UPDATE AS OF SEPTEMBER, 2023:

A few things have changed in the foundation as well as the lives of Joey Dixon and his wife of 30 years, Kelly Dixon.  The first change is the fact that Joey had his initial Deep Brain Stimulation surgery in February, 2021 in Atlanta.   Unfortunately, the surgery was done incorrectly and the lead wires and chest battery had to be removed and reimplanted.

There are two locations in the brain that are implanted for Parkinson’s. Depending on the patient and his/her symptoms, one location is chosen over the other. Unfortunately, it was then not possible to reimplant into the first choice location, therefore it was necessary to go with the secondary location. Thanks to the expertise of Dr. Mariana Georgetta Varga in Austin, TX the target in the secondary location was hit properly.

Since the end of 2021, Joey has been feeling the effects of his three major brain and chest surgeries, medication changes and device programming updates. He is getting to an acceptance stage and will be sharing this entire experience on his site coming soon.

Another scenario that changed is where they live.  One year ago, Joey and Kelly decided to leave Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, GA in an effort to be closer to Joey's neurologist, Dr. Varga.  So off they went to Austin, TX where they discovered, really quickly, how hot Texas is.   Just five months into that endeavor they quickly felt like they needed to get back east so they settled on the Wilmington, NC area where they have been now for 7 months.  Dr. Varga continues to do great work in Austin and we are forever grateful for her efforts insofar as Joey’s personal battle with Parkinson's Disease is concerned.

The Foundation has been financially supporting ongoing efforts of the Parkinson Voice Project.  Joey has participated in this program personally and continues to use the methods taught to him for his daily battles with speech imperfections.

Our foundation still wants to help bring awareness to the masses about what the disease does to people who live with Parkinson’s. We want to be a real world resource regarding DBS surgery including the positives and the negatives. Also, we would like to include information and subjective opinion on pharmaceutical and holistic treatments that Joey or others have benefited from. We hope to add a blog whereby patients or caregivers can post experiences with the intention of presenting hope and positivity. While some days are worse then others, our goal is to remain always “Not Stirred”.

Born and raised in Blackshear, GA, Joey Dixon is proud of his small-town Southern upbringing and the lessons he learned throughout his childhood.  Joey was an athlete and scholar making honor roll consistently while participating in both golf and football.

His football prowess advanced him to the national semi-finals in the Punt, Pass & Kick competition as a youngster and he continued to play football throughout his high school years. Starting golf at 12, Joey ultimately found his passion. He was the number one player from freshman to senior years and “Most Valuable Player” every year on his competitive team which was runner up in the Georgia State High School tournament. In 1983, Joey was the individual region champion.

In addition to his outstanding athletic and academic achievement, Joey was the Student Body President and voted “Most Popular” in his senior year at Pierce County High School. 

Upon graduation, Joey attended Abraham Baldwin Jr. College on a full golf scholarship. He was a 2-time All American and was inducted into the ABAC Sports Hall of Fame in 2017. Then he transferred to Georgia Institute of Technology where he was a member of the Tech #1 Ranked NCAA Division 1 Golf Team in the country, in 1986.

In 1987, Joey made the decision to pursue his dream as a touring golf professional playing on the South African Tour and mini tours in Florida. He interrupted his competitive play with a short stint in the restaurant business and custom truck-body industry.  In 1992, fate would have it that he met his wife Kelly, a non-golfer, at a driving range in Marietta, and they married in 1993.

After Joey’s second attempt to play on the PGA Tour in 1995, he realized that the inconsistent rewards from his talents and efforts were not fulfilling to him. Instead, he utilized his passion for the game and his natural connection with people and embarked on a sales career in the golf industry. 

While working at Walt Disney World and at the Marriott Hotel in Orlando, he started his sales rep business.  On his off times during his work day at the hotel he would make outbound phone calls to clubs around the Orlando area trying to book appointments to sell anything he could get his hands on.  As time progressed, he was able to grow his sales to a point where he could concentrate full-time on his golf rep business. Year after year from that point on, Joey became the number 1 or number 2 producing sales person with companies such as Ahead, Callaway Apparel, and Bolle.

While his career was in full force, Joey’s Parkinson’s symptoms started to be noticeable. He experienced tremors, voice changes and other abnormalities, and then he was officially diagnosed in 2012. Joey powered on until 2016 when physical difficulties made work impossible.

Joey has always maintained a positive outlook and continues to be inspirational to all of those around him. His goal for this foundation is to bring awareness to what Parkinson’s Disease looks like, the effects on those who have it, and what caring people can do to help.

Through his “Not Stirred Invitational Pro-Am” golf event and other fundraising efforts, he hopes to generate increased awareness of this often misunderstood disease. Joey thanks you for your support in his cause and hopes that we can all do our part to make this world be a more inclusive place for those with physical disabilities.