For years now, the tag-teams of John Lochner and Tim Musselman, Jack Neal and Paul Mahoney, and Don Davies and Bill Linder have added entertainment value to the beloved holiday parade with their wit and friendly bantering. In fact, some of these men have worked as announcers for more years than the children in the parade have been alive.

All six announcers agree that the parade is really for the kids in the community, but as Musselman says, "It's also for the kids in all of us."

Musselman, 55, has lived in Los Gatos 30 years and worked the past couple of years as an announcer. This year, he will ride in the parade as president of the Lions Club before quickly dashing back to the announcers' booth.

Before Musselman makes it back to the booth, it will be up to his partner to hold down the fort near the town plaza, where the two men are stationed.

Lochner, treasurer of the Lions Club, has twice served as mayor and once as president of the Town of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce. Last year, he received a special plaque from the town council for serving as master of ceremonies of the tree-lighting celebration for more than three decades.

No stranger to public speaking, the 74-year-old says he feels comfortable with a microphone in hand.

"I've never been lost for words in my life. My wife will tell you that," he says.

Mahoney, 63, will join Neal on the second-floor balcony of the Eureka Federal building across from C.B. Hannegan's to host what he calls "one of the finest community events in the western United States." A resident of Los Gatos since 1976, Mahoney owns a printing business in Santa Clara.

Neal had spent nearly half of his 62 years living in Los Gatos before moving away about four months ago. He is a semiretired accountant who remains active in the Lions Club. Like the majority of the announcers, Neal has walked in the parade in years past—once in 1988 as president of the Lions Club and another time as president of the Los Gatos Christmas Foundation.

Between walking in the parade and announcing, Neal prefers the latter.

"I just have a lot of fun holding the mic," he says. "We try to banter back and forth, put a little humor into it, be a little jovial."

Stationed at the El Gato Penthouse is Davies, a town resident of nearly 40 years. Aside from working as a financial adviser for Wachovia, Davies' résumé reads in part like the other announcers. He, too, has served as president of the Chamber and of the Lions Club.

An announcer for the past decade, one of Davies' most memorable experiences was when a horse got a bit wild and headed for a crowd on the sidewalk about three years ago. The horse eventually settled down, leaving Davies and his partner to redirect people's attention to the rest of the parade.

One of Davies' favorite parade entrants features the Italian Gardeners' Association Cucuzza Squash Drill Team—men carrying large, homegrown squashes.

"They're good Italian boys out there," says the 67-year-old.

Another relatively new youngster to the team of announcers is Linder, who has held this post for four years. The average number of years served as announcers among this group of men is 10-plus years.

Linder, 60, has lived in Los Gatos since 1973 and works as a Realtor for Alain Pinel. The man whose favorite holiday movie is Miracle on 34th Street says he looks forward to watching the participants who perform flips on their bikes during the parade.

Along with the six announcers representing the Lions Club, Karen Neal and Leigh Weimers are scheduled to report on the parade for KCAT, community access Channel 15. The parade won't be aired live but will be shown one week later.