2024 Baseball Manitoba Awards Banquet Recap

This past Saturday we were proud to present our 2024 Awards Banquet in Brandon, MB. We honoured our best coaches, officials, players, teams, volunteers, and honorary members for their performances and/or contributions to the sport of baseball. The event was a great success, and we thank all those who came, enjoyed the evening, and celebrated another fantastic year of baseball with us. See more from our guest speaker and the 2024 Award Winners below.

View the event program here.

Master of Ceremonies: Clayton Dreger, Sport Director Golden West Radio

Welcome, Councillor Bruce Luebke

Presidential Greetings: Roger Langlais, Baseball Manitoba President

Guest Speaker: The Honourable Glen Simard, Minister of Sport, Heritage, Culture and Tourism

Our guest speaker, Glen Simard, is a small-town guy from St. Lazare who has spent his adult years in Brandon. Upon graduating from Brandon University, he worked as a schoolteacher in the Brandon School Division for more than 25 years. Being involved in sport for most of his life, when he enrolled his children in sport, it was a natural fit to become involved as a volunteer coach and administrator. Glen was a driving force in Brandon Minor Baseball. He worked diligently to create new opportunities for Brandon baseball players and has helped grow the program and Simplot Millenium Park to what they are today. 

Brandon Minor Baseball’s loss was the Province of Manitoba’s gain in 2023 as Glen joined the political world as Brandon East’s representative for the NDP. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the General Election and was quickly named the Minister of Sport, Heritage, Culture and Tourism by the Premier, Wab Kinew.

2024 Award Winners

Grassroots Coach of the Year - Derek Helgason of Elmwood

Photo from left to right: Derek Helgason, James Zamko, Baseball Manitoba Program Director

High Performance Coach of the Year - Cody Benson of La Salle 

Photo from left to right: Cody Benson, James Zamko, Baseball Manitoba Program Director

Grassroots Team of the Year - 15U AA St. James A’s (Female)

High Performance Team of the Year - Minor - 18U AAA Elmwood Giants

High Performance Team of the Year - Major - Senior West Winnipeg A’s 

Honour Society - Dale McKinnon of Deloraine

Photo left to right: Roger Langlais, Baseball Manitoba President, Dale McKinnon

Volunteer of the Year - Dan Cox of Winnipeg

Photo left to right: Roger Langlais, Baseball Manitoba President, Dan Cox

Derrick Dubell Grassroots Umpire of the Year - Michael Carlberg

Photo left to right: Michael Carlberg, Hailey, Derrick Dubell's daughter

Ron Shewchuk High-Performance Umpire of the Year - Ezekiel Fehr

Photo left to right: Ezekiel Fehr, Ron Shewchuk

Larry Nicholls Umpire Award of Merit - Miles Parr

Photo left to right: Ashton Liskie, Baseball Manitoba VP of Umpires, Miles Parr

Honour Society - Tom Yandeau

Photo left to right: Roger Langlais, Baseball Manitoba President, Nicole Madsen, accepting the award on behalf of Tom, who was unable to attend the event. 

Honour Society - Nicole Madsen

Photo left to right: Roger Langlais, Baseball Manitoba President, Nicole Madsen

Challenger Player of the Year - Hayden Cecchini

Photo left to right: Hayden Cecchini, Kevin Froese, Baseball Manitoba VP of Finance

13U Player of the Year - Donovan Dionne

Photo left to right: Donovan Dionne, Kevin Froese, Baseball Manitoba VP of Finance

15U Player of the Year - Seth Hooper

Photo left to right: Seth Hooper, Kevin Froese, Baseball Manitoba VP of Finance

18U Player of the Year - Lucas Lyons

Photo left to right: Lucas Lyons, Kevin Froese, Baseball Manitoba VP of Finance

14U Female Player of the Year - Josie Miller 

 
Photo left to right: Kevin Booker, Baseball Manitoba VP of High Performance, Josie Miller

16U Female Player of the Year - Ally Neufeld

Photo left to right: Kevin Booker, Baseball Manitoba VP of High Performance, Ally Neufeld

Senior Women’s Player of the Year - Jewell Thompson

Photo left to right: Kevin Booker, Baseball Manitoba VP of High Performance, Jewell Thompson

22U (Junior) Player of the Year - Easton Grieve

Photo left to right: Kevin Booker, Baseball Manitoba VP of High Performance, Easton Grieve

Senior Men's Player of the Year - Logan Warkentin

Photo left to right: Kevin Booker, Baseball Manitoba VP of High Performance, Heather and Jeff Warkentin, Logan's parents, accepting the award on behalf of Logan, who was unable to attend the event

Honour Society -  Pete Perreault

Photo left to right: Kevin Booker, Baseball Manitoba VP of High Performance, Pete Perreault

Region of the Year - Red River Valley

Thank you to everyone who celebrated with us at this event, and thank you to our guest speaker, the Honourable Glen Simard, for joining us. Congratulations again to all our 2024 Award Winners, and here's to another great year of baseball in Manitoba!

View the event program here.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to stay informed on all Baseball Manitoba news and events!