Missoulian: Wounded Ronan Marine sets up plunge to help Phoenix Patriot Foundation
Tomy Parker, the Marine from Ronan who lost both his legs to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, will be one of the first to enter the icy waters of Seeley Lake on Saturday, for a cause near and dear to his heart.
He’s hoping you’ll be there, too, even if you don’t go in the water.
“A low of 4 degrees and a high of 17 is predicted for Saturday,” Parker says, “so I’m not sure how many people we’ll get in the lake.”
He’d like to get plenty there at 10 a.m. to watch the first Grizzly Bear Plunge if nothing else, and join participants at Lindey’s Prime Steak House afterward for a lunch and silent auction. Parker, now retired and living back home in Ronan, has helped to organize the event as a way to raise both money and awareness for the Phoenix Patriot Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to help severely wounded veterans like him return to productive lives.
