FARMINGTON — Just before 200 pounds of ice water was dumped over their heads from a bucket loader Monday, nearly 25 Franklin Savings Bank employees yelled, “We accept the challenge and pass it on!”

“We don’t do anything humble and small,” bank employee Mike Mansir said as he hosed water onto the ice in a bucket loader for the dousing.

After Anna Lyon of FSB received the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, she passed it on to co-workers, she said Monday. Several accepted the challenge.

They decided to do it as a group but waited for bank President Peter Judkins to return from vacation Monday and join in.

Another employee decided to step it up a notch and contacted Kevin Vining of E.L. Vining & Son, who donated use of a bucket loader. A bucket load of ice water was prepared for the larger group to face all together, she said. 

Vining employee Ronald “Twink” Hargreaves joked about his unique position as operator of the bucket loader as his wife, Raeanna, a bank employee, prepared for the challenge.

“I’ll get them all, even if I have to do it twice,” Hargreaves joked.

Franklin Savings Bank is challenging all Farmington financial institutions, including Bangor Savings Bank, Skowhegan Savings Bank, TD Bank, University Credit Union and Franklin-Somerset Federal Credit Union, Lyon said.

Franklin Savings is matching all employee donations up to $1,000, Judkins said.

“It’s a great cause,” he said.

The Jay branch employees also plan to do something, but their donations will also come under the match, Lyon said.

The challenge initially spread over social media among sports figures. People are challenged to either dump a bucket of ice water over their head or donate money to an organization. Once they complete the challenge, the person gets to call out three others to take the challenge. Many, including a variety of celebrities, have done both.

Last month, around the Boston area, challengers began raising funds for ALS research in honor of Pete Frates, 29, who played baseball at Boston College and was diagnosed with the disease over two years ago.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness and paralysis.  A two- to five-year life expectancy is given after diagnosis, although many live beyond five years, according to the ALS website.

About 30,000 Americans have the disease.

Fundraising for ALS research has spiked over the last couple weeks with millions raised as donors reached out through social media avenues such as Facebook and Twitter.

abryant@sunjournal.com