Connie Brown became the 10th NABF President in 2021, making her the first woman to ever hold the position in the 108-year history of the NABF. Brown has decades of experience in baseball which began in the late 1990s with the founding of the American Legion team in 1997 and then a year later with the NABF Regional in Columbus. This would not have been possible without being exposed to baseball at a young age as her father was an umpire, and he took an 8-year-old Connie to her first Chicago Cubs game against the Cincinnati Reds, becoming a Cubs fan because of it. Also, her husband Frosty Brown has coached baseball for 50 years, and she has 3 children, 6 grandchildren, a great-grandson, and a great-granddaughter, who are involved in baseball one way or another. So, baseball is strong with Connie and her family.

Connie organizes fundraising events for the teams all year long which started in 1997 with four NABF Regionals. In 1998, she ran a Regional for Charlie Blackburn and the Senior Division Regional both held in Troy, OH, and that’s how she got into the NABF. One year later, Connie was named the 1999 Women of the Year for her contributions to the NABF. In 2012, she was put on the Board of Directors of the NABF and named Senior Division Director in 2013, which the latter she still manages. Two years later, Connie was named 3rd Vice President and now is the NABF President that she’ll serve until the end of 2022. Regarding the future of the NABF, Connie discussed plans for the oldest amateur baseball federation in the country. 

She would like to see the NABF become more digital, which the BaseballBluebook App – the baseball directory for players, coaches, and includes rosters – will make a huge difference, and the easier it is, the more teams will be there to compete with less time spent checking in as it’s all in one place. Connie is excited for the NABF College World Series that’s being held at Sports Force Parks in Sandusky, OH, from July 28-31st as Cedar Point is right there, and she hopes it increases the chances of bringing in more Midwest teams to compete in the tournament.