On December 9^th, a group of students from the Edwards School of Business JDC West business case competition team volunteered their time and warm smiles to make the Fourth Annual Festive Dinner fundraiser at the Friendship Inn a huge success! Along with a chance to network with many of Saskatoon’s business and community leaders, the group assisted with set up and take down for the event as well as greeting and serving the distinguished guests and supporters throughout the evening.

In addition to countless hours of training for the business case competition itself in mid-January, the entire team is fully engaged in on-going fundraising and charity efforts throughout the year. Other worthwhile organizations where the students have contributed in recent months include Ronald McDonald House, the Saskatoon Food Bank, Lows In Motion and Habitat for Humanity. Team Co-Captain, Jordana Knoblauch, has noted that “the team has already completed 800 hours of volunteer effort, and we’re on track toward 1000 hours in the weeks ahead!”. In his fifth year as the Faculty Advisor for the team, Trevor Maber added “I’m constantly impressed by the engagement and dedication of the team members. Their enthusiasm and dedication is a clear demonstration of their wanting to participate and give back to the community, and it’s great to see these future leaders and change makers in action.”. In 2015, JDC West teams from across Western Canada raised $144,960 and logged over 9,547 hours for Canadian charities.

JDC West is the largest business competition in Western Canada and is a three-day event that showcases academics, athletics, debate, and an out-of-the-box social competition. Over 600 students from the business schools at 12 of Western Canada’s top universities unite annually to compete in this competition. JDC West seeks to assemble the best business students that Western Canadian universities have to offer. The competition provides students with the opportunity to compete with each other in all facets of business, while developing networking, critical thinking, and leadership skills. The University of Saskatchewan and the Edwards School of Business are proud and excited to be hosting the competition in Saskatoon, January 14^th to 17^th, 2016.