Inductees
Diamond Council of Columbia

When you look across the ball diamonds in Columbia – those that are filled with players in the Diamond Council – it’s hard not to shake your head in awe.
This past spring and summer, there were 1,700 kids on 170 baseball and softball teams. Call it a testament to the council’s great work dating back to the 1960s.
“It’s a combination of the love of the game and the kids,” Executive Director Paul Blythe said of the Diamond Council’s leadership team and its volunteer army. “I always told myself, as a coach, when I’m finished with a player, if they still love the game, I have done my job.”
The Diamond Council certainly has done great work for decades, and it’s why the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame proudly donated to the non-profit during the 2024 Enshrinement in Columbia presented by Shelter Insurance.
Diamond Council is a non-profit organization of volunteers established in 1963 and run by a board of directors and executive committee. It provides area youth an opportunity to play baseball and softball, emphasizing fun, sportsmanship and skill development.
DC is partnered with the City of Columbia Parks and Recreations Department. It registers and organizes its own leagues, and the Parks and Recreation Department prepares the fields for play each day.
Additionally, the Diamond Council is a volunteer organization, as all coaches are volunteers. Teams are formed based on schools attending, volunteer coaches and team sponsors. Teams are not drafted on ability of skills and, best of all, all kids play.
Plus, the Diamond Council has a scholarship fund that helps cover entry fees for kids from low-income families.
All this for a program that has served as many as 2,700 children in a season pre-pandemic.
“We have had a huge number of players go on to play high school, Division I and a few play professionally. That, however, isn’t our goal,” Blythe said. “We aren’t here to turn out professional ball players. We are here to help develop successful adults in whatever field they decide to go into. We hope they use the lessons they’ve learned here to help them overcome and succeed in life.”
There have been so many great stories in the league.
For Blythe, there are two heart-warming memories.
“I was in desperate need of a coach for an age group a few years ago. I started talking to a father about coaching his daughters’ team. He was so apprehensive,” Blythe said. “I insisted that he could handle it, and we would give him all the help and advice he needed. He reluctantly took the position. Several years later, he is still coaching and coaching multiple teams. I remind him when I see him about the conversations we had.”
And then there are the umpires.
“We have had so many umpires that have started there careers with us and have moved on to high school and college games,” Blythe said. “I’m so proud of our umpiring crew.”
Said Brandon May, the organization president, “I got started as an assistant coach 16 years ago with Diamond Council. I didn’t have a kid on the team at that time, and I always got asked why I was spending my time coaching other kids. My answer was always the same: ‘Because I enjoy it.’”
The Diamond Council has been in great hands over the years. Blythe has been the executive director since 2018 after a six-year term as president. He’s been with the organization since 1999.
Debbie Jamison was the executive director and constructed the foundation. The longest serving board member is Steve Hirt, whose financial skills have been significant. May is pushing the group to take the organization to the next level.
And then there was the late Ron McMillan, the Diamond Council’s former president and umpire in charge.
“Ron was a consummate professional,” Blythe said. “He was well-respected statewide in the sports officiating community. He taught me so much about umpiring. How to look, act and, most importantly, how to be prepared.
“I try hard to pass that along to the umpires we hire and train,” Blythe added. “Sports leagues are only as strong as their officiating crew. We feel we have one of the best in the state. It’s all because of Ron and what he brought to the fields every day. He is greatly missed.”
The Council also seeks out sponsors.
“Each team has its own sponsor,” Blythe said. “We cannot possibly do what we do without the help of the local business community.”