A Special Tree Lighting Tonight

The town dedicates this year’s event to the memory of the late Saugus Youth & Recreation Director Greg Nickolas

  In recent years, the town’s beloved Youth & Recreation Director Gregory Nickolas has been the main man, working behind the scenes on the logistics for the town’s annual tree lighting and festivities event. He would be seen milling around Saugus Center before and after the event, And part of his duties was to escort Santa Claus into Town Hall and up to the second floor auditorium, where the white bearded guest of honor would sit in a seat by a Christmas tree to pose for photos with young children.

  The town’s popular event was cancelled last year because of health concerns over the Coronavirus pandemic. Nickolas would have been coordinating the return of the event tonight, had he not died on Sept. 28 after battling the COVID-19 virus. He was 58 and just a month shy of completing his 17th year as the director of the town’s Youth & Recreation Department.

  But the town has decided that Nickolas will be part of this year’s event – at least in spirit. The tree lighting ceremony will be dedicated to his memory.

  The event gets underway at 5 p.m. today in front of Town Hall and will last through 8 p.m. Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree estimated that the Christmas tree lighting – one of the town’s most popular events of the year – draws in a crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 people on the first Friday of December. The program begins at 5 p.m., with a full two hours of family-oriented events – especially for kids.

  But the main event gets underway at 7 p.m., when Santa Claus arrives shortly after the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. Then he will spend all of 90 minutes – and maybe a little past the 8:30 p.m. closing time – to accommodate a long line of children and grown-ups who want to share a photo opportunity with him.

  This year’s program will be similar to in years past, modified by concerns of being safe from possible exposure to COVID-19. The entertainment includes sleigh rides, train rides, inflatables and a petting zoo. Those who go will also get to enjoy apple cider, hot cocoa, cookies and popcorn.

  WIN Waste Innovations is a sponsor of the tree lighting event. As part of that sponsorship, there will be complimentary pizza from Charlie’s Pizzeria. Also, WIN Waste has arranged for the 98.5 FM Street Team to appear and provide giveaways, etc., according to WIN spokesman Paul Halloran.

  “That the tree lighting is being dedicated to Greg Nickolas is especially meaningful for WIN, as we worked closely with Greg on the Saugus Speaks Out anti-drug initiative as well as, more recently, the Nesting Box Initiative that we implemented with Saugus Public Schools,” Halloran said.

  Town officials describe Nickolas as a “proud Saugonian,” a dedicated family man who loved his hometown, a passionate advocate for children, a huge booster of youth sports, a compassionate man who sought to save kids as well as adults from the perils of substance abuse and somebody with a huge heart and a strong faith.

  “Greg was one of the most selfless people I have ever known,” Former School Committee Chair Jeannie Meredith said in an interview earlier this year, reflecting on the life of “a dear friend” she’s known for more than three decades.

  “He dedicated his life to helping and saving our youth as well as any adult that needed his help. Greg was the true meaning of a ‘proud sachem’, he loved his town. He had many passions that he worked hard and fought for, including but not limited to, introducing town programs for our youth, Athletics, awareness and education to the major opioid crisis we all face,” said Meredith, who plans to spend tonight at the petting zoo that will be set up for children to get close to animals.

  “Greg Nickolas had a huge heart with a strong faith foundation. He was a huge asset to our town and Saugus suffers a terrible loss with his passing,” she said.

  Nickolas was a lifelong town resident and a 1981 Saugus High School graduate. Prior to his appointment to the youth director’s job, he worked six years as a case worker for Saugus Public Schools. In recent years, he joined the list of past and current town employees who served on the 50-member Town Meeting. In March of 2019, four Town Meeting members in Precinct 3 elected him to fill out the final nine months of Steven W. Murphy’s two-year term. Murphy’s seat became vacant when he decided to move away.

  In the town’s biennial election, two years ago, Nickolas ran and got elected to his Precinct 3 seat and was going to be on the ballot in this year’s election to seek another two-year term.

  Besides his wife, Deborah Mae Nickolas, who works as a senior clerk at Town Hall, Nickolas leaves a son, Mason, and a daughter, Jackie, and her fiancé, Corey Nugent.