MSNBC Anchor, Ridgewood Alumni Willie Geist Hosts 'Chalk Talk'

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — Willie Geist, anchor of Sunday Today with Willie Geist, and co-anchor of MSNBC's Morning Joe, will play host to another event in Ridgewood on Saturday, remembering his glory days on a high school football field.

Local tech startup Kohort Technologies and their communications platform, GroupSpot, are presenting a 30-year anniversary Chalk Talk event at Ridgewood High School Stadium on Saturday from 4:00 - 5:30 p.m., hosted by Geist.

This championship retrospective is a fundraiser supporting the RHS Football Scholarship Committee, which provides needs-based scholarships to senior football players, and the RHS Alumni Association, which connects graduates and supports RHS initiatives and projects.

The Chalk Talk is one of the signature events offered as part of the Alumni Association’s annual Homecoming Weekend.

Geist, a RHS Football Captain in 1992, and a junior on this 1991 state championship team, scored the only touchdown in the State Sectional, Semi-Final Playoff Game vs Paterson Eastside.

"We all remember that '91 State Championship Game like it was yesterday. Somehow it's been 30 years," said Geist, in a news release.

At the event, Geist will sit down with Coaches Chuck Johnson and Drew Gibbs (then the number one assistant at Ridgewood), as they look back on their first State Championship.

"I can't wait to get together with Coach Johnson and Coach Gibbs and my fellow middle-aged teammates to watch the game film as we relive that unforgettable day... and rip each other for missed assignments," Geist added.

Geist will touch on the long and celebrated careers of both coaches — Johnson at Ridgewood and Gibbs at Ramapo — with a special focus on this 1991 team, a loose collection of players who simply made up what they lacked in talent with unrivaled team chemistry.

Interestingly, in 2021, Johnson’s Ridgewood and Gibb’s Ramapo football teams appear to be headed on a collision course. For the first time ever, these two football powerhouses moved into the same division, the Super Football Conference Patriot White. Both teams are off to a hot start, and they face each other on Oct. 22 at RHS Stadium.

GroupSpot co-founder, Mark Kossick, was a junior on the 1991 team, and later a team captain with best friend, Geist, the following year.

While the Chalk Talk event is a fundraiser and private donations will be made, it is a free event to the public, open to all supporters.

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