Jun 13, 2011
Rochester, NY (June 13, 2011) — The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI) announces an event 100 years in the making – ABVI’s See Great Things Night at Frontier Field, set to kick off with the first pitch of the 7:05 p.m. baseball game between the Rochester Red Wings and the Indianapolis Indians on Friday, June 17, 2011.
“Since 1911, when ABVI was founded, the organization has focused on empowering people who are blind or visually impaired to realize their own success stories. See Great Things Night at Frontier Field is our way of celebrating this, and also the fact that ABVI is a Rochester success story,” says Shane Bertou, Marketing Manager.
Before, during, and after the game, everyone in attendance will have an opportunity to see first-hand why the sky truly is the limit for what people with vision loss can accomplish.
Highlights of the evening include:
- Marcos Rios throwing out the first pitch. Marcos, who is visually impaired, hasn’t let that stop him from following the game he has loved since he was a little boy. And now he’ll have the opportunity to achieve one of his life-long dreams–throwing out the first pitch in a professional baseball game.
- Christopher Smoker, age 7, serving as the Red Wings’ honorary manager. Christopher’s parents adopted him knowing he was visually impaired. They then looked to ABVI as a resource. The organization provided Christopher with his first pair of glasses, thereby allowing him to see his mother and father for the first time.
- Mecca Meeks leading fans in a rousing rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” during the 7th Inning Stretch. Mecca, left legally blind after a devastating medical diagnosis, lost all hope of ever living a normal life until connecting with ABVI. As a result of the vision rehabilitation therapy, orientation and mobility training, and employment skills he received through ABVI, Mecca now leads a fulfilling life.
Envisioning A Great Event
When ABVI started planning events to celebrate its centennial year, Bertou says it was natural to reach out to the Rochester Red Wings.
“As an organization, the Rochester Red Wings are the quintessential Rochester success story,” says Bertou. “We are very excited with the opportunity to partner with them to raise awareness of the vital services ABVI provides to the community during this first-of-its-kind event.”
In addition to being the first time ABVI will be showcasing its success stories in this manner, the Red Wings are taking this opportunity to highlight the success of their partnership with the Minnesota Twins by wearing replica Twins jerseys for the first time since affiliating with the Major League franchise. The jerseys, which are replica 1980s throwbacks, will be worn by the players and auctioned off online with all of the proceeds going to support ABVI.
As soon as the first pitch is thrown, anyone interested in the jerseys will be able to bid on the Twins replica game-worn special edition jerseys at GoBuyRochester.com.
Learn more about ABVI by clicking here.