“I cannot breathe,” Don Black, 33, of Lebanon said.
He was one of the first to exit the waste-deep water estimated to be between 40 and 50 degrees.
“That was awesome,” he said as he raced up the beach in a sleeveless shirt and shorts to find shelter from the cold air, which hovered around 36 degrees.
John Moore, 27, of Springboro was tipped over the edge from his wheelchair.
Laughing, the Kettering firefighter demanded to be dunked a second time by Wayne Twp. firefighters wearing cold water rescue suits.
“Just so I got the full effect,” he said. “It wasn’t near as bad as I thought. I’d like to make it an annual thing. It’s a good time.”
Organizer Paige Ludwig said the fundraiser brought in around $19,000 to support the more than 23,000 Special Olympics athletes in Ohio. This plunge was one of 11 held throughout Ohio.
“We’re overwhelmed by the support and the crowd,” she said.
Xenia residents Tim Brunsman, 48, and his son Dakota, 14, dressed up like jail birds and joined 40 other employees of the Lebanon Correctional Institution.
While he wished the hole had been a little deeper, he said the experience was a good one.
“It’s great team bonding,” he said. “It raises money for a great cause.”
Sporting his white naval uniform, Will Richmond, 28, of Middletown and his fellow Navy recruiters won the costume contest, by receiving the loudest cheers from the crowd.
Josh Burns, 30, of Maineville said he made a rookie mistake four years ago when he took the plunge wearing a fleece bunny suit that weighed him down and clung to his already freezing skin.
“You wear the least amount of clothing possible,” he said.
This year, he and his sister, Heather Burns, 33, dressed up as Tweedledee and Tweedledum and wore pants and long-sleeve shirts.
“I hate cold weather,” Heather Burns said before the event started. “Right now, I can’t feel my toes, so I am imagining how much worse it’s going to be.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5067 or lhilty@coxohio.com.
About the Author