Details continue to be finalized for the sold-out Jersey Gala to honour the lives of four St. Albert Raiders Hockey Club alumni who played for the Humboldt Broncos.
Logan Hunter, Stephen Wack, Jaxon Joseph and Conner Lukan were among the 16 people who died in the tragic April 6 Broncos' bus crash in Saskatchewan.
St. Albert’s Humboldt Remembrance Committee has secured the Realtors Association of Edmonton as its Pro Level VIP Reception Sponsor, which includes a special reception with keynote speaker, Peter Mansbridge, and possibly the master of ceremonies, Ron MacLean.
“The chance to spend time with exceptional Canadians like Peter and Ron comes along once in a lifetime,” said committee chair Nolan Crouse of the former CBC news anchor and Hockey Night in Canada host, respectively. “It will be an encounter you will always remember and will help support our fundraising efforts.”
Paul Coffey and Kevin Lowe, pillars of the Edmonton Oilers’ dynasty, have also agreed to serve as honorary co-chairs for the Oct. 26 scholarship fundraiser at Enjoy Centre.
Although there are no more general admission tickets – all 650 at $200 apiece have been snapped up – the committee’s largest fundraiser endeavor has additional sponsorship opportunities available and is also seeking donations for its live and silent auctions at the Jersey Gala.
For more information, contact Trudy Kueber, ways and means committee chair, at [email protected] or 780-458-8725.
Additional ways to help the committee achieve its fundraising goals are:
- Monetary donation payable to the St. Albert Humboldt Broncos Remembrance Initiative.
- Credit card donation payable to the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association.
- https://www.facebook.com/StAlbertJerseyGala/
- st_ahumboldt
- @ST_AHumboldt
- www.jerseygala.com
Scholarships
After the Jersey Gala monies raised from the committee’s fundraising drive will be used to establish four separate funds and the interest generated from those funds will be used to award one scholarship annually to an individual who meets the specific criteria for each of the scholarships in the names of Hunter, Joseph, Lukan and Wack. All four played for various hockey teams in St. Albert before embarking on their junior careers.Each scholarship carries a unique name, and the criteria were written by the families. Criteria vary among the scholarships, and include factors to be considered in the areas of sport, recreation, career interests and academics.
The names of the scholarships are as follows:
Logan Hunter: Youth Leadership.
Jaxon Joseph: For the Love of the Game.
Conner Lukan: Tighten Your Skates.
Stephen Wack: Confidence to Follow Your Heart.
The tragedy prompted the establishment of St. Albert’s Humboldt Remembrance Committee, and among the first memorial initiatives were the remembrance park benches in the name of each of the four players to be located in spots sentimental to their respective families.
#MyJerseyStory
The committee has also released a video – https://vimeo.com/288218840 – that was developed to profile the #MyJerseyStory concept. The video explains how each jersey represents a memory for the person wearing it and that memory involves a story. The video includes celebrities such as Brian Benning, Matt Benning, Josh Classen, Ryan Jespersen and Joey Moss telling their personal jersey stories.A sample jersey story is available at https://vimeo.com/288275124/ebbce278dc.
The committee encourages individuals to share their own stories.
Sept. 29 ceremony
The pre-game ceremony for the Sept. 29 midget AAA home opener for the St. Albert Nektar Data Systems Raiders will honour the four players with the raising of the Humboldt Strong banner, a memorial unveiling and Smitty Kingston will also be performing. Kingston, a.k.a. Jay Smith of Kingston, Ont., wrote the Humboldt Broncos’ tribute song Leave a Stick by the Door.Game time against the Leduc Oil Kings is 8 p.m. at Akinsdale Arena.
