Sunday, February 24, 2008
BY SHARON ADARLO
Star-Ledger Staff

Minutes before the icy plunge yesterday, the massive crowd of swimmers was getting restless. They whooped. They hollered. They pumped their fists in the cold air.

Then on signal, they stampeded across the sand and leapt headlong into a wall of razor-cold water. And BRRRR, many ran back for a towel and clothes. Dressed in nothing but a pair of swim trunks for his swim at Seaside Heights, all that Eric Kish could muster was a teeth-chattering smile and, “It’s cold!”

Kish, 23, joined some 2,500 swimmers who braved the weather to take part in the 15th annual Polar Bear Plunge, benefiting New Jersey Special Olympic athletes such as Kish himself.

Wrapped in a large towel, the Spotswood resident, who has Down syndrome, posed for pictures and gave high-fives to people who recognized him from past Polar Bear events. Yesterday was his 11th plunge.

“It’s really good they come up and swim for the Special Olympics,” said his mother, Pam Kish, as she wiped his head and dried his red face. “They’re always supportive of Eric.”

The swim drew people from more than a dozen states and raked in about $800,000 for Special Olympics New Jersey, according to organizers.  The oldest swimmer was an 86-year-old man from Toms River, and the youngest was a 3-year-old boy from Maryland, organizers said. Also among the participants were many police officers from departments across the state.

“It floors me that so many officers of New Jersey have this passion and dedication,” said Andy Johnson, one of the organizers. “They love the athletes. It’s just amazing.”

So was the water temperature: a cool 38 to 39 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.The event hit close to home for Johnson, who has an autistic 5-year-old daughter, Alexis. She is part of the Special Olympics’ young athletes program, where children learn to use coordination and social skills.

“It’s easy for me to be passionate about it, but to see them out there — it floors me,” Andy Johnson said. Currently, there are around 16,000 athletes in the Special Olympics program with 20,000 volunteers. Athletes compete year-round in 23 different sports from baseball to tennis, according to organizers.

The annual icy plunge began when organizers thought the challenge would attract more people than a typical fundraiser, Johnson said. It started with 85 swimmers who raised $22,000 in the first year and took off from there.

Team Jager Bomber, a group made up of 20 police officers and firefighters in Union County, raised more than $5,000 this year, and organizers said they hope to draw more participants and raise more money next year.

“It’s a great way to do some charity,” said a shivering Dave Krill, a Union County sheriff’s officer.
It was also a good excuse to wear silly hats. Krill wore a horned Viking helmet because it seemed appropriate to the weather, said his pal, Sal Valentino, a Union Township police officer.

“We’re wacky, crazy guys,” Valentino said. “Vikings go with the cold.”

Other swimmers wore inflatable gear, floppy Lady Liberty visors and the odd intergalactic space helmet.

“We always do community service projects such as collecting canned food or Toys for Tots,” he said.

One of the biggest groups at the swim were the correction officers at the PBA Local No. 105, based at the East Jersey State Prison in the Avenel section of Woodbridge. About 200 people from the union took the plunge, said Chris Hoff, a senior corrections officer at the prison. They raised around $20,000.

It was a good cause, Hoff said. And maybe a way to test yourself.  “Pain is weakness leaving the body,” he said about his chilly swim.

It was wonderful seeing everyone during the weekend. It was incredible watching Sonny Wright, Joe Horton and Michelle Podesta, Beryl, Janek, Larry Neigut and several others transform pieces of wood and fiberglass into a perfect replica of a colonial viper from Battlestar Galactica.

All I can say is WOW. Great job guys at it brought a lot of fun to this year's Farpoint.

Beryl Washington provided her own special effects touch to FP with her red dress that she wore especially for a certain BG guest at the con but others got to see her in it to…or was she only in the heads of a few of us??? Hmmmm? Again…WOW!

Jeff, Laura Emily and I thanked everyone who came out to our Milk Shake Party on Saturday night which also served as a celebration for our daughter ship, the USS Britannic, who noted their 1 year commissioning anniversary.

The SF Region 7 meeting at 9am on Saturday was also interesting as due to necessary sound checks and technical issues we got shuffled from one side of the Valley Room to another and had to compete with some singing. I'm glad we didn't try to sing back and drown out our competition as that would not have been easy on the ears.  Then we moved over towards the Viper. We still got a lot accomplished. RC Joe presented the annual MSR awards and each of our regional staff members spoke about our respective departments.

As sector chief of NJ I was very pleased to present the list of community service projects that our chapters had done during the past year. We also got to hear from Capt. Judy of the Avenger and Adm. Mark Hanford of the ISS Lexington  speak about the plans their chapters have later in the year.

I plugged the NJ Sector Polar Bear Plunge coming up this Saturday involving members of the USS Challenger and the USS Avenger. This year's theme is comical Super Heroes with the likes of Soup Man, Bunny Man, Capt. CornFusion and USS Challenger Asst. Security Chief Col. Patrick Comune's alter ego has yet to be determined but it should prove to be interesting as we plunge into icy water in Seaside Heights NJ at 1 pm to help the cause of Special Olympics. Avenger member Patrick Barnes has made the costumes again this year so they should be very interesting to see. For those who wish to join us either in the plunge or to watch Pat, Patrick, David Singleton and I boldly plunge into the cold surf, let me know. After the plunge we'll be going out for a group lunch and later in the day for those who wish to stick around, Challenger will be hosting a game night at my place.

It was great to see our new Fleet Admiral Sal Lizard on Sunday. He was knocking at my room at 7:20 a.m. to say hi having been found by R7 Chief of Staff Capt. Wayne Augustson who was having an early breakfast in the hotel. Sal spoke with a number of SF attendees during the morning into the early afternoon.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying this convention, its guests and panels, and mingling. By early Sunday afternoon it looked like everyone was ready to head out early this year and thus we closed down the recruiting table around 2:30-3 p.m. Conversations lasted longer and included the usual parking lot chats so for Emily and I our real departure didn't occur until around 3:30 or so.

Adm. Bob Vosseller
R7 Recruiting Officer
R7 NJ Sector Chief
CO USS Challenger NCC-1676-D

Our "latinum celebration" will be held on October 11, 2008 at 7:00pm at the Sheraton Eatontown Hotel in Eatontown, New Jersey. Come join us as we celebrate 20 years of fun and fandom with folks from all across the region and beyond.

The cost for this event is $50.00 and includes a three course buffet dinner, coffee, tea and soft drinks. A cash bar will also be available. Entrees include Chicken Saltimbocca, Sliced Beef Sirloin and Vegetarian Lasagna. Assorted salads, side dishes and dessert will be served as well.

As a special added bonus, since there will not be a regional conference next year, the USS Challenger has secured the hotel's state-of-the-art Amphitheatre for a Region 7 Meeting at 1:00pm. Attendees of the party can use this opportunity to schmooze, catch up and discuss regional business in a comfortable face-to-face setting. However, no one will be allowed to take
advantage of this meeting without having registered for the dinner event and there will also be no "meeting-only" option offered.

The Sheraton Eatontown is convenient to the Garden State Parkway, the Jersey Shore and Interstate 195. The hotel offers amenities such as Free In-Room high speed internet, an indoor pool, exercise facility and two restaurants. If you wish to stay the night, the hotel is offering our attendees a special rate of $115.00 per room, per night.

To reserve a room, please call 732-542-6500 and ask for the USS Challenger rate. Rooms are available on a first come, first serve basis, so please be sure to reserve soon!

To register and pay online, please visit our Web site at http://20years.usschallenger.org/ or
http://www.usschallenger.org// and click on the "Event Registration" button on the left hand side of the page. We accept all major credit cards and personal checks through PayPal.

Registration ends on September 20, 2008 so make sure to get your registration in so that you may join us.

We look forward to seeing you join us for this special occasion. If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at xo@usschallenger.org.

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