Sinko-de-Mayor

A few weeks ago a local radio station came up with the idea of holding a fundraiser on May 5th.

They wrapped the idea in a pun called Sinko-de-Mayor, put up a dunk tank and charged the contestants $1.00 per toss to sink the mayor.

When they asked the mayor what cause he wanted to donate the funds to, he graciously asked that all proceeds go to the St. Cloud Skate Plaza.

So dunk tank he did - but not without requiring that my son Austin be included as one of the dunkees. According to the Mayor, "If I'm going in, HE'S going in!"

Normally, on a hot summer day, an event like this would be a welcome refreshment. But yesterday, it blew a cold steady rain the entire time and the temperature never broke 60°. These guys were soaked and frozen before they ever set butt in the tank. And to make matters worse, the water had been filled directly from the ice-cold fire hydrant only minutes before.

Here's a few shots of the event.

From L to R:
The Mayor and Austin before the dunkfest; Austin - ready but nervous; The lynch mob; Austin's first dunk; The Mayor - ready but more nervous; The Mayor's first dunk

click to enlarge

All in all it was a very successful event. People actually came out because of the cold weather just to see how these two blue-lipped participants would avert hypothermia. Money was raised, hot chocolate was drunk, and good times were had by all.

Ok, by most. I know two guys who would beg to differ.

So thank you Wild Country and thank you Mayor Kleis as well. That was a noble and generous thing to do.

And hopefully, the next time someone asks for your help with a fundraiser, you won't need a wet suit to participate.