Coun. Kyle Fegan promises the ‘Incredible Hulk’ will make an appearance at Polar Plunge

February 14, 2019 · 0 Comments

Written By MARNI WALSH

When Shelburne Police Constable Jeff McLean invited new councillors to take up the challenge of the Polar Plunge to raise funds for the Special Olympics, Kyle Fegan was eager to take the dive in a big way.

Coun. Fegan promised to plunge dressed as the “Incredible Hulk” and has set an ambitious fundraising goal of $2,000.

The Special Olympics is the preferred charity of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police. Shelburne’s Constable McLean told Town Councillors, if they were to raise $1,500 it would allow them to opt-out of actually taking the plunge… similar to a “get out of jail free card,” says Kyle Fegan.

Mr. Fegan, who has been teaching Judo since he was 17, says he has seen first hand “how much good the special olympics do for these youth.” He says, “This is a charity that is very close to my heart.”

“I decided I would absolutely participate, and no matter how much money I raised – I was getting wet,” Coun. Fegan says. “I challenged Shelburne and surounding area to help me, not only reach the challenge goal of $1,500, but to beat it.”

The councillor signed up for the Plunge and hit social media. He sent the challenge out, that if “we as a town could hit my goal ($2,000 raised), I would paint myself green and jump into the fridged waters in just purple shorts.”

Mayor Wade Mills, who Coun. Fegan says “is 100 percent on board,” told the Free Press, he was “happy to take part in the Police Service’s Polar Plunge supporting Special Olympics Ontario.” He says, “This is a great cause and Const. McLean deserves a tremendous amount of credit for spearheading this.”

“Coun. Fegan has set an ambitious fundraising target,” says the Mayor. “He has issued a personal challenge that I’ve gladly accepted.”

Coun. Fegan describes his first weeks in Shelburne’s Council Chambers as “a whirlwind.” He says this Council “is a great team that is inspired, innovative and anxious to work.”

He said, “Pretty much from the word go, all of us have rallied for a number of initiatives and have already started to work on some major projects… There have been many training meetings and informational meetings, not to mention the ROMA conference where we had the delegation with the MTO to try to start the process of getting our bypass put in. I’m honoured to have been voted in and am really looking forward to doing what I can to make this great town an even better place to live.”

So far, the Polar Plunge fundraising “is going well,” he says, “but I am running out of time.” At the time this was written, he had raised $470. Mr. Fegan says Councillor Lindsay Wegner has also taken up the banner and has so far raised $455.

“I am very thankful to everyone who has supported my efforts so far,” says the Councillor, “but I am making an appeal to everyone to help if they can. I’d really like to be able to hit my target and have some fun that the whole town can enjoy – I really need help though.” The Polar Plunge takes place on Monday, February 18th at 1pm at Fiddle Park in Shelburne as part of the Shelbrrrfest Family Day activities. To support Kyle Fegan’s fundraising efforts for the Special Olympics – visit Kyle Fegan on Facebook for details on donating.