Four years to the day five Kelowna men lost their lives in a crane collapse incident, a memorial opened in their honour on Saturday.
On July 12, 2021, Patrick Stemmer, Eric Stemmer, Jared Zook, Cailen Vilness, and Brad Zawislak died after a crane fell at a downtown Kelowna construction site.
After years of planning, coordination, and community effort, the Rise Memorial Garden at Knowles Heritage Park opened to the public on July 12, 2025, with a ceremony and a moment of silence honouring the five men.
"This place is more than just a garden, it's a place of remembrance, reflection, and resilience," said Rise Memorial Foundation secretary and treasurer Kelly Hutchinson. "It stands as a testament to the community that built it, who came together to honour the five men we lost that faithful day."
The garden features five benches, one for each victim. The project came together, starting on the first anniversary of the tragedy, when the North Okanagan Labour Council announced a partnership with the City of Kelowna to find a space to create the memorial.
"It is a place to reflect, to remember, and to heal," said Kelowna Mayor Tom Dyas. "It symbolizes how even in the face of unthinkable loss, our community stands united offering space for healing and collective remembrance."
At 10:55 a.m., Hutchinson read aloud the five names once again, which was followed by a moment of silence, and five large horn noises, one for each victim, from the nearest active crane to the park.
Throughout the ceremony, family members from each victim spoke, all thankful to see the memorial garden completed, but all still grieving the loss of their loved ones.
"Today we relive the worst day of a parent, a spouse, or for any of the children involved, but today we get to shine a little light on a day with the opening of the memorial," said Chris Vilness, Cailen's father and president of the Rise Memorial Foundation.
Cailen's brother, Layne, also spoke briefly and stated he's happy to have a place to remember Cailen whenever he's back in town.
"He was taken from us far too soon and this accident reminds us all how unpredictable and fragile life can be," said Tom Sakamoto about his son-in-law Patrick Stemmer.
Emily Anderson, Eric Stemmer's sister-in-law, added that the park is not just a memorial, it's a "living echo" of who they were, a space to laugh, to cry, to remember, and a space to feel the sunshine.
While everyone grieves tragedy differently, Jared Zook's parents, Pam and Steven realized they aren't alone as they continue to miss their son. Steven said he doesn't think their life will ever return to normal. He also added that Jared's sister is with Jared now, after she lost a short battle to cancer last year.
"You are all always welcome on Jared's bench," Steven said as his final remark to the audience of around 300 people on Saturday.
While it's been four years since the tragedy, BC Crane Safety executive director Clinton Connell acknowledged this on Saturday.
"These men did not give their lives, their lives were taken," said Connell. "No one should lose their life at work. I've never heard of a workplace death that wasn't preventable and these certainly weren't the exception."
In February 2024, Kelowna RCMP submitted a report to the BC Prosecution Service, recommending .
The company responsible for setting up and taking down the crane is named in several civil suits.
Stemmer Construction has also filed a lawsuit relating to the collapse against Naminh Liebherr, along with multiple unnamed people, alleging negligence and a 鈥渄angerous defect.鈥�
"We're four years into this tragedy and there's still no accountability or significant workplace safety regulations to ensure this sort of tragedy never happens again," said Helen Zawislak, Brad Zawislak's wife. "Personally, the Rise Memorial Garden is a place to hold forgiveness and to recognize the workplace culture and safety regulations that have failed me."
B.C.'s Minister of Labour Jennifer Whiteside and WorkSafeBC's director of prevention programs and services Angelique Prince were also on hand to speak.
"To remember Cailen, Jared, Brad, Patrick, and Eric is to take action in honour of their lives and the memories they left behind," said Whiteside, also acknowledging the crane collapse at Oakridge Mall in Vancouver and the recent incident in Saskatchewan. "There is a shared commitment in this province to strengthening standards and protections for crane safety, and those efforts have yielded some positive steps."
On Oct. 1, 2024, came into effect across the province.
"It was and continues to be a devastating loss," said Prince, who added that collaborating with industry, labour, and government is continually being done to make a long-lasting change. "The work is not done."
WorkSafeBC has also increased its site inspections and penalties over the last four years.
"Until everybody comes home safely at the end of their shift, our work is not done," added Whiteside.
Many people came together to make the memorial a reality. Over the last three years, the City of Kelowna, the province of B.C., members of the community, organizations, and more have raised more than $350,000 for the memorial to be built. In the process, Mountain Homes Services was selected to construct the memorial.
"Today we speak their names, not only to remember, but to ensure they're never forgotten," said Mountain Homes Services superintendent Adam LaBonte, who called Saturday a call to action instead of a memento to the past. "Behind every tragedy, is a hard truth, and the truth here is that this tragedy could have and should have been prevented... we owe it to these five men to make sure something like this never happens again."
After the incident four years ago, a petition was started for a memorial to be built where the tragedy took place. However, the petition didn't get far and the families didn't feel comfortable having the memorial there.
On Saturday, Chris Vilness added that the five men will be honoured at their memorial every year on the anniversary of the incident. Vilness also said the annual April 28 Day of Mourning will also take place there.
Now complete and open to the public, a has been launched to honour the men and share their backstory.
