Mark your calender, call your travel agent (or punch up your favorite on-line airline ticket website) in order to make your travel arrangements to Chicago for the weekend of June 3-4-5. If you're a semi-pro football commissioner, league officer, team owner, coach, player, and/or official you won't want to miss this exciting weekend in the Chicagoland area..

As part of the American Football Association's "Silver Anniversary" celebration the national organization for semi-pro football teams and leagues has named the Oakbrook, Illinois Hilton/Drury Lane Convention Center as the headquarter hotel for their busy football weekend. The AFA is a 25 year old national 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit corporation dedicated to the advancement of semi-pro (adult amateur) football in the United States. During the semi-pro seasons the AFA monitors the activities of more than 700 teams across the country. In 2004 alone the AFA "power rated" 720 teams playing 3,794 games in 63 different leagues coast-to-coast.

The early June date for the "convention/seminar" was selected because it comes at the end of the AFA's spring league schedule and just before the start of the fall league games. The Chicago area was selected because it is the birthplace of the AFA some 25 years ago (1980) and the mid-West area has the largest number of Semi-Pro Football Hall of Famers, a factor that will play an important roll in promoting a successful AFA/HOF "Silver Anniversary" alumni reunion. While the annual Hall of Fame Induction dinners are always sold out affairs, they have been held at hotels with somewhat limited restaurant seating (200-300). The largest crowd to witness an AFA/HOF enshrinement was in 2002 in Canton, Ohio when 322 dinner guests gathered to honor the class of 2002 inductees. Because the Hilton/Drury Lane Convention Center ballroom is expandable, the hotel management is ready to assist the Hall of Fame dinner committee in setting a new record for dinner guests during the AFA Induction.

In keeping with the Silver Anniversary reunion theme the AFA will induct 25 well deserving and dedicated individuals in 11 different categories. Since January the Hall of Fame alumni have been encouraged to summit names for the nominating "prospects" list for consideration. Commissioners from AFA member leagues are now being polled for candidates for nomination for the Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame "Class of 2005". The AFA Semi-Pro Football "convention/seminar" will feature guest speakers specializing in categories such as adult-amateur sports marketing (use of free interns), public relations, team management, fund raising promotion, coaching, officiating, insurance, protective equipment, plus others. Each speaker will be familiar with the non-professional level of football and address the everyday problems and solutions that team and league administrators face on the semi-pro level -- rather than relating to college and/or pro football scenarios, where success is usually measured by the amount of expendable dollars a team has in their budgets.

Seminar speakers will share their personal "good, bad and the ugly" stories in order to keep the "pie in the sky -- quick fix". . . theories to a minimum. Special subjects such as increasing gate attendance, obtaining better local news coverage, improving player recruitment, attracting college and pro scouts to games -- will also be on the agenda for discussion during seminar hours.

Convention registration will begin at 8:30 am on Saturday, June 4th. at the Oakbrook Terrace Hilton Hotel/Drury Lane Convention Center. From 8:30 am to 10:00 am. Convention attendees will have a chance to talk with representatives from football equipment companies and football related service organizations as they show-off their latest line of goods on "table top" displays. Several AFA Semi-Pro Football Alumni Clubs from around the country will also have representatives manning their booth space in hopes of exchanging some "old football war stories" with the convention attendees and perhaps even snagging a few new Alumni Club memberships for their organizations at the same time.

The Seminar (meeting portion) will begin at 10 am and last until 3:30 pm with a 45 minute lunch break in between subject speakers. Tickets for the convention/seminar will be available at the door for a $10 per person donation to the American Football Association. Admission is FREE to all AFA members showing their 2005 AFA membership card. Wives, significant others, and guests of card carrying AFA members will be allowed a "special guest" admission for a donation of $5 each.

Players, coaches, team and league administrators, trainers, equipment managers, officials, as well as former semi-pro footballers (AFA Alumni) . . . even fans can join the AFA national semi-pro football association for an annual membership donation of $10. AFA members receive a colorful personalized plastic (credit card size) membership card, copies of the AFA national association's quarterly "Semi-Pro and Proud" newsletter, and opportunities to attend certain AFA sponsored events (like the 2005 Chicago Semi-Pro football Convention/Seminar) free of charge.

If you're planning on attending the AFA summer convention on Saturday morning and afternoon (June 4th) you and your group might just as well stay the night at the Hilton Suites and attend the AFA's 25th annual Hall of Fame Induction Dinner that evening. Dinner tickets to the annual HOF banquet are $50 each and must be purchased in advance. Come a day early and spend Friday night at the AFA "Silver Anniversary" Huddle-cocktail party (25th Class Reunion) with AFA Hall of Fame Legends from around the country.

Plan a mini-vacation in Chicago that weekend and join the Illinois Chapter of the AFA Alumni Club sponsored Golf Outing on Thursday, June 2nd. More details about the June AFA semi-pro football events in upcoming AFA press releases.

Make your travel and room accommodations for the AFA's busy semi-pro football weekend as soon as possible. Special AFA room rates at the Hilton are only $96 per night when mentioning the American Football Association. Call 800-HILTONS, or their local Illinois number at 630-941-0100.