Although the details haven’t been entirely worked out yet, the St. Albert Humboldt Remembrance Committee could be handing out as many as 12 memorial scholarships.
The original goal hoped to raise enough to cover four scholarships in memory of Stephen Wack, Jaxon Joseph, Logan Hunter and Conner Lukan, four St. Albert hockey players who died in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash last April.
Nolan Crouse, who chairs the committee, said Thursday he’s waiting for confirmation from the lawyers involved before revealing how everything will be rolled out. He noted the fundraising effort surpassed its original goal.
“It’s going to be quite a bit more than that because of the amount of money that was raised,” he said. “It could be 12 scholarships. It could be multiples of four; probably a minimum of four, possibly eight and maybe as many as 12. That’s just because of the amount we raised.”
He said approximately $350,000 will be remaining in cash after the committee paid for a stick memorial at Akinsdale arena and the installation of four park benches.
Charity hockey tournament on track for a second year
Josh Dechaine, who is co-organizing the second annual St. Albert Humboldt Broncos Memorial Charity Tournament, said planning has gone a lot smoother this year for the charity hockey event, which is scheduled to be held from July 5 to 7 at Mark Messier and Troy Murray arenas in Servus Place.
“I think the first year you kind of got to figure things out and this year we kind of have had some of the same connections from last year who have been helping us out,” he said. “And as always, the community has been extremely supportive and everyone around has been extremely supportive.”
Similar to last year, the tournament will feature four teams consisting of 90 local area players who were impacted by the tragedy. Dechaine said the plan is to contact the best friends of the four boys who were killed and they will provide a list of names. The roster will be filled with as many as they can from that list before they ask others to join.
Dechaine said there will be some pro hockey players coming as well, including Colorado Avalanche's Tyson Jost.
The main point of the tournament is to provide people who need it a chance to heal, he said.
“Especially last year but this year again, (the tournament is) to get everyone together and just kind of create that bonding and unity that just helps pick each other up,” he said. “I think it’s one of those subjects that I think is always going to be emotional. It’s definitely a hard thing. That being said, it doesn’t hurt to be with a bunch of people. I think that always helps.”
Dechaine said they’re still looking for sponsors to help cover the costs to run the event as any leftover money goes towards the scholarship fund.
Those wishing to help out can contact the organization by emailing [email protected].
The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.
