Stories, News & Events
Stories, News & Events
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UPDATES
Updates from Le Roi Community Foundation. Stories from our donors and grant recipients, news about our work, and events that bring our community together.
Updates from Le Roi Community Foundation. Stories from our donors and grant recipients, news about our work, and events that bring our community together.
FEATURED STORY
James Harlamovs
James Harlamovs
A rare diagnosis, a full life, and a family's gift that continues in his name. Read James's story.
A rare diagnosis, a full life, and a family's gift that continues in his name. Read James's story.
James Harlamovs came to the Kootenays in February 1991, adopted from a Romanian orphanage in the aftermath of Ceausescu's fall. He was just two months old.
James was a happy child in his early years. At three, he began to show signs of something more serious. At five, he was diagnosed with Lennox Gastaut syndrome, a rare seizure disorder affecting an estimated one to ten children in 100,000. Medication and specialized diets offered little lasting relief. He spent years navigating hospitals and school with support, and though he never learned to read, he loved books read aloud to him, Disney and Star Trek films, computer games, and the company of friends.
James died on April 24, 2007, at sixteen years old, after a night of seizures.
His family established funds at Le Roi Community Foundation in his memory. They support students in our community and others who live with special needs, so that James's story continues to help others.
Support the James Harlamovs Fund
If James's story moved you, you can contribute to the funds his family established in his memory. Your gift supports students and people with special needs in our community.
The 2026 Grant Gala
The 2026 Grant Gala
Awarding $61,100 in community grants
Awarding $61,100 in community grants
On June 9, 2026, Le Roi Community Foundation awarded $61,100 in Community Grants to the organizations listed below. Requests this year totalled $141,000, a strong reflection of the need and ambition across our region.
William Exner: A story to tell
William Exner: A story to tell
A young engineer, a lifelong adventurer, and a family's memorial fund working to support mental health in our community.
A young engineer, a lifelong adventurer, and a family's memorial fund working to support mental health in our community.
William Exner (1981–2005)
William grew up in Rossland, the youngest of five children in a close family. He attended Cook Avenue Elementary and Rossland Secondary, graduating in 1999. Skiing came early; mountain biking followed. He was athletic, quietly funny, generous with his time, and a natural adventurer.
After a year at Selkirk College, William enrolled at UBC to study Metals and Materials Engineering. Work placements took him to Hanover, Kitimat, the Hugh Keenleyside Dam, and Teck Cominco. He graduated in June 2005 and set out to travel through India and Nepal, where he completed the Annapurna Circuit in the Himalayas. He returned home that August.
William died by suicide in September 2005. He was twenty-four.
In the weeks that followed, William's community rallied around his family. Nearly $3,000 was raised locally, and a $25,000 life insurance policy allowed his parents, Richard and Trish, to establish the William Exner Memorial Fund at Le Roi Community Foundation. The fund honours the community that shaped William and supports people in the Greater Trail area living with mental health challenges and addictions.
William is remembered by his family for his humour, his generosity, his sense of adventure, and his love of the places and people he called home.
Support the William Exner Memorial Fund
If William's story moved you, you can contribute to the fund established in his memory. Your gift supports people in the Greater Trail community living with mental health challenges and addictions.
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