A bald eagle soared over the Versailles State Park lake on Saturday, February 22, as the Dearborn County Water Rescue sawed through 9 inches of ice to make a hole for the brave participants in the 7th Annual Versailles Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics. This years Versailles Polar Plunge raised over $50,700 -- over $4000 more than last year, and had 188 plungers in the 50 degree weather. The 4th annual 5K walk/run with 66 walkers/runners, the first annual PeeWee Plunge (for ages 11 and under) with 6 plungers, a souvenir table, a food booth, and a gift basket raffle all contributed to the total amount raised. There was also a costume contest and the Cool School Challenge, in which area high schools are invited to compete against each other to raise the most money and/or to have the largest team. Five schools participated this year. There was a big party before and after the plunge, and good times were had by all. IPMG Case Manager Jeanette Mattingly was part of the 6-person committee in 2007 for the first year of the Versailles Polar Plunge. Back then, the team had no budget and had to get everything for the plunge donated. There were close to 25 plungers and a little under $18,000 was raised. Hats off to all the volunteers and supporters that have continued to make the Versailles Polar Plunge a huge success! Jeanette Mattingly is both an IPMG Case Manager and a Special Olympic bowling coach to several individuals with developmental disabilities. Jeanette will be coaching the bowling teams at the Summer Games in Terre Haute in June. She will be coaching the single and ramp bowlers from September - December. Jeanettes son is a Special Olympic athlete and also bowls on his high school bowling team. Matthew Menchhofer, whose Case Manager and Special Olympics coach is Jeanette, has plunged for the last three years. Matthew is looking forward to bowling in the Summer Games, and has also enjoyed participating in SO track and field and skiing. His dad, Owen, raised $2060 this year, and was awarded as the top fundraiser for the second year in a row. Owen has been plunging for five years now! Matthew is wearing an American Flag swimsuit, and Owen is wearing a sleeveless shirt in the pictures.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 14:30:01 +0000
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