The following is a letter to the editor submitted by Mike Renney, Head Softball Coach of Simon Fraser University, of Canada.

Each of the past few years our University Softball team from Simon Fraser University up here in Canada, takes in the Cal. State Stanislaus tournament and this year was no exception. In each of our visits to your community we have been nothing but pleased with the hospitality we have received, and by way of this letter would like to express our appreciation to so many who added to our visit.

Jan Schefkowitz and the Cal. State Stanislaus tournament staff do a great job in making their tournament a premier event for us to look forward to every year. Additionally the many people who we interact with are so welcoming.

With our school being on the West Coast of Canada, many of our local athletes have traveled the I-5 corridor before, however each year we welcome new athletes from across Canada who are always excited to see California on our schedule. Without a doubt, upon graduation, after making annual trips to your community, our athletes will leave with many fond memories of both the community and more importantly the people. So on behalf of all involved in our softball program we again thank all that positively impacted our annual stay and we will look forward to visiting again next year!

This year we also took a break from our competitive schedule while in Turlock to visit with a number of youngsters at the Prodigal Sons and Daughters afternoon outreach program. For us, making an effort to engage the communities in which we travel to is important, however it is only sliver of time on our busy schedules . It is those that are there day in and day out to better the youth of one’s community that deserve the credit and support, so our hats are off to Mike and his staff at this organization for their efforts in shaping the next generation.

Sincerely,
Coach Renney and the SFU Softball team