The Golden Anniversary Celebration was held at the Annual Convention of AFA at the Chicago Hilton and Towers in Chicago, November 4, 1999, with Patricia Ganer, Chair of the Fiftieth Anniversary Committee presiding. The delight of the celebration was the reunion of forensics directors from AFA’s first fifty years. The celebration also provided the opportunity to honor Mal Sillars, representing the founders of the Association, and thirteen of the twenty-four Presidents from the first half century who were present at the celebration. The highlight of the celebration, however, was the awards presented to the Outstanding Contributions to Scholarship in Argumentation and the Outstanding Contributions to Service over the first fifty years.
Outstanding Contribution to Scholarship
- Wayne Brockriede
- G. Thomas Goodnight
- Bruce Gronbeck
- Charles Arthur Willard
- David Zarefsky
Outstanding Contribution to Service
- Austin J. Freeley
- Annabel Hagood
- James A. (Al) Johnson
- W. Scott Nobles
- Donn W. Parson
- James W. Pratt
- Gerald Sanders
- Larry Schnoor
- Malcolm O. Sillars
- George Ziegelmueller
In addition to these awards, reports were received from Gerald Sanders on the Fiftieth Anniversary Videotape project and Ronald Reid on the Fiftieth Anniversary History Project.