Splashin' with compassion

When it was all said and done and the 25 Polar Plungers had braved the freezing waters at Nelson Reservoir last Saturday, a total of $12,199.50 was raised on the day for Montana Special Olympics.

The 2018 Malta/Glasgow Polar Plunge outdid last year's event in both plungers and total monies raised, but one area where last year's event saw a high number than this year's was the temperature outside at the thermometers failed to crack double digits on Saturday at Nelson.

"I bet it was mid-20's last year," Jerry Benge said. "We are just barely in the single digits right now with just enough breeze to make it cold."

Benge, a U.S. Border Patrol Agent and Malta resident, teamed with Malta's Denise Black again this year to help make this year's event a success and thanked a Malta rival for bringing so many people to this year's plunge.

"Glasgow came out in force this year," Black said. "Kudos to them.

About an hour for the event took place, Black said that online donations for the event had already reached $7,000 and Benge felt like the total would keep climbing up to double digits.

"If we don't hit $10,000 we are going to scare the heck out of it," he said.

The 2018 total of over $12,000 raised this year is $9,000 more raised at the event in 2017.

"I personally attribute the increases to Denise," Benge said. "She did a great job raising awareness and got us a lot more attention this year than we had last year. Now we have really set the bar high so we need people to read this article and come out again next year."

Black said the advice she had for any of the first time plungers was to simply get to the line and jump in, not to think about it at all, because waiting wouldn't make it any better and the water isn't going to get any warmer.

Following her jump on Saturday, Black said she had gleaned some information about the water that she had either forgot or was all-together new to her.

"The shock isn't so much when you hit the water, but rather when you first pop out of the water," she said. "You first pop out of that water and you are like, 'man, that is cold'."

2018 Glasgow/Malta Polar Plunge Top Individual Fundraisers (online results): Jared Palmer, $1,665; Alex Esteves, $1,620; Timothy Fischer, $1,026; Berney Opheim, $565; and Brien Gault, $515.

2018 Glasgow/Malta Polar Plunge Top Teams: Justice Leage, $5,326; Hardwater Hotties, $654; Bearded Warfighters, $590; and WOWW Wild Opheim Winter Warriors, $565.