Mayor Andy Cook attempts to give Westfield citizens what they want – even if it means having a cooler full of cold water dumped on his head in front of Westfield’s City Hall.
On Aug. 19, Cook accepted the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge after receiving an e-mail from Westfield resident Kelly Tuntland. Tuntland’s grandmother died of ALS two years ago.
Prior to pouring a cup of water over his head, Cook jokingly said, “Kelly, I’ve gotta tell you when I first got your message I deleted it. Then came this barrage of political pressure so I’m going to go ahead and do this with this cold, cold water and I challenge all the citizens of Westfield to follow suit.”
After pouring the cup of water on himself, Cook’s smile faded fast as a cooler of ice water was dumped on him.
“I’m challenging the citizens of Westfield to get involved either by donating to ALS research or accepting my own ice bucket challenge,” Cook said, adding he specifically called out city council members.
The video of Cook’s challenge can be seen on the City of Westfield’s Facebook page. Following its posting, Tuntland wrote: “Thank u so much Mayor Cook!! It means so much to us to bring awareness to this disease!”
According to the ALS Association, the Ice Bucket Challenge has helped the organization exceed fundraising expectations. As of Aug. 18, the ALS Association said it has received $15.6 million in donations compared to $1.8 million during the same time period last year.
