HARTFORD, Conn. – Todd Piro, NBC Connecticut Today anchor, will serve as master of ceremonies for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 2015 Get Connected MS Luncheon in Hartford.

Featuring a renowned speaker each year, the Get Connected MS Luncheon (formerly known as the Women Against MS Luncheon) provides a forum for colleagues, community businesses, friends and family to connect to important topics that address everyday living while providing an opportunity for networking and camaraderie. 

This year’s Luncheon will take place Friday, October 30, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. Guests are encouraged to invite co-workers, friends and family to this event to help support the fight against MS.

Piro, of Farmington, volunteers for NBC Connecticut’s Partners in a Caring Community initiative and is a regular emcee at community events including the Connecticut Chapter’s Golf MS Classic and its past Run MS and Connecticut Executive Choice Awards events.

Piro can be seen weekday mornings from 4:30 to 7 a.m. on NBC Connecticut Today. Piro joined the station in 2012 as a reporter after four years with KPSP, a CBS-affiliated station in California where he served as weekday morning anchor for two years. Prior to making TV news his career, he practiced law for five years at the prestigious Wall Street law firm Hughes, Hubbard & Reed, and also worked for the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.

At the Get Connected MS Luncheon Piro will be working alongside his colleague and event keynote speaker Jean Chatzky, NBC Today Show’s financial editor. Chatzky is one of the nation's leading financial authorities. She believes knowing how to manage our money is one of the most important life skills for people at every age. At the Get Connected MS Luncheon, she will be sharing tips with attendees on how to attain financial wellness. A VIP reception with Chatzky will occur before the program at 11 a.m.

More than 6,500 Connecticut residents are affected by multiple sclerosis, a potentially debilitating disease affecting the central nervous system. The cause is unknown and there is currently no cure for MS. Symptoms can include, among other things, numbness in the limbs, difficulties with vision and speech, stiffness, loss of mobility and, in some more severe cases, total paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot be predicted.

Funds raised at chapter events, such as the Get Connected MS Luncheon, ensure ongoing scientific research to find a cure and provide for the continuation of vital programs and services offered by the Chapter to Connecticut residents affected by MS.

For more information on the Get Connected MS Luncheon, please contact Kate Moore, at 860.913.2550, ext. 52546, or by email at kate.moore@nmss.org. Tickets can be purchased in advance online at ctfightsMS.org.