PBA alumni weekend a success

By Justin Seward - Lethbridge Herald on September 14, 2022.

Submitted photo Former Prairie Baseball Academy players Denny Puszkar and Myles Fletcher celebrate alumni weekend with their old uniforms from their playing days.

Former Prairie Baseball Academy players reunited in the city for the recent annual alumni weekend.

The event began with the fifth annual Keith Jorgensen Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament on Friday at Paradise Canyon and allowed for players to reminisce about their playing days and concluded with alumni having the opportunity to watch games of the current PBA team’s fall season on Saturday.

The golf tournament is honour of Jorgensen, who was instrumental in both the creation of the PBA program and the golf event that has in the past funded over $75,000 annually in scholarships for players attending University of Lethbridge and Lethbridge College.

“We started a committee a few years ago — the committee existed for a while — maybe seven or eight years,” said Omar Kadir, who played with PBA from 2003-2005 and a member of the Prairie Baseball Academy Alumni Association.

“But we kind of had a brand-new board maybe three years ago. And since then we’ve kind of tried to rejuvenate the alumni I guess with an alumni weekend to try and bring guys in that have left town or even are in town to be honest because people get busy with day-to-day life and to have a weekend where guys can get together and reminisce.”

The weather turned out great for the weekend and fun was had by all at the golf tournament.

“I think Hub (PBA coach Todd Hubka) said we had more alumni play in this golf tournament than any year’s past and we almost had a full tournament,” said Kadir.

“I think we had quite a few teams coming out of COVID. Last year, we didn’t get too many guys out, but this year I think we had 32 teams out 36 potentially. So that is always good.”

Kadir though it was nice for PBA to see what kind of impact the program had in the community of Lethbridge and throughout the province and country.

“When guys come in from out province too and to just kind of see where guys have gone on and moved on with life, what they’re accomplishing and what they’re doing with their time now,” he said.

“And just to see that guys still appreciate where they came from and how PBA help them accomplish their goals.”

Kadir was skeptical at first coming from B.C. to PBA and upon arrival was impressed with the whole program.

“And the guys I played with that I continue to be friends with and we’re probably almost 18 years out from PBA and just the brotherhood that you kind of get from being a part of Prairie Baseball Academy,” he said.

“It’s growing,” said Hubka.

“Our alumni board have been doing a really good job on trying to grow our alumni and it showed yesterday in our golf event. I think we had 50 alumni that golfed in our Keith Jorgensen Scholarship Golf Tournament. I think it’s going to keep growing and it’s fun having the old guys around. There’s a couple of guys here this weekend that I haven’t seen in quite a few years and it’s good to run into them again and reminisce about the old days.”

The golf tournament winning team was the foursome of Jason Kraemer, Chad Vadenbrook, Craig Paskel and Jesse Sawyer at -16 under par.