Duane Hicks
With the local Voyageur Lions Club’s annual “Polar Plunge” set for New Year’s Day on Sand Bay, organizers are looking forward to another successful fundraiser.
And with a couple days to go, they want those considering taking an icy dip in the name of a good cause that it’s not too late to collect pledges.
Club member Jim Martindale noted several groups have registered to jump, including the Fort Frances Aquanauts Swim Team, Muskie Sports Association, Fort Frances Special Olympics, Fort Frances Highlanders Pipe Band, Sunset Country Squash Club, and Dancemakers.
This is in addition to quite a few individuals, including Pastor Jacob Quast of the Church of the Lutheran Hour, Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty (who will be jumping once again for the Special Olympics), perennial costume prize-winner Maureen Hahkala, and Jillian Gustafson, who always manages to raise a $,1000-plus jumping for the Aquanauts.
Other “plungers” who have become familiar faces at the event will include Owen Johnston, as well as Martindale and fellow club members Bill Michl and Dale Gill.
Special guest jumper will be Lions District Governor Gary Hutchison from Vermilion Bay.
Lion Val Martindale added it truly will be an international affair this year, with representatives from Baudette, Mn. and a Fort High exchange student from China set to take the plunge.
Those interested can pick up pledge sheets at the Edward Jones office here or at La Place Rendez-Vous. Martindale said it’s not uncommon for people to decide at the last minute they want to take the plunge—perhaps as part of a New Year’s Eve dare.
“Lots of times we hear of people who come in [after] people have challenged them the night before. It seems every year there’s some [who] appear that way,” he noted, adding a minimum of $50 in pledges is needed to jump but all participants this year get a T-shirt.
There also will be prizes for the most money raised (for both individual and group), as well as for the best costumes (prizes for the latter are sponsored by Diana’s Needle Art).
While jumpers will go in the lake no matter how cold it is, organizers are expecting the weather to be well-suited for spectators.
“We’ve been looking ahead, and it looks like the warming trend we’ve seen after Christmas is going to hold,” noted Martindale.
“We don’t anticipate any problems with the ice,” he added. “We’re going to have more snow to snowblow, but we’ll be down there tomorrow and the next day to get it ready.”
As in past years, the “Polar Plunge” will start at 1 p.m. on Jan. 1 on Sand Bay behind the Rendez-Vous. Martindale added, however, that participants are encouraged to show up at 11 a.m. in order to turn in their pledges.
The “Polar Plunge” is a joint fundraiser which sees part of the proceeds go to various charities and non-profit groups and part to the Voyageur Lions, which, in turn, sponsors various community projects.
Between $13,000 and $14,000 was raised last year.
For more information, contact the Martindales (274-7829) or Michl (274-1329).
