Polar Bear Plunge raises money for a good cause

  • Published
  • By Shawn Jacobs
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. --  At 11:30 a.m. Feb. 4, it was 34 degrees outside, with an icy rain falling.

So what would cause 16 officers, government civilians and contractors to jump into a nearly freezing Woods Reservoir?

"To raise money for a good cause," said 2nd Lt. Rachael Clark, who was one of the participants in the Arnold Air Force Base Company Grade Officers' Council's (CGOC) Polar Bear Plunge held at the beach near the Arnold Lakeside Center (ALC). Lieutenant Clark, who said she had never done anything similar to the plunge before, had not planned on participating until "somebody decided to put [pledge] $55 yesterday afternoon."

The Plunge raised $1,271 through donations and food sales, all of which will benefit events and charities on base or in the local area supported by the CGOC, according to 2nd Lt. Brad Chronister, the community service events organizer for the council.

"Last year we did the children's Christmas party," Lieutenant Chronister said. "We do ROTC tours for cadets coming into the base to get more knowledge of the Air Force. [We support] the quarterly and annual awards luncheons, that kind of thing."

He said the CGOC also helps fund deployed member care packages.

Lieutenant Chronister, who took the plunge himself, indicated he was happy with the participation and turnout for the event.

"We put the company grade officers up initially; they're the ones who were eligible, but we had a lot of field grade officers and civilians as well volunteer," he said. "They just wanted to be a part of it, so it's really drawn a lot of base interest and we're really happy about it.

"The highest individual total was in the name of Mr. [Roy] Babb. He made a deal with his office that he'd jump if they raised $100, so they raised $125."

First Lt. Alex Henning explained what motivated him to jump into the 40-degree water.

"Well, $50 to be honest," he said. "Enough money came under my name and I was obligated to either pay up or jump in, so I decided to jump in and just throw a little in on the side for a donation.

"[We had] a pretty good turnout and we got a lot of support from the base. That's the great thing here. People are always willing to donate, and the Top 4 [the top four ranks of noncommissioned officers], Junior Force Council and CGOC really do a good job of putting that money toward great causes in the community."

Harry Clark, a facility integration manager for information technology in XPR, said his motivation to participate was two-fold.

"First, I wanted to support the efforts of the Company Grade Officers, so I was happy to solicit my office mates to pony up to 'put me in the water,'" he said. "Second, I personally don't need a big excuse to go do something out in nature, even if jumping in Woods in February isn't what most folks would choose to do with their time."

Clark said he had never participated in a Polar Bear Plunge before but would gladly do it again.

"The water was cold, but not the coldest water I have ever voluntarily been in," he said. "I was glad to see that a couple of the CGOs got fired up and went in for a second round. They were the ones who truly 'got it.'"

Lieutenant Clark said the water was actually colder than she anticipated.

"Yes, super, super cold," she responded. "I can't feel my toes."

Lieutenant Chronister thanked everybody involved with the event for making it a success.

"The CGOs were good sports, leadership and ATA came out with some great volunteers and an overwhelming number of people were willing to donate as well as come out and watch," he said. "Hopefully, we can bring the event back next year. A costume contest is already being discussed due to some of the outfits."

In addition, Lieutenant Chronister thanked Outdoor Recreation for the use of the ALC facilities and the Arnold Fire Department for having an ambulance and emergency medical technicians on standby at the event.