This profile is part of Destination Ann Arbor’s Great Minds Think a Lot series, highlighting influential leaders in Washtenaw County who make a positive impact within our community.

Bilal Saeed – co-founder and managing owner of Pakmode Media and Marketing, and chairman of AFC (Association Football Club) Ann Arbor – is a person who harbors equal love for Ann Arbor and YpsilantiOpens a New Window..

“I grew up in Port Huron,” said Saeed, 34. “Both of my older sisters went to U of M, … and my dad loved the (Ann Arbor) Art Fair, in particular. But really, we’d jump at any excuse for getting all of us in the car and heading to Ann Arbor. So I developed a real affinity for the area. When I went to Eastern (Michigan University), I hadn’t been familiar with Ypsilanti at all, and I fell in love with Ypsi, too. With both places right next to each other, I found it really hard to ever leave.”

Saeed launched PakmodeOpens a New Window. – a company that focuses on sports and entertainment marketing (the name alludes to Saeed’s Pakistani heritage) – in Ypsilanti in 2008, when he was still a student at EMU. And although the company now works out of an office in Ann Arbor, Saeed makes his home in Ypsilanti, near a border between the two towns.

“I’m one of those people – a lot of people feel really strongly one way or the other,” Saeed said of town allegiances. “I’m a connector. I love both communities. They each have different things to offer, so I feel like I get the best of both worlds.”

But how did Saeed become AFC Ann Arbor chairman in 2014?

Well, he’d already spent a good chunk of his childhood playing soccer in Port Huron, “and also pretty much every other summer in England with my family, which taught me a lot about the game, playing pick-up with kids in the back alley or the parks,” said Saeed.

So he’d always had a passion for the game. And when local soccer fanatic Jamey Amrine started laying the foundation for building a semi-pro team (now called The Mighty Oak), Saeed didn’t hesitate about getting involved.

“I thought, what a cool opportunity to use my skills for a good cause,” said Saeed. “From the beginning, I knew it wasn’t a ‘get rich’ type of business. It was clearly marked from the beginning as something we could just do for our community, and I thought about what a powerful tool this could be to get kids involved in the game, get them more active, and encourage them to adopt a healthy lifestyle. When I was a kid, the game gave me confidence, it gave me friends, I learned how to work with teammates – I learned so much from this game. So to be able to use this platform to give this same opportunity to young people, and get them involved from the get-go – I just love it so much. I feel lucky to lead the club. It’s a real labor of love.” READ THE REST HERE