Participants in the 2024 Polar Plunge jump in an icy pool at Illahe Hills Country Club on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. The event is a fundraiser for Special Olympics Oregon. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
Clad in tutus, construction vests and costumes paying tribute to Barbie and Thor, dozens of Salemites took the plunge over the weekend.
The annual Polar Plunge at Illahe Hills Country Club is a fundraiser for Special Olympics Oregon, inviting participants to don costumes in teams, run a 5K and jump in an icy pool for the cause. The Saturday event raised nearly $70,000, according to the event page.
The pool awaits for participants in the Polar Plunge, a Special Olympics Oregon fundraiser. The event was held Saturday, Feb. 3 at Illahe Hills Country Club. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)(Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)Participants in the 2024 Polar Plunge jump in an icy pool at Illahe Hills Country Club on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. The event is a fundraiser for Special Olympics Oregon. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)Participants in the 2024 Polar Plunge jump in an icy pool at Illahe Hills Country Club on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. The event is a fundraiser for Special Olympics Oregon. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)Runners finish a 5K ahead of the Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Oregon. The event was held Saturday, Feb. 3 at Illahe Hills Country Club. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)Participants in the 2024 Polar Plunge jump in an icy pool at Illahe Hills Country Club on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. The event is a fundraiser for Special Olympics Oregon. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)Runners finish a 5K ahead of the Polar Plunge to benefit Special Olympics Oregon. The event was held Saturday, Feb. 3 at Illahe Hills Country Club. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)Participants in the 2024 Polar Plunge at Illahe Hills Country Club on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024. The event is a fundraiser for Special Olympics Oregon. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)Participants in the 2024 Polar Plunge at Illahe Hills Country Club on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. The event is a fundraiser for Special Olympics Oregon. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)Participants in the 2024 Polar Plunge at Illahe Hills Country Club on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024. The event is a fundraiser for Special Olympics Oregon. (Ron Cooper/Salem Reporter)
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Photographer Ron Cooper and his wife Penny moved to Salem in 1969 to take a job as photographer at the Oregon Statesman (later the Statesman Journal). Their three children, Monica, Kimberly, and Christopher, attended and graduated from Salem public schools. Cooper retired from the Statesman Journal in 2001 but, has continued his passion for photography in many ways, including as a photographer for the Salem Reporter.
