Media Advisory: Four New Names Added to MADD Canada’s Alberta Provincial Memorial Monument

SPRUCE GROVE, Alberta , Sept. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A ceremony will be held this Saturday at MADD Canada’s Alberta Provincial Memorial Monument bringing together families, friends, and community members to honour victims killed in crashes involving alcohol, cannabis and/or other drugs. The ceremony is also a time to support families affected and reinforce the need to prevent impaired driving tragedies.

The Monument, located at the Parkland RCMP Detachment in Spruce Grove, is etched with the names of 78 victims who lost their lives due to someone’s decision to drive after consuming alcohol, cannabis and/or drugs, including four new names added this year: Colton Dionissio Arvanitakis, Theodore “Teddy” Arnold Arvanitakis, Brayden Balkwill, and Clay McLeod.

Media are invited to attend the ceremony. Interviews with special guests will be available upon request.

“Every name etched on this monument belongs to a person who was loved and who should still be here today,” said Tanya Hansen Pratt, National President of MADD Canada. “Their loss has changed the lives of families and communities forever. We gather to honour their lives, stand with their loved ones who continue to grieve and remind ourselves why we must never stop working to prevent impaired driving.”
                        
Since 2009, MADD Canada has established Memorial Monuments for victims of alcohol- and drug-related crashes in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario. Ceremonies are held each year to unveil new names added to the Monuments and to pay tribute to all victims. MADD Canada is excited the Prince Edward Island Provincial Memorial Monument will be unveiled on September 19. The organization is working towards establishing a similar monument in British Columbia. 

To RSVP for the Ceremony, contact:
Mackenzie Sorensen, MADD Canada Victim Services Manager – Western Region, 1-800-665-6233 ext. 235, or msorensen@madd.ca.
Arielle Nkongmeneck, MADD Canada Communications Manager, 1-800-665-6233 ext. 240, or ankongmeneck@madd.ca.