Santa made a special trip to the Dawson County Senior Center on Thursday to drop off a few presents and wish everyone a happy holiday.

"Merry Christmas, everybody, Merry Christmas," chuckled the Jolly Old Elf, more commonly known throughout the community as Pepper Pettit, a member of the Rotary Club of Dawson County.

For the eighth year, club members have shared the Christmas spirit with seniors at the center.

"It gives you such a warm feeling in your heart that really can leave you speechless," Pettit said. "You end up thinking about this for a long, long time after it's over with and the fact that you helped some people celebrate Christmas just makes you feel good."

Earlier this month, the 60-plus member club passed around Santa's hat and collected several hundred dollars to donate to the center. The funds were used to purchase gifts such as blankets, socks, candy and candles for the seniors.

Center director Dawn Pruitt said the donation couldn't have come at a better time.

"This year we were a little concerned because we've always had people come forward to help us with our Christmas party and sending out gifts to our homebound, but this year, we didn't have anybody come forward," she said.

"As usual, the Rotary Club stepped forward and came to our aid. We are so thankful that we have Santa Claus that comes to visit us every year. We can always count on Rotary to do something for us in a time of need."

The third grade at Robinson Elementary School also helped out this year by packing fruit bags for each of the center's homebound clients, who also received Christmas gifts.

"I think they all had a really, really good Christmas and with the funds that Rotary gave us and the students, we were able to have a good party and everybody got a present," Pruitt said.