Chamber members hold up their check for $1,000 to ucpn. Shown are, from the left, Carmine Pirolo of White Birch Designs; Michele Browner of director of nursing at Harbor House; the ucpn polar bear; swimmer, Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce President Alex Gallego of The Gallego Group - Stifel Nicolaus; and Paige Dawson of Century 21 Laffey Associates, chamber vice president.

This past Sunday, swimmers lined up at the waters edge in beautiful Theodore Roosevelt Park, ready to jump into the gentle surf of the north shore beach. The only unusual thing about this sight was that the date was March 1 and the water temperature was 39 degrees Fahrenheit!

The 5th Annual Polar Bear Plunge to benefit the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Nassau County, Inc. (ucpn) was held once again at TR Park in Oyster Bay. Honorary Co-Chairs John Venditto, supervisor of the Town of Oyster Bay and Assemblyman Harvey Deisenberg from Long Beach along with Chairman Jack Sullivan and the Polar Bear committee worked to make this the best plunge ever! Over 50 swimmers braved the icy waters that day to support the cause.

One of these hearty individuals was Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce President Alex Gallego. This was his third "plunge" to date and this year, Alex and the OBCC raised $1000 as a donation to UCPN. When asked why he participates in this event, Alex said, "The chamber continues to deliver on its promise to support the local community. On a personal note, the plunge reminds me how fortunate I am to be blessed with three healthy and loving children. We look forward to growing our generous donation and to helping defeat Cerebral Palsy."