Her other reward: a Saturday plunge in ice-cold water in front of a big crowd of well-wishers.
Gray was the first into the water at the Eighth Annual Capital Family Mortgage Grizzly Dip, where hardy souls raise money for Special Olympics' athletes and games, and then get to put on a bathing suit for a frigid February frolic in water.
In fact, the water seemed warmer than the air, he said. “But I happen to have a little Norwegian blood, which helps.”
Gray, who competes in Special Olympics' ski, horse and basketball events, was the top money-raiser, collecting $8,159 from friends, relatives and strangers. She was one of 12 who raised more than $1,000 to win an iPod.
Collections for the year set a record: Plungers raised $51,574.22, way up from last year's $40,000 or so, said Roger Miller, event organizer and Five-Valley Area director for Special Olympics Montana.
Gray is the perennial winner, he said. “That's her crown,” he said. “She just knows how to bring in the donations.”
Grizzly Dip is a tradition of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, where law enforcement officers around the country raise money for and awareness about Special Olympics and the athletes who compete in them.
Missoula's temperature was about 20 degrees at noon, when the plungers lined up for their “prize.” They shed warm coats and blankets, and one by one - about 125 in all - stepped off a platform into a portable military “onion skin” pool set up on the grounds of the Montana Army/National Guard Armory on Reserve Street.
Lt. Brad Giffin of the Missoula County Sheriff's Office took the plunge Saturday, as he has for years. There's no preparing for it, he said; the worst years are the windy ones.
“In my mind there is no better cause in the world,” he said. “They are true athletes. Every one of us can take a big lesson from them: I've yet to see a sore loser at the Special Olympics.”
WyAnn Northrop, a special-education teacher at Big Sky High School, also raised money for the cause and jumped into the cold water, as she has for seven years.
The Special Olympics are not just athletic events, said Northrop, who calls the Olympics “second to my family, my life's passion.” The games help athletes with other life skills, such as making and keeping friends, working in teams, setting goals, traveling, ordering in restaurants, sticking to a schedule, staying safe.
“When we go to state for the games, it's like the final test of the year,” she said. “It combines all the skills we're trying to teach.”
After the chill of the water, the dippers donned dry clothes and lined up inside the armory for prizes and homemade chili and cornbread.
Tawny Gray vows to be back again next year - and hopes to be the top money-raiser then, too.
“I go door to door, and I call all my relatives,” she said. “My favorite thing about Special Olympics? Traveling.”
Reporter Mea Andrews can be reached at 523-5246 or at mandrews@missoulian.com
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