26th Annual
Polar Bear
Plunge
A Sea of Blue
PBA members once again go deep for the Special Olympics
The view from the top of the Spicy
Cantina in Seaside Heights overlooked
a crowd of people that stretched as far
as the sea on Feb. 23. It’s a sight that NJ
State PBA President Pat Colligan and
Executive Vice President Marc Kovar
take in every February, when thousands
of PBA members gather for a common
mission, and one that always seems to
retain its shock value. Maybe it’s be-
cause though the cause is consistent,
the Seaside Heights Polar Bear Plunge
keeps on growing, and the energy is al-
ways electric.
Swarming the beach with PBA mem-
bers is something Colligan can remem-
ber doing long before he started serving
on the NJSPBA executive board. But
a lot has changed since the Franklin
Township Local 154 member first took
the icy dip. For one thing, the Polar Bear
Plunge used to be held in Point Pleas-
ant. And, there were far fewer people
involved.
“I probably did it five years,” recalled
Colligan as he stood on the balcony at
the Spicy Cantina, where he had just
presented the PBA’s annual Polar Bear
Plunge donation during Big Joe Henry’s
live radio broadcast on NJ 101.5. “It’s
something that everybody can enjoy
together. And the best part is, Special
Olympics athletes have no expenses be-
cause of it.”
When Colligan says that the Polar
Bear Plunge is something everyone
can enjoy, he means it. From a retired
Rahway Local 31 member whose years
of participation outnumber fingers to
count on, to rookies from Somerset
County Corrections Officers Local 177
experiencing the hype for the first time,
everyone is equal among the waves.
“Maybe you don’t come to every
meeting or PBA event,” Colligan recog-
nized. “This is where you see every cross
section of our union.”
It’s not just the attendance of PBA
Locals that increases each year but the
spirit that members bring to the event.
The streets of Seaside Heights were filled
with plenty of pride for law enforce-
ment and the Special Olympics of New
Jersey. Faces of Middlesex County Cor-
rections Officers Local 152 painted like
WWE wrestlers gathered on one side of
the boardwalk. Meanwhile, on the oth-
er end of Casino Pier, more than 1,000
State Corrections Local 105 members
from across the state once again cor-
ralled at the Sawmill Cafe, where plenty
of gear was available for purchase.
“It’s just amazing the creative ideas
that the guys and girls come up with,”
Kovar recognized. “The costumes, and
now we’re seeing more and more Locals
bringing their trailers — it’s like a big
family. It’s good to see that.”
Retired Long Beach Township Lo-
cal 373 member Kevin Lyons, who is
also a Special Olympics liaison for the
PBA, is another Polar Bear Plunge vet-
eran who has watched the fundraiser
develop into a spectacular event that
now raises more than $2 million for the
Special Olympics of New Jersey (SONJ).
The NJ State PBA once again helped the
26th annual Polar Bear Plunge reach its
fundraising goal by making a $25,000
donation to SONJ so that every Special
Olympics athlete in the state can partic-
ipate in games and sports without cost.
“It’s not a law enforcement thing to-
day,” Lyons said. “It’s about what law
enforcement does for the community.
It’s important that the [SONJ Law En-
forcement] Torch Run events continue
to grow.”
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ MARCH 2019 55