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| Photos by Andrea Kramer |
| Boundary County Sheriff Dave Kramer poses for a picture with those who are the reason behind Saturday's Penguin Plunge, the Boundary County Special Olympic athletes, coaches and staff. |
While not all the figures have been formally put together as yet, this year's Bonners Ferry Distinguished Young Women took the Spirit Award and the Border Patrol Explorers won the Judge's Choice Award.
As always, this years Penguin Plunge was made possible thanks to the hard work and contributions of many in the community.
Again, the list is not yet complete, but thanks go out to the Helping Hands of Naples, who once again had hot food and filling baked goods for all who took the plunge, to Safeway and Super 1 for the food they served, and to Dennis Dinning, PepsiCo, who contributed ice cold and refreshing Pepsi products to further cool the swimmers who braved the balmy 30-something degree water on such a sweltering end of winter Boundary County, Idaho, day!
Those plungers were also particularly grateful to North Idaho Spas, who brought in and set up a most inviting hot tub to help them regain the feeling in frosty toes and fingers!
Thanks also goes out to Boundary County emergency service providers, from law enforcement officers who not only did so much to organize the event but were on hand to make sure the event was held safely, to firefighters and EMTs and Boundary Search and Dive Rescue personnel who stayed in and on the water to assist the day's most important contributors -- those who took the icy plunge to raise funds for Idaho Special Olympics and our local Special Olympics champions.
And a huge thanks to Boundary County Sheriff David Kramer, the driving force behind the local Penguin Plunge for more than two decades, and to his wife, Andrea, who once again captured all the action in the pictures gracing this page. You can see all of this year's Penguin Plunge photos on Facebook by clicking here, and you can relive Penguin Plunges of years past on her Flickr site.
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The dock at Boundary County Waterways was filled with people as the clock ticked to noon on a gray, cold, dismal Saturday and the first jumpers in the 2017 Bonners Ferry Penguin Plunge made their way bravely to the warm, soothing waters of the Kootenai River ... |
| ... all good so far ... |
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... OH NO, NO, NO! You said it wouldn't be THIS cold! |
| Rubber floaties ... that's the ticket ... |
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Nope, even the cheery giraffe is shivering! |
| The bigger pink flamingo didn't help much, either ... |
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... and pool noodles were no help at all. |
| But still, no one let the chill of the water detract from the spirit of the event, as this year's Penguin Plungers went in two-by-two ... |
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Head ... |
| ... over heels ... |
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... and even in the most graceful of swan dives. |
| And in the end, the style of the entrance made no difference at all ... that water was ice C-C-C-COLD! |
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Even a big, fancy gravity-inspired hair-do ... |
| ... was no match for the chill waters of the Kootenai River! |
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In the big picture, how one made their entrance added to the fun ... |
| ... and the spirit ... |
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... of the official rite to welcome
spring in Boundary County, the Bonners Ferry Special
Olympics Penguin Plunge. And the day just wouldn't be complete with the Princess of the Plunge, the inimitable Marciavee Cossette, who dressed in all her finery to make yet another chilly Penguin Plunge Saturday as a sprightly and vigorous 82-year-old, then got warmed up and celebrated her 83rd birthday on Sunday! |
| And speaking of warming up, the food prepared by the Helping Hands of Naples and the hot tub set up inside the waterways building were most appreciated! |
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