Bursary created in memory of brothers

In the wake of an immense loss, a Ravenscrag family has created a memorial bursary in honour of three young members of the family.

As they mourn the loss of 16-year-old Sean Arnal and his 10-year-old brother Lyndon, the family has established the Arnal Boys Memorial Bursary for Young Farmers.

The two brothers were killed in a tractor accident near Ravenscrag on July 23. The tragedy is made more difficult as the boys’ older brother, Blake, was killed in an ATV accident at the family farm six years ago. He was 14.

The boys’ 18-year-old sister Liv decided a bursary would be a way to help see the light at the end of the tunnel and do something good for everybody.

“It’s really hard to find things that are positive out of a death, but you can’t only have negative,” she said. The Arnal Boys Memorial Bursary will be awarded to an applicant between eight and 18 years of age attending school in Chinook School Division who has an agricultural interest or project which they would like to invest in. Applicants are asked to provide a business plan for their entrepreneurial ventures.

The bursary was established with the help of consignors in the Rock Solid Bred Heifer Sale, who will be selling one heifer each year in memory of the young boys. Proceeds will support the bursary.

To kick off the bursary, Bircham Ranch is donating three bred heifers at the Dec. 8 sale at Heartland Livestock in Swift Current in honour of the Arnal brothers.

“It’s quite emotional, because it’s so generous of them to do this,” Liv said. “We couldn’t have this bursary without the support from all the consignors in the sale and Birchams.”

Anyone interested in the heifers being sold can contact Bircham Ranch or visit http://www.rocksolidbredheifer.com for more information.

In addition to the funds raised through the heifer sales, the Arnal family is in the process of organizing a memorial hockey tournament. The inaugural tournament is set to be held March 14 and 15, 2015 – the closest weekend to Blake’s birthday on March 17 and Lyndon’s birthday on March 18. They are also organizing a skeet shooting tournament July 11 and 12, 2015 – the closest weekend to Sean’s birthday on July 9.

The family wants to use the money to assist a young person who didn’t have an older brother like Sean. When Lyndon bought out Sean’s pigs but didn’t have any boars, Sean purchased a boar for his younger brother.

“Sean was a huge investor in all of Lyndon’s pigs and different things,” Liv said. “So we thought if we could be that big brother for a kid out there who doesn’t have the money to make that investment themselves, then that would be one way that we could find a light out of this situation.”

The Arnals hope the bursary can be “a light for the young people who receive these funds, recognizing their leadership and community involvement in agriculture, which all three of our boys were passionate about.”

More information on the Arnal Boys Memorial Bursary will be provided as it becomes available.

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