Members of the Humboldt Broncos Tribute Campaign Committee (left to right, wearing hardhats) Laurie Warford, Kurt Leicht, Larry Jorgenson, Carol Brons, and Rob Meunch break ground on the memorial site while surrounded by family members of the deceased members of the Humboldt Broncos. (Nick Nielsen/paNOW Staff)

By Nick Nielsen

Plans in place

Construction begins on permanent Humboldt Broncos memorial

Oct 5, 2024 | 4:00 PM

Although hearts were as heavy as the wind and rain coming down, it was all smiles and hugs as members of the Humboldt Broncos Memorials Committee and families of the deceased from the 2018 Humboldt Broncos crash gathered at the crash site to break ground on a permanent memorial structure.

Since the accident in April 2018, the site has become a common stopping point for hockey teams and members of the public passing through to pay tribute to the 16 players and staff who lost their lives that day, but now Saturday’s sod turning has marked the first step in creating a proper memorial site.

Kurt Leicht is a member of the committee and a Humboldt local who lost his son Jacob during the crash. He said that there has been a number of hoops to jump through since the committee first officially met in February of 2019 due to sightlines at the intersection and the nearby railroad track, and it’s thanks to a large community effort that’s allowing this project to move forward.

“To actually get to the groundbreaking, we had a number of delays mainly from our government crown corporations over the years. That’s what’s taken us the longest period of time, but we’re here today to finally get it started. Kirsch Construction will begin on Monday at the site here, WestCrete Concrete from Humboldt is also volunteering their time, we have Paramount Paving going to be doing the paving, we have a couple companies out of Nipawin that we’ll be doing the other part of the project for concrete and we can say a big thanks.”

“The main reason why we’re able to actually do this project is because of the love and donations from all the people, that’s where the money came from in place to do this. One of the trucking companies also donated a large amount of money for this for this area. So that’s also where, how and why we’re able to even do this project today.”

Raiders win 5-3

Defensive scoring leads Raiders over Wheat Kings

3h ago

GST Holiday

Federal government's two-month GST holiday begins

18h ago

Imminent need

Council set to discuss possible location for homeless shelter on 15th Street

Dec 14, 2024

Currently, the site of the crash features crosses with the names of the deceased players and staff, along with items left in tribute to each of them. The new memorial will include a proper parking lot to get vehicles off the road for people to stop and pay tribute, a small pond with 29 feet of track around it in honour of the 29 people on the bus that day, and a proper monument memorial structure.

Plans for what the memorial site will look like once completed. (Humboldt Broncos Tribute Campaign)

Humboldt City Councillor Rob Meunch is the chair of the committee as well as their liaison to the City, and he said there has been a lot of questions posed to the city about when people will start to see progress on the memorial site. Meunch commended the efforts of everyone involved that helped get this project off the ground, especially when it comes to two of the Humboldt locals that were affected.

“We’ve been working with our committee members and especially Kurt and Carol (Brons) being local to Humboldt, their involvement in this project has been tremendous. They’ve gone through a lot of hard work over the last six years. The City of Humboldt has been involved, but this project is coming together from donations from the community, from the greater area, and from across the province and the country. We’re really grateful to everybody that’s contributed to this. We haven’t had to spend any tax dollars money for this, and I’m grateful for that and that we can proceed with this first project that I think is going to keep the memory alive for all those that were lost.”

Carol Brons, another member of the committee whose daughter Dayna was the team’s Athletic Therapist that lost her life in the crash, was also in attendance. She said it’s taken a lot of time and effort to put a plan together for the site between the committee, community members, and the large number of families of the players that are primarily based in Alberta, but today’s sod turning has made it all worthwhile.

“Originally nobody was really ready to do a lot because of shock and pain, and a lot of people were very cognizant of not trying to push. But then as time went on, we felt a little bit of that need to get something started. So it’s a relief to have this part in time to actually say we are going to be starting as of this coming week and have some more ground moved.”

Brons continued, “We’re thankful for everybody that’s been involved from the Council, from the City, from the various different entities around the area, and the input from the families. We’ve been trying to keep that foremost in our mind, trying to keep the 29 on the bus and the 16 angels at the forefront to make the planning and design respectful of that. It’s hard for a lot of people to come by this spot, so I think if we can make some changes to make it more restful and more peaceful, that’ll be a big step forward. So we’re thankful that we can get to that point.”

Celeste Leray-Leicht, Kurt’s wife and Jacob’s mother, was also in attendance for the sod turning. While initially she found the extra attention surrounding the circumstances of her son’s passing difficult, she now welcomes the community that has come together around such a tragic event.

“It reminds me too that in general, most people don’t get this level of attention when they’re going through their own grieving process surrounding the loss of their particular loved one, and so it just highlights the importance of remembering loved ones past and lifting each other up in times of sorrow, and it taught me a lot about supporting others who are going through their own grief.”

For more information on plans to continue the tribute towards the Humboldt Broncos, you can visit the Humboldt Broncos Tribute Campaign website by clicking here.

–

nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com