Dave heads to the Duck Pond on the campus of Appalachian State University to interview post plunge participants as well as event coordinators and facilitators at the 2016 Polar Plunge to benefit the Watauga County Special Olympics.

Transcript

Dave: I'm going to the Polar Plunge, Wes!

Wes: Oh, Yeah the Polar Plunge?

Dave: I'm going to the Polar Plunge, Jim!

Jim: What happens at the Polar Plunge?

Dave: You get to push whoever you want in the pond. That’s not true.

Jim: Oh, it’s not?

Dave: Hey, Derek!

Derek: What's up?

Dave: I'm going to the Polar Plunge!

Derek: Nice!

Dave: Hey, Chris!

Chris: Ready!

Dave: My friend Chris from University Communications is coming to the Polar Plunge with me.

Chris: Going to the pond

Dave: *Singing* mer ner mer ner mer ner mer ner and I need to go to the pond, and I'm going to the pond right now.

(Dave by the Bell theme song plays)

Dave: So we've made the journey from Ucomm in Anne Belk Hall all the way over here to the duck pond for the 18th annual Polar Plunge.

Chris: I'm going to be up here.

Dave: All right that’s cool.

Dave: Has anybody jumped yet?

Voice 6: No. It's not starting till 4, so

Dave: It should be like any second now I guess.

Voice 6: Yep, 4'oclock exactly.

Dave: All right

Chris: It's pretty chilly

Dave: Huh, yeah it does look cold right?

Chris: You should go to the end of the dock over there

Dave: Where? Is there anybody there? What, right at the end of the dock? I'm not doing that. So it appears as though people are starting to jump. They are plunging in a polar fashion and the water temperature is 39 degrees.

Voice 7: Wesley, Wesley, Belly flop Wesley!

Dave: Hey, man! Were you the first one to jump?

Voice 8: First group over here, ROTC is always the first to jump.

Dave: Oh ok! Right on, ok cool. Well, how was it? Was it cold?

Voice 8: Oh not at all 39 degrees is ya know right above freezing.

Dave: Not too bad.

Voice 8: It does take your breath away. The entire time you're under water you don't even realize what’s going on.

Dave: Well was it fast or did it seem like it took a long time.

Voice 8: Uh, it was real fast but when you're under just time just didn't go.

Dave: Weird.

Voice 8: Yeah.

Dave: Hey man excuse me, How was it?

Voice 9: It was great. I got a good solid belly flop in.

Dave: Very good.

Voice 9: That took the shock away from the cold.

Dave: Yeah, were you one of the ones that came in over here?

Voice 9: Uh no I wasn't that’s actually our Commando Club that did that.

Dave: Oh ok cool well all right. Get dry, man.

Voice 9: All right, thank you.

Dave: Take it easy.

Dave: Hey how was it?

Voice 10: It's very cold but not as cold as last year definitely.

Dave: So this is your second year doing it?

Voice 10: This is my second year participating. I'm with WASU.

Dave: Ohhhhhhh right on. Ok cool. What’s WASU's part in the Polar Plunge?

Voice 10: Well we board-op. We broadcast live every single year. This is the first year staff members have gotten together to put in money for the Polar Plunge so we want to give back to the people who are here to watch or participate and also give back to the cause.

Dave: And what does it benefit?

Voice 10: It benefits the Watauga County Special Olympics.

Dave: Now I'm going to ask you a variety of trivia questions, I just want you to uh, nah I'm just kidding. Get dry. Get warm all right?

Voice 10: Thank you so much

Dave: Yeah absolutely, have a good day.

Chris: I have no desire to do that.

Dave: None what so ever.

Dave: You did the plunge? Obviously you did it. How was it?

Voice 11: It was so much colder than I thought.

Dave: It was colder than you thought? Or was it more fun than you thought it would be?

Voice 11: It was way more fun than I thought but definitely colder yeah.

Dave: Oh Okay. Cool all right. So uh did you do it just on your own or did you do it with a group?

Voice 11: I did it with my sorority.

Dave: Ok, What are you?

Voice 11: Kappa Delta

Dave: Is this the first time you have ever done it?

Voice 11: Yes. It is.

Dave: Would you do it again?

Voice 11: Yes of course!

Dave: Awesome all right thanks.

Dave: Here is another person that jumped. Hey excuse me was it cold?

Voice 12: Umm...Yeah.

Dave: Yeah yeah, are you one of these people who takes super cold showers so you like prepared for it?

Voice 12: No, Opposite of cold.

Dave: Well why did you do it? Did you do it by yourself or did you do it with a group?

Voice 12: Uh, the swim team did it together.

Dave: Oh ok well ya'll ought to be used to it right?

Voice 12: No! Our pool is like 79 or 80.

Dave: Nice

Voice 12: And this was…39?

Dave: Well all right, get warm.

Voice 12: Yeah. Thank you.

Dave: Hey excuse me how was it?

Voice 13: Oh it was good.

Dave: It was good? You enjoyed it?

Voice 13: Yes, I'm like tingling all over.

Dave: Hey excuse me how was it? How was your experience jumping?

Voice 14: It was cold.

Dave: Yeah it was cold all right that’s the general consensus I'm thinking.

Dave: Hey what’s up man, you did it right? You went for the plunge so uh did you enjoy yourself?

The Dark Knight: I caught the Joker

Dave: You are dressed as Batman. So did you do it by yourself or did you do it with a group?

DK: Did it with a friend.

Dave: Cool. All right. Is there any particular reason you chose to jump and is this the first time you've ever jumped?

DK: I was just getting coffee in the library and my friend was like "you wanna do it?" and I was like "yeah."

Dave: Just today you found out or?

DK: Yeah like 3:30

Dave: Oh, wow, man! How did you get a costume together so fast?

DK: ...It's not a costume. I am the batman.

Dave: Thanks man

Dave: Hey excuse me. Are you the Pepsi guy who plays a big part in this?

John Shaw: Yeah.

Dave: What’s your part in the Polar Plunge?

John: I go speak to different organizations and try to get them to come out. Mainly Greek Life but we worked with club council this year. They were a pretty big help too.

Dave: So you just try to rally people to the cause and get them to come out and participate?

John: Yeah they usually raise seven or eight thousand dollars or so.

Dave: Wow! So that’s probably a big help. It’s for the Special Olympics of Watauga right?

John: Yeah all of the money goes straight to the athletes.

Dave: Cool. So it helps them to be able to participate in the Special Olympics?

John: Yeah it goes for equipment, travel expenses and stuff like that.

Dave: If people want to help out with the Special Olympics after the Polar Plunge how do they do that?

John: The lady you need to talk to is Keron.

Dave: How do you get in touch with her?

John: Her office is at the Parks and Rec off of State Farm Rd. Or email her at keron.poteat@watgov.org.

Dave: Thanks man. I really appreciate it.

John: All right!

Dave: Hey Jason.

Jason: Hey man!

Dave: What’s up man?

Jason: Not much brother. What are you up to?

Dave: I’m doing a Dave by the Bell.

Jason: Awesome man!

Dave: So how do the App State Police participate in the Polar Plunge?

Jason: We take donations. We also had a couple of officers jump this year. Parker Huffman and Travis Osborne jumped for us this year.

Dave: Very cool! So have you ever jumped yourself?

Jason: I have not. I’ve been around for several years but I have not jumped myself.

Dave: There’s always next year dude.

Jason: That’s right!

Dave: We should just do it right now!

Jason: Well…let’s wait till it’s colder.

Dave: Oh yeah! It’s too…

Jason: It’s too nice for us to do this.

Dave: It’s too warm for us to do this!

Jason: Exactly. Not a challenge

Dave: Thirty-nine degrees? That’s just phoning it in practically.

Jason: Good to see you Dave.

Dave: Good to see you too. Thanks man.

Chris: Are you getting anything good?

Dave: (nods head with confidence)

Chris: Gold.

Dave: I think everybody jumped that was going to jump. What did you think of it, Chris?

Chris: It was great a lot of support out there. I’m sure they made a lot of money. And there are a lot of cold people.

Dave: So you didn’t jump this year but do you think you might jump next year?

Chris: Yeah. I’m definitely going to jump last year for sure.

Dave: Ha-ha The eighteenth annual Polar Plunge. It raises money for a great cause and you can find more information online if you want to get involved in Special Olympics Watauga County then you need to talk to Keron Poteat and she works for Watauga County Parks and Rec. I’ll put her contact info in the notes of this podcast. Have a great day! I’m Dave Blanks and this has been Dave by the Bell!

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Special Olympics Unoffical* Plunge Results for 2016

• Corporate Sponsors: $5,000 (Smart Products)
• “Plunger Donations”: $2,253
• ASU ROTC: $1,520
• Roachel’s Class (BBQ): March 22
• Total: $8,773 ($7,310 last year)
• Total “Plungers”: 156 (162 in 2015)

Most Extreme Costume Winners

• Female: Danielle Davis “Tigger”
• Male: Ian Black “Mr. Princess”

Top Fundraising Groups

1. ASU ROTC

Top Fundraising Individual

1. Roachel Laney
2. Jake Harkey
3. Paul Krause

Gift Certificate Donations: Stick Boy Bread Company, Red Onion Cafe, Melanie’s

*Unofficial reporting becuase does not include the BBQ fundraising which was postponed from 2/16.

Polar Plunge nets more than $8K for Watauga County Special Olympics

Feb. 19, 2016

While the water temperature was 39 degrees, Mother Nature provided more favorable conditions for the 18th Annual Polar Plunge at Appalachian State University.

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Special Olympics

Special Olympics is a global movement of people creating a new world of inclusion and community, where every single person is accepted and welcomed, regardless of ability or disability. We are helping to make the world a better, healthier and more joyful place—one athlete, one volunteer, one family member at a time.

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About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.