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Teeing off in young couple’s memory

Golf tournament on anniversary of fatal plane crash
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Lauren Sewell snaps one of the last photos taken of herself and boyfriend Dallas Smith before they died in a plane crash Aug. 13.

A golf tournament in memory of a young Peninsula couple killed last summer in a plane crash will benefit BCIT students who share the pair’s career interests.

Lauren Sewell was in BCIT’s human resources program and Dallas Smith had recently graduated from its millwright program when they died, Sewell’s father Greg said Friday, in explaining the choice of beneficiary.

“BCIT was a natural for us to go to for this cause,” he said.

Sewell, 24, and Smith, 30, were among four people aboard a Piper Twin Commanche Aug. 13 when the plane crashed 30 kilometres west of Kelowna. Smith was pronounced dead at the scene; Sewell succumbed to her injuries in hospital the next day.

Greg Sewell said the golf tournament will take place at Hazelmere Golf Club on Aug. 14, the one-year anniversary of the day his daughter died.

The event – which includes a silent auction, dinner and prizes – has proven popular. Tickets to the dinner are already sold out;  about 40 spots remain for those wanting to golf.

Sewell said the idea for the tournament grew from fundraising that was done by his daughter’s friends to mark her 25th birthday. They collected money to have a memorial bench installed at Skaha Lake – one of the last places the couple had spent time together – and when all was said and done, there was “a few thousand” dollars left over.

That money was the impetus for establishing the scholarships. The golf tournament is hoped to generate enough additional funds to create an endowment that will enable the scholarships to be offered in perpetuity.

Silent auction items and sponsorships are still being sought for the tournament. For more information or to sign up to golf, Sewell may be reached at 604-541-0588 or gregsewell@shaw.ca



Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
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