Savy's 5K Memorial Walk honours Aurora flight student

The legacy of Savanna May Royes, a 20-year-old Aurora resident who lost her life in 2025 in Manitoba while training for her pilot's license, will be furthered in a community walk next month.

Savy's 5K Memorial Walk will take place Sunday, July 5, at Lambert Willson Park, directly behind the Aurora Family Leisure Complex on Industrial Parkway North, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Proceeds raised through the Memorial Walk will benefit the Savanna May Royes Aviation Safety Grant established by the family in their daughter's memory back in February.

“The event honours the vibrant life of Savy, who died tragically in a mid-air collision while pursuing her pilot's license in Manitoba last July,” say organizers. “The event will raise

funds for the Savanna May Royes Aviation Safety Grant, which empowers young, minority female pilots within the Urban Pilots Network.”

Parents Tim and Loraine Royes came together with Urban Pilots Network (UPN) to establish the scholarship to support young women of colour within UPN with expenses related to their training, including costs to attend safety conferences, “empowering them to grow, learn, and pursue their aviation dreams safely.”

“Savanna's passing deeply affected the Aurora community and surrounding areas with more than 800 people having attended her celebration of life,” said the Royes family at the time of the scholarship's establishment. “A common theme among the speakers in attendance, including six of her Northern Lights Public School teachers, was Savanna's kindness, thoughtfulness, generosity, and the bright spirit she brought to everyone around her.”

A GoFundMe page was established by the family shortly after Savanna lost her life in the July 8, accident in Steinbach, MB, with the expressed purpose of funding a scholarship in their daughter's name.”

“After a month of searching for the right home for her scholarship, we knew it belonged with UPN, whose mission reflects everything Savanna believed in,” said Tim in a statement. “Thanks to the generosity of so many people, more than $42,000 was raised.”

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter