A plan for the perfect plunge
Plainsboro Local 319 has crafted a blueprint of sorts for any
Locals that want to maximize the plunge experience.
Step one is to procure a vehicle to transport the members.
“This is our second year with an RV, so we’re getting more and
more people to come,” explained Local 319 Plunge Coordinator
Tom Newbon, whose group totaled 25 this year.
Step two is to park the RV on site the night before. Step three
is for the chefs to be up and running by 8 a.m. to get the grill
working.
Step 4 is to make sure one member of the group is plunging for
the first time. “I’m not going to lie; this is the first year I have been
able to go in the ocean and I lucked out,” commented Newbon,
referring to the “warm” weather that accompanied this year’s
event.
It helps to have a special guest. Newbon’s cousin, Don, a Navy
MP, hung out with Local 319.
And to top it all off, something to make plunging personal can
be the great
motivator to
brave the At-
lantic.
“In Plains-
b o r o / We s t
Windsor,
we had a
guy
whose
daughter
competed in the Special Olympics,” Newbon shared. “I have a
daughter with autism, and I have put medals on the athletes. It’s
a great thing. It’s about the kids, doing something for them and
knowing how much is going toward them. It’s about seeing their
face and how happy they are when they win.”
And don’t forget it’s all about raising funds. “We were just shy of
$4,000 this year,” Newbon reported. d
The chill of dedication
Among the estimated 6,700 participants in the Seaside Heights
Polar Bear Plunge, there’s one plunger in particular who proves
his commitment to the event each year by returning to the frigid
waters even after the low temperatures sent him to the hospital
three years ago. Brian McMenemy, of Monmouth County Correc-
tions Local 240 proves that there is nothing that can hold him
back from participating in the Polar Bear Plunge…not even a lit-
tle hypothermia.
“It’s just a great time. The brotherhood is here and it’s for a
great cause,” explained McMenemy who once spent three days
in the hospital after jumping in the 32-degree Atlantic with an
outside temperature that barely reached 20 degrees.
The other 23 Monmouth County Corrections members taking
the plunge this year agreed that the energy of the event and the
meaning behind the plunge is just too good to pass up. The Local
raised $3,600 for the cause through selling PBA T-shirts, which
many of the members wore on the boardwalk before plunge time.
Local 240 member John Quick described the rush that keeps him
coming back–now for the third time–to jump in the ocean in sup-
port of the Special Olympics.
“It’s an adrenaline rush,” shared Quick. “You’re lining up, you’re
hearing the national anthem, the helicopters are up in the air, the
dive boats are in the water...it’s just incredible.”
For Local 240, it’s all about doing something crazy to bring at-
tention to an important cause. Each year the Monmouth County
Corrections Plunge team grows, despite the cold and the slight
chance of hypothermia.
“My favorite thing is the camaraderie (of ) coming together for
one common cause and it’s all getting in the water to bring at-
tention to the Special Olympics of New Jersey,” Quick confirmed.
“It’s an infectious environment that continues to grow.” d
Streaking
For the 25th annual Polar Bear Plunge in 2018, perhaps Special
Olympics New Jersey should award “Silver Plunge Cards.”
One would most certainly go to Northern Valley Local 233.
Maybe a few.
Closter Chief and Local 233 Member Dennis Kaine plunged for
the 24th consecutive year in 2017. He saw notice of the plunge
on the PBA website that first year, and joined with members of
Bergen County Prosecutors Office Local 221.
Retired State Delegate Mike Graham dug up a picture from his
first plunge in 1998 and celebrated his 20th go-round in 2017. Lo-
cal 233 President Reginald Parsells promises he will keep plung-
ing until he hits at least 20 years and hopefully 25. This year was
his 12th consecutive.
“We do the plunge. We do the Torch Run. We do whatever we
can do to help out,” said Parsells, whose Local also orchestrates
the vaunted Bergen County PBA Toy Drive at Christmastime.
“We’re all in for Special Olympics.”
Local 233 does everything in style, including the plunge. Their
group of 25 dressed up in Santa costumes for this year’s event. In
the past, the Local 233 contingent has dressed up as wrestlers,
Batmans & Robins and Mardi Gras–goers. In 2016, the members
plunged as the dodgeball team from Dodgeball: A True Underdog
Story.
“We find whatever costumes are on sale,” Graham joked.
Following Chief Kaine’s lead, Local 233 has developed a stan-
dard it follows every year no matter what the members are wear-
ing.
“Our rule is, you jump in, you got to get your hair wet,” Parsells
asserted. “You have to go all the way in.”d
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ MARCH 2017 45