Willie and Bill Geist to Host 21st Annual Bachmann-Strauss Golf Invitational June 17

Last year, Bill Geist, a correspondent with CBS since 1987 and currently host of the network’s Sunday Morning, broke the news to his viewers about his being affected with Parkinson’s disease, a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system.  It was his viewers’ supportive responses to his on-air disclosure that made him want to continue as an on-air personality.   

Geist will be this year’s guest of honor at The Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia and Parkinson’s Foundation’s 21st Annual Dystonia and Parkinson’s Golf Invitational on Monday, June 17th, at Century Golf Club in Purchase, NY.  This year’s theme is 21 Years: Coming of Age. Nearly 300 guests are expected to attend the annual Golf Invitational. 

No one is more proud of Bill’s strength and fortitude than son Willie, who shares not only an emotional bond with his dad, but a professional one.   Co-host of NBC’s Today and MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Willie will serve as this year’s master of ceremonies.

For those who know the Geists, that Willie followed Bill’s lead professionally is no surprise. Willie was born with the personality and charisma and coupled with his father’s tutelage, it was an explosive combination.

Bill was first a reporter and columnist for the Chicago Tribune, then a columnist for The New York Times before he joined CBS News in 1987 as a Sunday Morning correspondent.  His specialty is telling quirky, grass roots stories about people and places across America.

Willie worked as a producer for CNN/Sports Illustrated and then FOX Sports Net.  He joined MSNBC in April 2005 as a senior producer of The Situation with Tucker Carlson and then became a regular on-air contributor, before becoming co-host of Morning Joe.

Today, father and son live blocks away from each other with their families in Manhattan.

Raising more than $1 million annually to help fund medical research in the fields of dystonia and Parkinson’s disease, the golf invitational is considered the Foundation’s premier fundraiser. 

Last year’s event raised $1.9 million, which funded scientific research as well as new Centers of Excellence.  Most recently, research funded by The Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia & Parkinson Foundation has resulted in the finding two new dystonia genes, which could lead to better targets for treatments and ultimately, a cure.  Dystonia affects an estimated 500,000 men, women, and children in North America alone, striking more people than muscular dystrophy, Huntington’s disease, and Lou Gehrig’s disease combined.

Posted by Paula Stein, executive director of The Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia & Parkinson's Disease Foundation.