Plunge
Annual Polar
5th Annual
2 25th
Polar Bear
Bear Plu
nge
Elizabeth Local doesn’t forget its first-timer
Even after 25 years, the Polar Bear
Plunge can still serve up classic moments.
Elizabeth Local 4 offered one of those oc-
casions when member Carrie Scharpnick
joined its plunge pack for the first time.
Scharpnick became the first female Lo-
cal 4 member to participate in the event.
What convinced her to come out is pretty
much what gets all law enforcement offi-
cers to plunge for the first time.
“All my boys,” Scharpnick quipped.
“They said it’s an awesome time.”
Actually, Local 4 has seen its plunge
participation grow in a progression that
has become a familiar way within the
PBA. The Local starts with the Torch Run,
and also hits the Special Olympics Plane
Pull. And with the Polar Bear Plunge, it’s
become a circuit.
All roads apparently lead to a specific
goal.
“For these amazing children and the
men and women and the Special Olym-
pics, and to raise money for them so they
can go out there and kick butt in the Spe-
cial Olympics,” proclaimed Local 4 mem-
ber Sean Campbell, who did the plunge
for the sixth time this year. “What better
way to spend a really cold February after-
noon than to be here raising money for
these awesome kids?”
When it’s your first time, the cause is
cause enough to look past what’s wait-
ing in the ocean. While preparing for the
plunging hour to approach, Scharpnick
envisioned what it was going to be like.
“I know it’s going to be like jumping
into a bucket of ice,” she anticipated. “It
will bring back the high school days and
the injuries and the training rooms.”
Scharpnick also anticipated why she
wanted to cross this off her bucket list.
“Today is just gratifying, absolute-
ly amazing to come together for a great
cause,” she added. “I wish we could do
more of these.” d
Cold play all worth it for
Passaic County Prosecutors Local
A seminal moment for Passaic County Prosecutors Office Lo-
cal 265 members occurred on the beach. After taking the plunge.
When law enforcement officers have displayed their tough-
ness and their parts begin to thaw out, a sobering but reassuring
feeling sets in. Polar Bear Plunge participants call this the “It’s all
worth it” feeling.
“You don’t feel it at first; you feel it a few minutes after,” Local
265 Financial Secretary Danielle D’Annible explained. “You go
in, you come back out, and that’s when it gets cold. But you look
around, and that’s when you know it’s for a good cause.”
Amidst the sea of people on the shore in various states of
“freezin’ for a reason,” the law enforcement officers emerged.
D’Annible noticed the PBA Local logos abounding, and that
promoted a warm feeling.
“It’s a cold moment,” she continued, “but when you look
around and see the solidarity – all the PBAs and the families of
the kids that are part of the Special Olympics – it’s a great feeling
to know that we are doing something to raise awareness and
raise money for them.”
Ten Local 265 members took the plunge this year, with an-
other five members also coming to Seaside Heights as the sup-
port team. With family and friends, Local 265 generated a tail-
gate-like atmosphere under its tent on Franklin Avenue, a few
blocks from the beach.
It was the third year the Local brought a team to the event, and
D’Annible, who jumped in for her second consecutive plunge,
related that it’s not hard to get members to want to be there.
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NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2018
“Just because it’s a great cause,” she added. “It’s near and dear
to the State PBA’s heart, so we’re trying to get on board and get
some fundraising together.”
As the numbness wears off and feeling comes back to the legs
and feet, PBA members realize why they came all this way and
went to the extreme of splashing into ocean water at near-freez-
ing temperature. It’s a simple formula, really.
“Great cause, great people, good work,” D’Annible empha-
sized. “It’s an awesome day.” d