Ditka to speak at Rosary High School

Mike Ditka, past coach of the championship Chicago Bears, will be delivering his motivational "A.C.E." speech to the general public at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 18 at Rosary High School, 901 N. Edgelawn Drive in Aurora.

According to Aurora native Kurt Becker, who played on the 1985 championship Chicago Bears for Mike Ditka, "Mike is an inspirational speaker and is committed to helping young people reach their full potential with a focus on Attitude, Character and Enthusiasm."

Proceeds from ticket sales will help subsidize tuition costs for Rosary students. Kurt Becker attracted Mike Ditka to Rosary because he knows firsthand how important a college preparatory education can be. Becker's daughter graduated from Rosary in 2009 and is currently attending college and swimming for ISU.

Tickets to the event are on sale now. The Ditka presentation starts at 4 p.m. There will be a silent auction featuring Ditka autographed items from 2 to 7:15 p.m. and live music, food and a beer garden after the speech from 5 to 9 p.m. with no entry fee charged to all Ditka ticket holders.

For information, visit rosaryhs.com. Seat locations and ticket prices range from group rate bleacher seats at $20 each to main floor seats at $75 each. To order tickets, call Diann Witte, director of development, at (630) 896-0831, ext. 13. Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. Sponsorships are also available.

Rosary High School is a Catholic college preparatory high school sponsored by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield. Since 1962, Rosary has maintained a reputation for providing a rigorous college preparatory education for young women.