Waukegan’s Polar Bear Plunge attracts record crowd; ‘If I can do this ... I can do anything for the rest of the year’

Jeremiah Johnson gathered a group to join him in his first Waukegan Polar Bear Plunge, Nancy Elenbaas wore a fur coat before and after she went into the water and Jo Ann Flores-Deter said she never misses the event.

“I’ve been a donor and supporter before, so I decided this year to see what it was like,” Johnson said of the annual New Year’s Day dip into Lake Michigan.

“If I can do this on the first day of the year, then I can do anything for the rest of the year,” Elenbaas said.

“I’m going to use this as a shepherd’s crook to get my children out of the water,” Flores-Deter said, holding a large candy cane before going into the lake with her sons Marlowe, 12 and Beckett, 8.

Flores-Deter, Elenbaas and Johnson were among a record crowd of 540 people who ran, walked or jumped into the lake in Waukegan’s 25th-annual Polar Bear Plunge Monday at the city’s beach in raising money for special recreation.

Jointly run by the city of Waukegan and the Waukegan Park District, Josue Pasillas, the Park District’s communications supervisor said the event raised approximately $18,500 for Special Recreation Services of Lake County.

Along with the plungers, David Motley, the city’s public relations director, said more than 1,000 people participated, between those going in the water and others lining the beach to offer support.

Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor said she enjoys spending the first day of the year at the beach watching those braving the cold water to raise money and the rest of the community members offering encouragement.

“They’re helping a good cause,” she said. “This is also a big social event. People come to see each other on the first day of the new year to wish each other a happy new year and make New Year’s resolutions.

Participants entered the lake in groups of between 15 and 75 adventurers as specially outfitted members of the Waukegan Fire Department stood at the outer limits of the aquatic course. Some people dove into the water, while others remained on their feet.

Fire Chief Gregg Paiser said the firefighters’ suits were fully insulated for the frigid water and enabled them to float. There were additional precautions as well to ensure safety.

“We have divers standing by if they’re needed,” Paiser said. “We have an ambulance standing by. There are plenty of us here to help.”

Johnson, who is the president of the Park District Board of Commissioners and a board member since 2018, is also the owner of Jay’s Bally Muck sports bar in Waukegan. He gathered a group of 14 friends to join him. He felt he needed the support.

“I’m surprised it was not as cold as I thought it would be, but it takes your breath away,” Johnson said. “I’m just getting my breath back now. Going in with a whole group really helped.”

Included in Johnson’s contingent was North Chicago Police Officer Luis Bettasso. He said he was plunging for the second time, and 2024 was easier than his initial plunge several years ago.

“The first time I did it was during the polar vortex,” he said “This was much better.”

Elenbaas, who said she has plunged at least eight times, walked out of the women’s changing tent wearing a fur coat over her bathing suit, handed it to a friend, walked into the lake, out to the firefighters, walked back to the shore, retrieved her coat and put it on.

“This was my mother’s coat,” she said. “I take a little bit of her with me when I do this each year.”

Flores-Deter had no intention of plunging 25 years ago as she was driving home from work as an interpreter at what is now Vista Medical Center East, when directional signs to the beach got her attention. With spare clothes in the car, she took the plunge.

A Waukegan native and now an Evanston resident, Flores-Deter makes the event about her children and fundraising. She brought her sons and raised $2,700 this year, to bring her total to approximately $8,000 for her plunging career.

“It’s a matter of faith, and I plan to keep doing it,” she said. “It’s about helping people.”

Along with some individual participants raising money from others for special education, five members of the Waukegan Public Schools Foundation plunged as the organization became a sponsor, as one local charity gave to another.

“It’s about spreading resources,” said school foundation board member Carolina Fabian. “The Park District helps Waukegan public school students with special needs.”

Joining Fabian going into the lake were foundation board members Adriana Gonzale, Charlotte Callahan Wozniak, Brian Lousa and Nick Alatzakis.