Bill Bucklew
Bill Bucklew
Early life and education
Bill was born on April 28, 1969, to mother Gladys and father Bob Bucklew in Arlington Heights, Illinois. In 1971, Bill was joined by his sister Susan.
Bill attended Lafayette High School in Chesterfield, Missouri and received a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, graduated with distinction from DePaul University with an MBA in Finance, and completed the Executive Innovation program at Harvard University.
Bill enjoyed sports as a child, playing soccer, basketball, swimming, and cross-country through high school. Bill was also a competitive windsurfer and competed in amateur photography competitions.
Career
Bill started his career, after interning for three years at Emerson Electric in their Electronics and Space division, as a design engineer with GE. In 1996, he left for Chicago to pursue an MBA and to work designing products for the automotive industry. Bill worked in dramatically different industries in roles like, in 2002, as the Director, Global Product Development with Fortune Brands focusing on office products; in 2008, as the Vice President of Engineering11 at Tegrant focused on automotive safety; in 2012, as the Chief Operating Officer & Executive Vice President, Innovation at Focus Products International45 focusing on household products; and in 2015 through today as the Vice President, Product at The Pampered Chef, focusing on kitchenware. Bill has invented and patented numerous items across these industries1234567.
Bill formed a 501(c)(3) charity which he chairs called UnCorked8 adventures in 2017, whose mission is: To help people with Parkinson’s Disease make the most out of life, while we work together to find a cure.
Family and Personal Life
Bill was married in 1998 to his wife Heidi and has two children, Madeleine born in 2003 and Evan born in 2006. Bill was diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's disease in 2012 after being misdiagnosed for 7 years previously. In 2015, Bill's father was also diagnosed with Parkinson's, and they believe that Bill's paternal grandfather had Parkinson's as well. Bill and his family reside in Wilmette, IL.
Charitable History
Recognizing the importance of exercise in managing Parkinson's, Bill immediately began competing in various events to raise research dollars to find a cure for Parkinson's. Bill completed 14 marathons, including Chicago (4x), New York (4x), Disney (2x), and Toronto. Bill completed a full Ironman, 7 Olympic-distance triathlons, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Ranier, completed the American Birkebeiner (Nordic ski race), Rock the Ridge ultra, organized a 60-person triathlon team9 10, and many more. Bill was part of a five-year study into the biomarkers for Parkinson's called PPMI, which could lead to earlier diagnosis and subjected him to numerous spinal taps, DAT scans, and blood draws.
The Walk
In 2017, Bill attempted to break the world record for running across the United States by walking, looking to find one person each day with a connection to Parkinson's disease. Bill left Tybee Island, Georgia, on November 24th, 2017, after dipping his hands in the Atlantic Ocean and made his way across the country, finishing 67 days later on Imperial Beach, California, on January 31, 2018.
Notable facts from his walk: Bill appears to hold the world record for walking across America; Guinness is reviewing it. Bill walked 2,594 miles, averaging 39 miles each day (1.5 marathons per day / 100 total). Bill had to overcome massive blisters, back problems, frostbite, a stress fracture, infection, swollen legs, a damaged Achilles, hundreds of miles with no median, and 16 dog attacks along the route. Bill lost 42 pounds on the adventure and connected with over 160 people with a connection to Parkinson's disease. Bill is detailed on the list of people who have walked across the United States17.
TED
In June 2018, Bill gave a TED Talk on the importance of being OK to fail.18
Press and Notable Appearances
Bill has appeared on numerous television shows and is a motivational speaker reaching tens of millions of viewers, including two stints on the Today Show12 13, Chicago Tonight14, WGN15, interviewed and drawn by the artist for the New Yorker in the Daily NorthShore16, and 40-plus additional appearances on ABC, CBS, etc.18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44
References
8https://www.uncorkedadventures.org/
11https://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/5/prweb8407908.htm
15http://wgntv.com/2017/12/05/midday-fix-bill-bucklew/
16 https://jwcdaily.com/2018/05/03/sunday-breakfast-with-bill-bucklew/
17List of people who have walked across the United States
18https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYZ1w1d_ZQk&t=5s
19https://jwcdaily.com/2018/05/03/sunday-breakfast-with-bill-bucklew
20https://charitymiles.org/blog/bill-bucklew-walking-across-the-us-with-parkinsons-disease/
21https://magazine.mst.edu/2018/07/bucklew-walks-across-america/
22https://jwcdaily.com/2018/05/03/sunday-breakfast-with-bill-bucklew/
23https://wgntv.com/2018/02/11/man-walks-across-the-u-s-to-show-what-people-with-parkinsons-can-do/
25http://www.kusi.com/uncorked-adventures-walk-across-america/
26http://www.thecwsandiego.com/story/37399074/walking-forparkingsonsfrom-sea-to-shining-sea Archived 2018-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
27http://www.yumasun.com/bill-bucklew/image_591068a8-0320-11e8-9822-0799944b66df.html
28http://www.kyma.com/news/illinois-man-walking-thousands-of-miles-for-parkinsons-awareness/691100498
29http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/309146989-video
35http://jwcdaily.com/2017/12/30/bill-bucklew-is-well-on-his-way/
42http://www.wilmettebeacon.com/resident-won%E2%80%99t-let-parkinson%E2%80%99s-define-him
43http://www.wtoc.com/story/36203069/hometown-hero-helping-parkinsons-patients
46https://business.facebook.com/HongKong100/posts/2493120170703079?__tn__=-R
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