Jeffrey Veatch

Jeffrey Veatch retired from ABC News in 2015 to devote more time as a motivational speaker. He had been a news writer for more than three decades and won a Writers’ Guild Award in 2007 for World News This Week. In 2008, Veatch’s life took a drastic turn when his 17 year old son, Justin, who had been about to record his first music album, died after snorting a small amount of heroin. In honor of their son the Veatch family created the non-profit Justin Veatch Fund which awards scholarships and creates programs for musically talented teens.  Veatch also created the multi-media talk “A Message from Justin” that inspires young people to take better care of themselves and their friends. In 2014 the independent documentary film Whispering Spirits  which tells the Veatch family story premiered at the Jacob Burns Film Center and is now available free of charge to community coalitions across the U-S along with a discussion guide designed for classroom and public programs. The film can be requested at whispering-spirits.com.