Walden - As if the whole idea of a plunge into a hole made in the icy lake at James Olley Park wasn't enough to be terrifying, a speech at the beginning of the event by the Village of Walden Rescue Team's warning of the real danger of hypothermia and how to stay alive up to his neck in the ice water, how to breathe during it and extend an arm for Rescue Assistance if needed, Maher, a Navy Veteran. slipped into the frigid water up to his neck, and when he hoisted himself up back onto the surrounding ice he did a few manly pushups to the crowd's delight. How cool is that ? (sic).
A couple of good push-ups to ratchet up that blood flow
A successful mission completed!
Walden Community Celebrates their latest fundraising feat.
This was all arranged for the sake of the local "Operation Dalmation", a Community Non-Profit created to make sure that there are thousands of extra toys to keep local kids' Holiday Seasons Merry & Bright, plus any urgent supplies for families. The organization was founded in 1999 and is a community-wide effort by local businesses, schools, churches and the Walden Fire Department which distributes the gifts at Christmas. With the exception of 2020 COVID when gifts had to be picked up at the Firehouse, the Walden Fire Department has delivered them each year on their own donated time.
Assemblyman Maher said, "The Operation Dalmatian team was able to assist more than 1,000 local children this Holiday Season with groceries, household necessities and Christmas gifts. Thank you to Dickie Baxter for challenging me to attempt the polar plunge if our community raised $5000 to support the cause. We raised $6500! So I guess it was my turn to honor the deal with a polar plunge at the Walden Beach. There are so many people to thank and it was amazing to present so many certificates of merit on behalf of the NYS Assembly. Special shout out to Chris Miller for his support of the committee and effort to make this happen. Thank you to the Walden Fire Department and their Ice Water Rescue Team led by George Brown and Kristie Hall for being in the water!
A very cool addition to have Mayor of Walden John Ramos join me! That took some guts and it didn’t look fun for him."
To make the challenge even more fun since the challenge was to reach $5,000, a goal they far exceeded, to make Maher take the dip. This year the challenge was buoyed by some pressure for Maher to do the plunge in a "Speedo". He passed on the option and while opting for the safety of a wetsuit said he will consider it for a future event, but the idea kept the donation story lively. As the Holiday Season approaches Operation Dalmation Organization's Facebook Page gets very busy and includes full instructions on how to contribute, both to their GoFundMe Page and to bring actual gifts to the Walden Firehouse and Walden Baptist Church So check it out when you get a chance, along with Brian's Facebook Page which stays very up-to-date sharing his Assembly District 101 activities, which include many visits to organizations, events and businesses in Orange County. It also has a full video of this event.
Brian Maher's Brother-in-Law, Dickie Baxter, helps organize this and numerous other fun challenges, and there seems to be no end to these good-hearted extremes. During a video of the entire Polar Plunge event he quipped, "Last year we Duck Taped him up on a wall". This had people both laughing and eyebrows raised, wondering what might be next???
Donations can be sent to Walden Baptist Church, tagged Operation Dalmation and mailed to 38 Bank Street, Walden, NY 12586
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