Human Effectiveness Directorate executive officer takes a very cold plunge for charity

Miranda Thompson, executive officer with the 711th Human Performance Wing’s Human Effectiveness Directorate (711 HPW/RH), was one of 477 people who braved the frigid waters of Lake Michigan and participated in the Lakeview Polar Bear Club’s (LPBC’s) Polar Plunge in Chicago on a chilly Saturday in January.

Human Effectiveness Directorate executive officer takes a very cold plunge for charity

Published Feb. 15, 2011
By Elizabeth Long
711th Human Performance Wing

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Miranda Thompson, executive officer with the 711th Human Performance Wing's Human Effectiveness Directorate here participated in the Lakeview Polar Bear Club's Polar Plunge in Chicago on a chilly Saturday in January.

Thompson and her boyfriend, Tom Laubie, were among a record 477 participants who jumped into Lake Michigan on a day when the air temperature was 31 degrees and the water temperature was 33 degrees.

The annual event, founded by Brian Marchal, a friend of Laubie's, raises money for Chicago area families in need. This year's event benefited a family whose four-year-old son suffered a traumatic brain injury, and a single mother raising two sons.

Thompson had never participated in a polar plunge before joining her boyfriend in this event. "I had so much adrenaline going into the water, and there was so much excitement and anticipation, I did not even think about the cold," she said. "Surprisingly the only part of my body that was unbearably cold was my feet."

Even though the water was extremely cold, Thompson said she was glad she took the plunge. "The little boy with the traumatic brain injury was there with his parents," she said. "With his mom and dad there to see how many people wanted to help by doing something crazy like jumping into a frigid lake, it made the whole experience worth it."