Basketball Manitoba hosted its 50th Annual General Meeting on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, with the online meeting including the organization’s annual reports, audited financial statements, bylaw updates, Safe Sport policy updates and the election of its Board of Directors for the upcoming 2026-27 year.
The membership elected six individuals to the Board of Directors, including the re-election of Stacy Hawash, Marlin Kraus and Kirby Schepp, each to another two-year term. New members elected to the Board were Keenan Benarroch, Sheree Carmona-Galdamez and Yadili Okwumabua-Gbakima. All elected positions are two-year terms.
Following the AGM, the new Board met and internally elected Sara Gillis to continue as President of Basketball Manitoba. Mike Weekes was elected Vice President, and Sheree Carmona-Galdamez was elected Treasurer.
Basketball Manitoba extends its sincere thanks to outgoing Board members James Dark, Varinder Brar and Chiranjit “Chit” Goswami for their service, leadership and contributions to the organization.
James has provided steady and important leadership as Treasurer, helping guide the Association through its financial reporting, budgeting and audit processes with professionalism and care. His work has supported strong oversight and accountability for Basketball Manitoba during a period of continued growth and change.
Varinder has been a valued voice around the Board table, contributing thoughtful perspective, strong community-minded leadership and a clear commitment to the continued development of basketball across Manitoba. His involvement has helped support the broader direction of the organization and its work with members throughout the province.
Chit has brought a dedicated and collaborative approach to his role as a Director, offering insight, experience and a consistent focus on strengthening the game and supporting the people involved in it. His contributions at a wide variety of aspects of the game have been appreciated by the Board and the Basketball Manitoba community.
The full Basketball Manitoba Board of Directors for 2026-27 will be:
- Sara Gillis - President
- Mike Weekes - Vice President
- Sheree Carmona-Galdamez - Treasurer
- Keenan Benarroch - Director
- Stacy Hawash - Director
- Trevor Johnson - Director
- Marlin Kraus - Director
- Yadili Okwumabua-Gbakima - Director
- Kirby Schepp - Director
- Michèle Sung - Director
- Jaime Taggart - Director
The meeting also saw the formal presentation of the 2025-26 Basketball Manitoba Audited Financial Statement, the new fiscal year budget, the President’s Report, Staff Reports and the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame and Museum Report. The audited financial statements were approved by the membership, and the appointment of Scarrow and Donald as auditors was approved.
A bylaw amendment was also approved to reflect the completed merger of wheelchair basketball operations into Basketball Manitoba. The amendment removes the former Manitoba Wheelchair Sport Association AGM voting designation and establishes a dedicated Board position connected to the wheelchair basketball portfolio, with Trevor Johnson continuing in that role until June 2027.
The AGM also included an update on Basketball Manitoba’s and Sport Manitoba's new Safe Sport Policy framework, which took effect April 1, 2026, in alignment with Manitoba’s Protecting Youth in Sports Act. The updated framework strengthens requirements regarding conduct, discipline, complaints, dispute resolution, Respect in Sport, and coach screening, while also directing maltreatment complaints involving young athletes to an independent third-party process.
Additional annual report highlights included Basketball Manitoba’s upcoming 50th anniversary recognition, the continued growth of development and high-performance programming, the merger of wheelchair basketball operations, the ongoing transition of basketball officials governance, and the renewal of key partnerships supporting the sport across Manitoba.
The Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame and Museum also provided an update on its ongoing work, including its unique status as Canada’s only dedicated physical basketball museum site, the addition of historical items to Manitoba’s online heritage portal, and the upcoming Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame induction dinner scheduled for September 26, 2026.
The meeting was attended by representatives from:
- Basketball Manitoba Board of Directors
- Basketball Manitoba Staff
- Brandon University Bobcats
- Inner-city Basketball League
- Manitoba Association of Basketball Officials
- Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame and Museum
- Peg City Basketball
- University of Manitoba Bisons
- University of Winnipeg Wesmen
- Winnipeg Basketball League
- Winnipeg Minor Basketball Association
- Winnipeg Sea Bears Basketball Club
- Board nominees and other individuals from the Manitoba basketball community
All documents presented at the AGM are available in the full AGM package distributed electronically at the meeting. You can view the entire AGM Package by
