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R C Edition OCEAN PINES • WEST OCEAN CITY • BERLIN MD
January 1, 2025
Volume 2, Issue 1
Adults, children, dogs brave cold waves on New Year’s Day in Ocean City to participate in annual Penguin Swim to raise money for Atlantic General By Tessah Good Staff Writer More than 700 swimmers dressed in costumes from bathing suits to banana hats gathered on Wednesday, Jan. 1, on the beach in Ocean City, in front of the Princess Royale hotel, for Atlantic General Hospital’s 31st Annual Penguin Swim. Each year, businesses, organizations and volunteers from all over the community and various states come together to dunk their penguin tails and toes in the 40-degree water of the Atlantic Ocean, to help raise funds for the hospital. The Penguin Swim is one of the hospital’s largest fundraisers. Proceeds are used to benefit the hospital and provide a “coordinated care system with access to quality care, personalized service and education,” according to AGH’s website at www.atlanticgeneral.org Vice President of Public Relations Toni Keiser said the Penguin Swim was one of the first fundraising events the hospital established. She said it was started by a group of emergency room physicians. One of the physicians came to the hospital after working in the northeast
and suggested the idea. The fundraiser has evolved. Since 1995, it has raised more than $1.9 million. “It’s actually become a tradition for not only our local families, but people from out of the area. It’s really fun to see kids that have done this since they were little with their families now coming back from college … and seeing people that have been doing this since they were little now bringing their kids. It’s become a multigenerational event,” Keiser said. Many participants dress in creative costumes to help enhance the fun of the swim, including penguins, sailors, characters from Nemo and Santa Claus, all spotted this year. One of the most creative was a man dressed as Poseidon, the Greek god of sea, storms, earthquakes and horses. He was covered head to toe in silver paint and carried a stake with a shiny crown on the end of it. Phil Houck, owner of Bull on the Beach and known as the Emperor Penguin for being one of the hospital’s top donators, said he was one of the people who pushed for Atlantic General Hospital to be built. For 31 years, Bull on the Beach
and Crab Alley have donated more than $800,000 to the hospital. “Supporting the hospital is very important to me. It’s the only day I go into the water. It’s a special day for the hospital and it’s really a good cause,” Houck told ROC Edition. This year, Bull on the Beach had more than 200 swimmers on its team. Bull on the Beach also hosted a celebration after the event. Many gathered at the restaurant to have a celebratory drink and get warm. The swim only lasted a few minutes, enough for participants
to quickly enter and exit the water. Those who wished to participate, but did not want to swim, could still participate by getting their toes wet. Volunteers who were unable to attend participated in a cyber swim by posting a photo or video of their ice cold dip on social media using #OCPenguinSwim. The hospital’s goal for this year’s penguin swim was $112,500. The number of participants and amount raised was not immediately available.
ROC Edition • Tessah Good
A crowd of Penguin Swim participants, some in summer bathing suits, are ready to run into the cold water for a good cause.
WW II veteran, Marine Morris Semiatin dies; remembered for receiving Purple Heart By Giovanni Guido Staff Writer
ROC Edition • Tessah Good
It was a little chilly, but even dogs were eager to join their owners at the annual Penguin Swim.
After a life of fighting as a U.S. Marine in the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II, being injured and receiving a Purple Heart and having a subsequent career as a White House photographer, Morris Semiatin died at the age of 98 on the morning of Dec. 28. “He will be buried next to my mom and the 11th is her birthday. She passed in 1985 so she will welcome him at the gates of heaven on her birthday,” his son, Ben Semiatin of Ocean City, told ROC Edition. The funeral will be on Saturday, Jan. 11, at Parklawn Cemetery in Rockville, Md., the younger See SEMIATIN page 6
ROC Edition • Giovanni Guido
Morris Semiatin, 98, holds the Purple Heart he received after being wounded during World War II while attending the Ocean Pines Veterans Day ceremony in November.