Last month at the Blue Convention (a national umpiring conference that was held in Richmond, BC), Manitoba's very own Jayme Menard was announced as the winner of the Ed Bitz Scholarship for 2016-17!

Congratulations, Jayme, this is a huge honour and Team Toba wishes you success in the upcoming season!  Here's the announcement from the Softball Canada website:

Softball Canada is pleased to announce that Jayme Menard (Winnipeg, MB) and Francais Olexa (Delta, BC) are the recipients of Ed Bitz Scholarships for the 2016-17 academic year.

The Ed Bitz Scholarship recognizes young Softball Canada umpires who have demonstrated a commitment to the sport and to their pursuit of post-secondary academics through two $1,000 awards each academic year.

Jayme Menard is a Level II umpire and will be entering her first year of studies in Environmental Sciences and Biology at Valley State University in North Dakota. In addition to her pursuit of umpiring and studying, she will also be playing on the VSU Women's softball program in the fall. Jayme will be umpiring at a Western Canadian Championship this summer and looks forward to working her first Canadian Championship in the coming years.

Francais Olexa is in her third year of the Science program at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, where she is also playing university fast pitch. She started umpiring as a Grade 9 student in 2011 in order to have a job that fit her playing schedule. However, she quickly realized that umpiring was more than just a job - it was a passion. She is currently a Level II umpire and looks forward to umpiring her first Canadian Championship soon.

The Ed Bitz Scholarship is funded by a silent auction at every Blue Convention and the generosity of many Blue Convention presenters who donate their registration fee to support the scholarship fund. The awards recognize the contributions of Softball Canada's first National Director of Umpires, Ed Bitz of Saskatchewan.