The regional HQ location for Sector 4 was finalized today when a contract was signed for a facility in Milgro, Ecuador. It is the first time Ecuador will host North Pole Flight Command.

Milagro is a city of approximately 200,000 people, so it is a bit bigger than most remote locations that North Pole Flight Command looks for. Residing at sea level and positioned near the equator means elves coming from the North Pole can expect a green Christmas with warm temperatures. The name Milagro means “miracle”.

The selection is something of a surprise. Many felt this year the Caribbean would receive it’s first regional HQ assignment with so many island nations making the list of finalists.

“Selecting an island is almost always a challenge,” reported Elf Phineas King, a lead elf on the selection committee. “We require rock-steady power and Internet and that’s not always easy to secure on an island. It’s getting better and better with time but for this year we felt Milagro had just the right mix of amenities and seclusion needed to get the job done.”

This first and early announcement is also a surprise. It was felt that selections in Sectors 1 and 5 might come first because they had a broader pool of acceptable finalists.

“Milagro just fell into place in just the past couple of days.” Elf Phineas said. “The building became available, it requires almost no modification and we can begin work immediately. We feel this regional command center can be operational before Christmas in July and that would be a big bonus.”

North Pole Flight Command today announced the date is set for this year’s annual press conference to declare the recruiting goal of tracker elves for 2022. It will happen on Monday, July 11th at 12:00 pm EDT. The live press conference will be held at the North Pole Community Center and will be relayed via Kringle Radio.

The annual event has fallen during Christmas in July festivities every year since 2016.

Santa usually headlines this event to make the announcement. Last year he stunned both the media and observers with a goal of 200 million new elves. That was four times the previous high. That goal was famously met last December 23rd and Santa enjoyed setting a new all-time speed record, a milestone he credits the Tracker Elf program for achieving.

Speculation has already run rampant about this year’s goal. Some are predicting a number as lofty as half a billion total elves for the program.

Others are expecting something more modest. There has been a lot of chatter – leading to rumors and wild speculation – that the program is in trouble.

Elf Buck Sanchez, North Pole Flight Director, claims that would be news to him. “The Tracker Elf program has been a runaway success. Last year ended our five year test mark and Santa is making changes. This is normal for a test program. It’s no longer a test. It is a bonafide North Pole strategy, a legitimate tradition in its own right as part of Operation Merry Christmas. Santa is making it better.”

Even though the North Pole is hunkered down in an extended period of Toyvember already we are seeking bets at local sports books typically frequented by elves. Cookies by the millions are being bet that Santa will set an even high goal for tracker elves in 2022.