More than 20 years ago, siblings Christine and George J. Sidoris first noticed troubling changes in their father’s behavior during a family gathering. “Normally, when my brother and his family visited, my father was gregarious and the life of the party. This time, we noticed he wasn’t socializing,” shared Christine. Their father also started to display poor decision-making and demonstrated OCD behaviors.

Family members thought these changes might have been related to depression, but when his symptoms progressively worsened, they encouraged their father to seek medical advice. Following a CAT scan, a neurologist diagnosed George with Pick’s disease, now known as FTD. He was 70 years old.

“From that point on, it was a steady decline,” remembers Christine. With their father’s diagnosis, George turned to the internet, “using a dial-up line,” to learn more about the disease. Through an online bulletin board, George found information that “was invaluable. It gave us a good awareness of what to expect.”

Shortly after their father passed away at the age of 75, the Sidoris’ reached out to AFTD founder Helen-Ann Comstock to learn more about the young organization, which had been founded in 2002. Inspired by a friend’s charity golf outing for his daughter, George began planning an event to honor their father and fundraise in support of AFTD.

In 2006, a year after their father’s passing, George and Christine held the first GFS Memorial Golf Outing. Despite inclement weather, “we had approximately 60 golfers and raised a little over $9,000,” said George, noting their appreciation for all who chose to play through the rain.

In addition to working with Christine to host the golf outing each year, George served on AFTD’s Board of Directors from 2007-2009. With every tournament, the Sidoris’ learned lessons they willingly share with others who want to host fundraising events. They stress the importance of early and open communication with participants.

“Set a deadline,” recommends George. “We create checklists and find options to keep the costs down. We give prize money for a variety of golf games; however, many winners choose to donate their prize money back to the GFS Memorial & AFTD’s mission.

The siblings are thankful for growing participation at their tournament, noting that greater FTD awareness – due in large part to the announcements about Bruce Willis’ and Wendy Williams’ diagnoses – has helped their efforts. “People are so connected now because they recognize the disease more,” said George.

For their 2024 event, the Sidoris’ had 40-hole sponsors, 140 golfers and raised more than $65,500—a tournament record, which brings their grand total raised for AFTD to $438,750! “It’s something that George and I do to raise awareness and donate funds for drug discovery,” said Christine. “The feedback we get is overwhelmingly gratifying, but our ultimate goal is to make a difference and hopefully one day, we can say that we were part of the cure.” Over the years, the growing Sidoris family has gotten involved in the planning and hosting, including their children, grandchildren and even great-grandchild!

Click here to read more about the annual GFS Memorial Golf Outing, with next year’s event already scheduled for August 2.