Bill Maas can still command a room. He can still tell a football story with the easy authority of a man who lived it. He can still make Chiefs fans smile with a few words about Arrowhead Stadium, and still sound every bit like the rugged defensive lineman Kansas City remembers. But these days, the former Chiefs standout is just as comfortable talking about charity golf, community service and the Lake of the Ozarks.
That is exactly what makes him such a fitting choice as Honorary Chair for the 2026 HK’s Lake of the Ozarks Open, the two-day charity event benefiting Lake Regional Health System. This year’s event begins with the HK’s Benefit Party on Sunday, June 7, at The Lodge of Four Seasons Campana Hall, followed by the four-person scramble on Monday, June 8, at The Club at Porto Cima, with proceeds supporting heart care services at Lake Regional. The tournament, founded in 1979, has raised more than $4 million for local health care over the years.
For Maas, this is not a ceremonial appearance or a one-time trip to the Lake. It has meaning.
“I played in it years ago,” Maas said, tracing the tournament’s roots back decades through the Chiefs Ambassadors and longtime community connections. “We’d come down and play in this annual tournament each summer.”
That history matters to him. So does the cause.
“When I’m asked to do a lot of things here in Kansas City and in Missouri,” Maas said, “we’ve always been very supportive and helpful for things that people have needs for.”
That service-minded attitude has defined Maas long after his playing career ended. A first-round pick of the Chiefs in 1984, the fifth overall selection in that year’s NFL Draft, Maas spent nine seasons in Kansas City, earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, made two Pro Bowls, and became one of the most productive interior defenders 
in franchise history before later finishing his playing career in Green Bay.
But the version of Maas fans will meet at HK’s this summer is less concerned with credentials than connection. He talks about the Lake the way longtime locals do – not as a weekend party destination, but as a place stitched into the fabric of his life.
“The Lake is the Lake, right?” he said. “It’s always an enjoyable time. A ton of golf played, a ton of camaraderie. Reconnection with people, the community, everybody that gets involved with it. It’s a good event.”
For Maas and his wife, Sarah, the Lake of the Ozarks is much more than a backdrop for a fundraiser. It is part of their story.
“I met my wife at the Lake,” he said. “We’ve got so many friends that live down there. We’ve had houses at multiple different places on the Lake. Our friendships run deep with so many different people. It’s a special place for Sarah and I. We really enjoy it.”
That sense of belonging is one reason the honorary chair role fits. Maas knows the area, knows the event and knows the people who keep showing up year after year to make it work. He also knows exactly what he hopes participants take away from the experience.
“We’re raising money for a good cause,” he said. “The Chiefs and the Chiefs Ambassadors have been behind this effort… 25, 30 years. 
We’ve been working with the hospital down there at the Lake of the Ozarks way before it became a cool, trendy place to go. We’ve been at this a long time together.”
That line says a lot. Before the glossy brochures, before the luxury branding, before the Lake became one of Missouri’s most recognizable playgrounds, this event was already doing what the best traditions do: bringing people together for something bigger than themselves.
Of course, it helps that Maas also brings a healthy sense of humor to the weekend.
Asked whether he will get to play in the tournament this year, he delivered the kind of answer every golfer immediately understands.
“If people pay to play, I don’t think that I should be on their team,” he said.
Pressed on his game, Maas didn’t back off.
“Look, I love golf. I wish I was good at golf,” he said. “I may be the only person you know that can golf 300 and bowl a 72.”
At HK’s tournament, defined as much on camaraderie as competition, Maas seems perfectly happy to be the guy telling stories, shaking hands and making sure everybody has fun – just maybe not via the scorecard spotlight.
And for Chiefs fans, that’s part of the appeal. Bill Maas has always felt authentic. Tough, funny, direct. The same qualities that made him a fan favorite in Kansas City still come through.
When conversation turns from golf to football, Maas does not start with statistics or accolades. He starts with people.
“The things that still stick with me today are my relationships,” he said. “Those relationships are forever.”
He rattles off names from across eras – Art Still, Mike Bell, Derrick Thomas, Neil Smith, Bud Epps, Deron Cherry, just to name a few – as enduring friendships. In his telling, football’s greatest gift was never just the game itself. Of course, you played to win, but more so it was the brotherhood.
“You remember the person,” Maas said. “For me, the greatest thing that I take away are those memories.”
For fans who watched him anchor some ferocious Chiefs defenses, Maas remembers the transformation firsthand. He played in front of lighter crowds early in his career as the team built itself up, then watched the franchise become the beating heart of a city as Chiefs Kingdom grew in stature.
“There might have been 25,000 people in the stadium,” he said of his early years. “Then we made the turn and there enough seats for Arrowhead.”
What followed became one of the most electric fan cultures in sports.
“The people and the energy,” Maas said. “Chiefs Kingdom was strong, and it’s still strong. It’s families and generations – that just gets passed down and passed along.”
“When you got to run out onto the field in front of 80,000 people,” Maas said, “that was electric. That was something that meant a lot. When they called your name and you ran 
out one at a time, and those people raised the level – that noise – I mean, that was amazing.”
He also remains deeply appreciative of the football education he received in Kansas City, especially under Marty Schottenheimer. Maas described Schottenheimer as a coach who taught not only assignments, but why every assignment mattered – how offense, defense and special teams all connected to winning. That lesson, Maas said, carried far beyond football.
Looking back, the biggest thing he carried from the game into life and business is simple: “Be prepared, and be on time.”
Today, he practices his timeliness in commercial real estate for Block & Company in Kansas City, following a successful 12-year broadcasting career with Fox Sports after retirement. But even now, in a life filled with business meetings, community appearances and decades of memories, he still sounds most energized by people and purpose.
That is why this summer’s HK’s Lake of the Ozarks Open feels like such a natural match.
You have a Chiefs legend with real ties to the Lake. A man who understands service. A host who does not take himself too seriously, especially with a golf club in his hands. And an event that blends star power, generosity and local pride in a way that feels distinctly Lake of the Ozarks.
For Chiefs fans, it will be a chance to spend time with one of their own – a player who remembers what Kansas City gave him and has spent years giving back in return.
For Maas, a weekend at the Lake with good people, good memories and a worthwhile cause is right up his alley.
A weekend at the Lake. Good people. Good stories. A worthwhile cause.
