CANYON COUNTY, Idaho — After losing their son Henry Chouinard to a drunk driver in September 2023, the Templeton family partnered with Middleton High's Future Farmers of America chapter to honor his legacy and support future students.
The school hosted a fundraiser dinner, Monday night, for the FFA chapter, including a scholarship established in Henry's memory that celebrates his love of farming.
"Raising the funds in his name and being able to pay for these kids to go have this life changing experience is something that he would have done," Jeff Templeton, his father said.
WATCH: Family creates FFA scholarship to honor son’s love of farming
Last year, Henry's scholarship sent five students to the Washington Leadership Conference. One of those students was chapter president Bridger Hill.
"At the conference we learned about doing what you believe in and vouching for it whether it's activities or classes or whatever it is but we learned about working as a team as well as fighting for what you believe in," Hill said.
He said without the scholarship, he may not have been able to go.
"I knew that this now gave me the opportunity to go on an amazing conference all the way to Washington DC,” Hill said. “I know it has a big legacy and I'm just very honored that I can be a part of that."
The Templetons said this spirit of giving is exactly who Henry was.
"So when you go to a fair you sell your animal, and then you could add on funds to anybody's account and give them more money for it and so he would just randomly go to the fair and support his friends and add on money to their animals so they would have more profit," Celina Templeton, Henry's mother said.
The family even created a cattle brand in Henry's name and donated an item with that brand for the silent auction.
"After the accident we found about a month later in his truck his application for a brand, so he was in the process of applying for a brand,” said Celina Templeton. “That was his big long term goal.”
Fatal crashes involving impaired drivers have risen by more than 5.8% between 2017 to 2028, according to data from the Idaho State Police.
The Templeton's hope that Henry's story serves as a powerful reminder about the impact of drunk driving.
"It's left a huge hole in our heart. So I think that our message is, don't drink and drive. It has huge implications beyond just getting a DUI. You'll change someone's life forever. Multiple people's lives, and the ripple effect is just insane," Celina said.
You can contribute to Henry’s scholarship on the Middleton Highschool FFA page.
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