OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALISTS RETURN TO
CO-HOST CHICAGO TELETHON BROADCAST
TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 23, 2007 — Olympic gymnastics gold medalists Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci will return to co-host the Chicago broadcast of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon on Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2-3.
Chicago native Conner, first hosted the Chicago Telethon broadcast in 1989 and was joined by his wife, Nadia Comaneci, as a co-host a few years later.
Benefiting the programs of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the legendary Telethon will originate from the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa in Las Vegas and will air for 21½ hours, beginning at 9 p.m. EDT, Sept. 2. In the Chicago area, the Telethon can be seen on WGN, Channel 9, beginning at 10 p.m. Sunday.
Conner and Comaneci are involved with the Association year- round, making nationwide appearances on its behalf. Conner serves on MDA’s Board of Directors, while Comaneci is an MDA national vice president.
“I’m delighted to welcome back Bart and Nadia as co-hosts of the Chicago broadcast of the Telethon,” said MDA National Chairman and Telethon star Jerry Lewis. “Their dedication to MDA and its mission to eradicate neuromuscular diseases is unwavering.”
Conner, the first American male gymnast to win gold medals at every level of Olympic competition, is now a sports broadcaster and public speaker. A winner of five Olympic gold medals, Comaneci was the first to score a perfect 10 in women’s gymnastics.
Together, they run the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy and Perfect 10 Production Company in Norman, Okla. They also publish International Gymnast magazine.
MDA is a voluntary health agency working to defeat more than 40 neuromuscular diseases through programs of worldwide research, comprehensive services, and far-reaching professional and public health education. In Chicago, MDA has clinics at University of Chicago Hospitals, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Rush University Medical Center and the University of Illinois.
The Association’s programs are funded almost entirely by individual private contributors. |
