Sapa molds metal memorial for Tyrell Cameron

A Louisiana manufacturer has created a metal memorial for fallen Franklin Parish Patriot football player Tyrell Cameron. Sapa, an aluminum manufacturer and the largest private employer in the Louisiana Delta, molded an aluminum jersey with Cameron’s name and his number 48 on a Patriot blue background.

“It just an effort to show we have an awareness and heart for our community,” said Ron Ballman, Sapa’s general manager for the company’s extrusion and fabricating plants in Delhi. “We wanted to use the tools and material we had to commemorate his life — something permanent and beautiful that might in some small way help the family and community heal.”

Cameron, who was a freshman, died after suffering a fatal injury during a Sept. 4 game.

Ballman said Sapa employee Michael Joe Spann, the father of Franklin Parish senior center and captain Tyler Span, approached him with the idea. Spann presented the memorial to Franklin Parish Coach Barry Sebren Friday.

“It was something they surprised us with,” Sebreb said. “Oh, man, it’s beautiful — a wonderful tribute.”

Sebren said he will likely mount the memorial on the back of the Franklin Parish stadium press box with some lighting so it can be seen by all. Sapa, which has worked on such signature projects as the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium and the Minnesota Vikings’ new U.S. Bank Stadium, employs 335 workers from throughout the Delta, including many in Franklin Parish.

“When something like this happens it affects the entire region — the entire state,” Ballman said.