April 14, 2007 News Conference to Warn of Cold Water Dangers

A Report on BRIAN JAMES JACOBSON Cold Water Awareness Day News Conference

by Ron Jacobson, Brian's Grandpa

Here are the highlights of our third annual Brian James Jacobson Cold Water Awareness Day News Conference which was held on April 14, 2007 starting at 10:00 am on the shores of the Mississippi River on Harriet Island in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. This year and were fortunate not only to have the MN DNR and the Red Cross participate again, but in addition the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Water Patrol consented to participate. Each participant had special stories to tell about the danger of cold water. It was a beautiful morning as seen in the picture below – so very beautiful – and the water was cold. All photos were taken by Gare Frick.

We started the conference by doing an experiment to demonstrate the debilitating effects of cold water and a person’s ability to do normal things with their hands. Jody Ambroz of Twin Cities Fox affiliate KMSP TV kindly volunteered to do the experiment. First she put her hand into a tall bucket of warm water and then picked up as many pennies from the bottom of the bucket into a glass container within 15 seconds. Next she did the same in a bucket of cold water. The cold water made it more difficult for her to move her fingers, hand and arm – and thus she could not pick up as many in the same time period. This outcome was expected – and thus showed that cold water can take away your strength and ability to coordinate your fingers, hand and arm. Jody was very happy to return her cold arm into the warm water.

Next John Raby of the Red Cross talked about the results of the experiment and how cold water can affect a person’s swimming ability.

Marty Book of the MN DNR then spoke about the danger of cold water and some of the experiences he has had in rescuing hunters who have fallen into cold water.

Dick Hagan of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Water Patrol displayed the equipment and gear that is used when conducting rescue operations in cold water and explained how dangerous it can be in cold water.

With great appreciation we shared the official document signed by Governor Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie which proclaimed Saturday, April 14, 2007 as Brian James Jacobson Cold Water Awareness Day.

That ended the news conference. Special buttons were handed out as well as bookmarkers. Everyone packed up their things and left. The reporters wrote their stories about how cold water can cause cold shock and swimming failure and drowning – and how important it is for everyone to practice water safety – including the wearing of life jackets when boating. I saw the stories on the TV news Saturday night – read them in the newspapers – heard them on the radio - and prayed that the water safety message was getting out. A great big thank you to the media.

Many people helped put the news conference together. Planning was begun by the coldwaterwarning.com board members: Karen Jensen, Claude Anderson, Tim O’Donnell and Ron Jacobson. Buttons, bookmarkers and posters were designed by Gare Frick who also took pictures at the news conference. The cost of producing the bookmarkers was covered by a generous donation from TOPS Pizza in Rosemount, MN where Brian used to get pizza and give Marcos the owner a tough time. Our web site was updated by Karol Jensen. Marty Book of the Mn DNR and Jim Raby of the Red Cross participated in the conference and talked about the dangers of cold water. Tim Smalley of Mn DNR once again was our resource person and assisted in informing the media of the upcoming news conference. Governor Tim Pawlenty, Secretary of State Mark Ritchie and Representative Dennis Ozment were responsible for the proclamation. Financial support came from donors who were essential to make this happen. Our many thanks to everyone who helped get the message out about the danger of cold water – especially to young swimmers.