired,” their volunteerism doesn’t go as unnoticed by the community as they seem to think. It is because of people like Sandi and Mike that our community thrives.