Category: Fundraising

2024 Awards/Fundraising Banquet a great success!

Vauxhall, AB –

First of all thank you to everyone who traveled to attend the 18th Annual Awards night. The weather was certainly challenging and we really appreciate everyone who braved the poor roads to attend the event. Also a special thank you to all the sponsors and donors for leading the way with first class auction items.

Shaun Haney led the evening as our MC and did an excellent job. His Q & A was very professional and made the event very memorable for our featured speaker.  Former Canadian MLB pitcher and 13 year professional Andrew Albers did a tremendous job speaking telling stories and giving insight into his 13 year professional career that took him from the big leagues to independent ball to Korea to Japan and back to the big leagues.  Several Awards and Scholarships were handed out highlighted by the Reno Lizzi Scholarships presented by Barbara & Yukio Kitagawa.

The Award winners are listed below:

  • Reno Lizzi Scholarship – Brett Getz
  • Reno Lizzi Underclassmen Award (Adam Nelubowich Award)– Alex Laurence & Callum Thomson
  • Coaches Award (newly named Blaine Burbank Coaches Award) – Jimmie Boulanger
  • Sports Connection Scholarship – Jacob Burgess & Jack Baxter

We are also very excited to welcome our 10th & 11th inductees to the Vauxhall Academy Wall of Excellence.

Assistant Coach – Jim Kotkas

Bob Miller

Thank you to everyone who attended, donated and sponsored the Banquet.  All donations go along way in assisting our student-athletes to Live Their Dreams.  Once a Jet….Always a Jet!

2023 Awards/Scholarship Fundaising Dinner tremendous success!

\Vauxhall, AB –

First of all thank you to everyone who traveled to attend the 17th Annual Awards night.   Also a special thank you to all the sponsors and donors for leading the way with first class auction items.

Shaun Haney led the evening as our MC and did an excellent job. His Q & A was very professional and made the event very memorable for our featured speaker.  Former Toronto Blue Jay ace and MLB allstar Ricky Romero did a tremendous job speaking telling stories and giving insight into his wonderful 10 year professional career.  Ricky walked the large audience through his career from high school to be an MLB allstar. Several Awards and Scholarships were handed out highlighted by the Reno Lizzi Scholarships presented by Barbara & Yukio Kitagawa.

The Award winners are listed below:

  • Reno Lizzi Scholarship – Cardel Dick
  • Reno Lizzi Underclassmen Award – Eric Reiling & Brett Getz
  • Coaches Award (newly named Blaine Burbank Coaches Award) – Kyle Yip
  • Sports Connection Scholarship – Raphael Ranger

We are also very excited to welcome our 8th & 9th inductees to the Vauxhall Academy Wall of Excellence.

President – Todd Ojala 

Ralph Alpin & Intact Insurance (accepting on his behalf Donna Brown)

Thank you to everyone who attended, donated and sponsored the Banquet.  All donations go along way in assisting our student-athletes to Live Their Dreams.  Once a Jet….Always a Jet!

17th Annual Awards & Scholarship Fundraising Dinner!

Vauxhall, AB –

The Vauxhall Academy is excited to announce our 17th Annual Awards & Scholarship Fundraising Dinner. We are happy to welcome former Toronto Blue Jay all-star Ricky Romero as our featured speaker.  Shaun Haney will join us again as our MC as well as several award being presented highlighted by the pretigious Reno Lizzi Award.  Please contact Lynda Unruh for tickets.

Celebration of Acheivement a tremendous success!

Vauxhall, AB – 

It has become a tradition of the Jets to celebrate special achievements throughout the 2021/2022 season.  A great meal with several presentations and awards was highlighted by the 16th Annual Reno Lizzi scholarship & ring presentation.  .  In an annual tradition we moved forward with our 9th Annual Celebration of Achievement sponsored by Barbara & Yukio Kitagawa.  There were many achievements this year and even more great memories and friendships that will last a lifetime. 2022 spring season was highlighted with a final record of 36-7-2.  The 2022 roster also broke the homerun record with 41 HR’s in 45 games.  Thank you so much to all our supporters for a tremendous season coming out of 2 challenging years.  We want to say an extra special to all our graduating seniors.  Your future is bright and thank you for making Vauxhall a better place than before you got here.  Once a Jet…Always a Jet.

Reno Lizzi Scholarship/Ring Presentation – RHP – Karter Andersen – $2000 & Ring

Jet of Year – LHP – David Stewart –  $500 scholarship

Coaches Award – Hardest worker in the off season – Custom Rawlings Glove – RHP – Garret Smith

Inch by Inch presented by Yukio & Barbara Kitagawa – $1000 scholarship – RHP Drew Lenehan

Scott Hornstra Memorial Scholarship – Heart & Hustle – $500 scholarship – SS – Brennan McTavish

Wanda Stober Memorial Award – Volunteer of the Year $250 scholarship – Kayden Hluecka

Kalvin Odland Memorial Award – Leadership/Dedication $500 scholarship – LHP David Stewart

Brian Bauman Award –  Oakleys & New Balance provided by Sports Connection – SS – Jack Wheatley  (missing) & Anson McGorman (missing)

Jan Tolton Memorial Award – Best in the Dorms $500 – OF Raphael Ranger

 

McLeod Family Scholarship – Excellence everyday that doesn’t require talent – $1000 scholarship each – INF – Riley Pearce, INF – Jared Bendfeld

 

Reno Lizzi Underclassman Bursary – Adam Nelubowich – $1000 tuition credit – C – Cardel Dick (missing)

Reno Lizzi Underclassman Bursary  – $1000 tuition credit – OF Kyle Yip (missing)

 

9th Annual Celebration of Acheivement!

Vauxhall, AB – 

It has became a tradition of the Jets to celebrate special achievements throughout the 2020/2021 season.  A great meal with several presentations and awards was highlighted by the 15th Annual Reno Lizzi scholarship & ring presentation.  It certainly has been a difficult and challenging year to say the least.  We do feel fortunate and lucky that the Jets student-athletes have had very little interuptions to their daily schedules at the Academy.  Unfortunately we were unable to play outside competition over the last 3 months but we have been able to build 2-3 games internally each week.  In an annual tradition we moved forward with our 9th Annual Celebration of Acheivement sponsored by Barbara & Yukio Kitagawa.  There was many acheivements this year and even more great memories and friendships that will last a lifetime.

Barbara & Yukio donated $1000 in a “Covid” scholarship to the program.  We had a random draw for $250 cash each for 4 players.  Kalem Haney, Aaron Vulcano, Jared Bendfeld & Dallas Cummins took home the cash.  The players really appreciated the kind gesture.

Reno Lizzi Scholarship/Ring Presentation – OF Jackson Clemett – $2000 & Ring

Jet of Year presented by Don Groves – OF/1B – Hunter Porter $500 scholarship

Coaches Award – Hardest worker in the off season – Custom Rawlings Glove – SS Kalem Haney

Inch by Inch presented by Yukio & Barbara Kitagawa – $1000 scholarship – RHP Cole Alguire

Scott Hornstra Memorial Scholarship – Heart & Hustle – $500 scholarship – OF – Dallas Cummins

Wanda Stober Memorial Award – Volunteers of the Year $500 scholarship – RHP Tyler Boudreau

Kalvin Odland Memorial Award – Leadership/Dedication $500 scholarship – C – Aaron Vulcano

Brian Bauman Award – “All in”  “Voted by the players” Oakleys & New Balance provided by Sports Connection – C – Cardel Dick

Jan Tolton Memorial Award – Best in the Dorms $500 – RHP Drew Lenehan

 

McLeod Family Scholarship – Excellence everyday that doesn’t require talent – $1000 scholarship each – INF/RHP Shaye McTavish, INF/RHP – Nick Backstrom

Reno Lizzi Underclassman Bursary – Adam Nelubowich – $1000 tuition credit – RHP – Karter Andersen

Reno Lizzi Underclassman Bursary  – $1000 tuition credit – C – Cardel Dick

Sports Connection Award – Oakleys & New Balance production – RHP Anson McGorman

 

 

14th Annual Awards & Scholarship Dinner!

Vauxhall, AB –

First of all thank you to everyone who traveled in the extremely cold weather to attend the 14th Annual Awards night.   Also a special thank you to all the sponsors and donors for leading the way with first class auction items.

Shaun Haney led the evening as our MC and did an excellent job. His Q & A was very professional and made the event very memorable for our featured speaker.  Former Toronto Blue Jays great and 16 year MLB veteran Rance Mulliniks did a tremendous job speaking telling stories and giving insight into past Blue Jays seasons/players and told several great stories about his 16 year MLB career. Several Awards and Scholarships were handed out highlighted by the Reno Lizzi Scholarships presented by Barbara & Yukio Kitagawa.

The Award winners are listed below:

  • Reno Lizzi Scholarship – Carlin Dick
  • Reno Lizzi Underclassman – Jackson Clemett & Hunter Porter
  • Coaches Award (newly named Blaine Burbank Coaches Award) – Ty Wevers
  • Sports Connection Scholarships – Ben Adams & Max Grant

We are also very excited to welcome our 7th & 8th inductees to the Vauxhall Academy Wall of Excellence.

2006/2007 David Reiniger

2013/2016 Josh Burgmann (accepting on Josh’s behalf his girlfriend Taylor Holst)

 

Thank you to everyone who attended, donated and sponsored the Banquet.  All donations go along way in assisting our student-athletes to Live Their Dreams.  Once a Jet….Always a Jet!

14th Annual Awards & Scholarship Dinner with Wall of Excellence Inductees!

Vauxhall, AB –

The VAB is excited for the 14th annual Awards/Scholarship Fundraising Banquet February 29th, 2020 at the Vauxhall Community Hall (5 pm cocktails and 5:45 pm program begins).  We are very excited to announce former Toronto Blue Jay & 16 year MLB veteran – Rance Mulliniks as our featured speaker. Mulliniks spent 16 seasons with the California Angles, Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays.

The evening will once again be highlighted by the Reno Lizzi Scholarships as well as several other Awards and Scholarship presentations. A silent auction, live auction and raffles will be going on throughout the evening

We are also very excited to welcome the 7th & 8th inductees to our Wall of Excellence.

David Reiniger was the 1st player to commit to become a Jet and the 1st to receive a scholarship to the US attending Alabama Huntsville.  David has his masters in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama and has worked with Boeing & NASA on rocket design and currently with Blue Origin as their Propulsion Module Director with the goal to send humans to space in 2020.

Josh Burgmann is a 3 year Jet who graduated in 2016 after spending 2 years with Team Canada and was drafted out of high school by the Cardinals.  Josh elected to attend the University of Washington and helped pitch the Huskies to the 2018 College World Series.  In 2019, Josh became the highest drafted Jet in history after being selected in the 5th round by the Chicago Cubs.  Josh currently is training in Vauxhall getting ready for spring training.

Some of the highlight auction items will be posted prior to the banquet.

Please contact Lynda Unruh at [email protected] for tickets.  Tickets cost is $60/ticket or $450/table of 8

We look forward to celebrating with the past, current and future Jets!

13th Annual Awards Banquet a great success!

 

Vauxhall, AB –

First of all thank you to everyone who traveled in the extremely cold weather to attend the 13th Annual Awards night.   Also a special thank you to all the sponsors and donors for leading the way with first class auction items.

Keith Miller led the evening again as our MC and did an excellent job.  Former Toronto Blue Jays coach Tim Leiper did a tremendous job speaking telling stories and giving insight into past Blue Jays seasons/players and gave us a glimpse of the future. Several Awards and Scholarships were handed out highlighted by the Reno Lizzi Scholarships.  Barbara & Yukio Kitagawa were unable to attend due to illness and were certainly missed.  We wish Yukio a speedy recovery.

The Award winners are listed below:

  • Reno Lizzi Scholarship – Adam Macko
  • Reno Lizzi Underclassman – Carlin Dick & Ben Adams
  • Coaches Award (newly named Blaine Burbank Coaches Award) – Evan O’Toole
  • Sports Connection Scholarships – Matt Wiggins & Josh Malainey

The Jets are also excited about taking our Celebration in Achievement Dinner in June to the next level with several awards and scholarships presented at the event.  Date will be announced soon.

Thank you to everyone who attended, donated and sponsored the Banquet.  All donations go along way in assisting our student-athletes to Live Their Dreams.  Once a Jet….Always a Jet!

13th Annual Awards/Scholarship Dinner!

13th Annual Awards/Scholarship Banquet  

Vauxhall, AB –

The VAB is excited for the 13th annual Awards/Scholarship Fundraising Banquet March 2nd, 2019 at the Vauxhall Community Hall (5 pm cocktails and 5:45 pm program begins).  We are very excited to announce former Toronto Blue Jays coach – Tim Leiper will be our featured speaker.  Leiper played 12 seasons in the minor leagues before moving over to the coaching side of the game.  He has coached and/or managed for 22 professional seasons with the last 5 seasons coaching 1st base for the Toronto Blue Jays.  Leiper has also coached Team Canada at every World Baseball Classic event (2006, 2009, 2013, 2017).

The evening will once again be highlighted by the Reno Lizzi Scholarships as well as several other Awards and Scholarship presentations. A silent auction, live auction and raffles will be going on throughout the evening

Some of the highlight auction items will be posted prior to the banquet.

Please contact Lynda Unruh at [email protected] for tickets.  Tickets cost is $60/ticket or $450/table of 8

We look forward to celebrating with the past, current and future Jets!

2018 Jets enjoy some culture getting ready for Christmas!

 

Full squad including practice squad.  Missing Florendine, Kondor and Howg

Great looking crew.  21 players – missing Chase Florendine on his recruiting trip to CSUN.

Couple vets Josh Malainey & Dayton Peters looking after a young buck Jackson Clemett.

Inside of Theatre Calgary and Max Bell Theatre

East Coasters Nick Gravel & Tyler Boudreau getting ready for the Theatre.

Good looking crew prior to the production starting

Cheque presentation for Pennies for K’s.  President Todd Ojala with Barbara and Yukio.

Calgary, AB –

The Jets traveled to Calgary Theatre and the 32nd running of “The Christmas Carol” live theatre production.  It has become an annual holiday tradition for the Jets. 2018 marks the 13th consecutive year that Yukio and Barbara Kitagawa have treated current Jets as well as many Academy supporters to a great day of holiday celebration and cheer. In total 53 Jets supporters enjoyed the holiday tradition.

It was an extra special day with VAB President Todd Ojala being presented a cheque from the Pennies for K’s fundraiser from Yukio and Barbara Kitawgawa.  The original fundraising goal for Oct. 12th, 2018 was not met but fortunately within the last month the goal was obtained.  Thank you so much to all that participated in the fundraising campaign.  It is great appreciated.

On behalf of the entire Jets organization we would like to thank Barbara and Yukio Kitagawa, Jason and Dawn Clemett, Margie Fast and Shirley from Theatre Calgary for the great day.

Merry Christmas!!