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August 08, 2008
"Seeing Eye Single Tour" Promotes Awareness of Baseball Fans Who Are Blind or With Low Vision
Watertown/Waltham, MA; August 8, 2008: Many a Red Sox fan has heard Joe Castiglione’s calls of "Seeing Eye Singles" on the Red Sox Radio Network – those hits where the ball somehow has eyes and slips past the infielders. Brian Charlson of Watertown and Rick Morin of Waltham, MA are taking the expression "Seeing Eye Single" literally.
Charlson and Morin will depart August 22, 2008 on an 8 days, 8 games, 6 ballparks, and 5 cities tour of Major League Baseball Clubs in the Northeast. Brian is a guide dog user who has been totally blind since early childhood and Rick is a white cane user who has had low vision since birth. The two fifty-something visually impaired men are calling this trip their "2008 Seeing Eye Single Tour". They will be joined by Brian’s Guide Dog, Bethel, a recent graduate of The Seeing Eye in Morristown, New Jersey.
Brian and Rick will be chronicling each stage of the trip with audio, video and written reports on http://seeingeyesingletour.com/. They will be using adaptive technologies such as screen readers and screen magnifiers on their lap top computers as well as adaptive cell phones and PDAs to send their multi media reports to the site.
Charlson and Morin are members of the American Council of the Blind and its Massachusetts affiliate, the Bay State Council of the Blind. Through this affiliation, the two of them also work with professional ballpark operators to make the live baseball experience and web sites more accessible and enjoyable for those who are blind or with low vision.
"Many people find it odd that people who are blind or with low vision enjoy a day at the ballpark" says Rick. Rick and Brian have attended many a game at Fenway listening to the play by play via a portable radio and Rick using low vision devices to take advantage of the usable vision that he has. Rick goes on to say "…you can’t replace the experience of being part of the community that assembles at the ballpark – not to mention the smells and sounds... and excitement!!!"
They will go city to city on Amtrak; Rick with his white cane and Brian with his Seeing Eye dog. HumanWare, a leading manufacturer of Adaptive Technology for the blind and those with low vision, is supplying Brian and Rick with the Trekker, handheld pedestrian GPS navigation system as well as their new easy to use Trekker Breeze that they will use to find their way around each city.
The trip will take the intrepid threesome to Shea Stadium in New York City, Citizens One Park in Philadelphia, Camden Yard in Baltimore, the new Nationals Park in DC, Yankee Stadium back in New York City and then back to home at Fenway Park in Boston. The 2 Yankees games are especially noteworthy since they are the last two regular season games between the Yankees and Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. See their complete itinerary below.
"Our goals for this trip are simple", says Charlson. "We want to challenge stereotypes some people have about the blind, we want to encourage others who are blind to take advantage of live baseball as an important part of their social involvement and we guarantee that we will "have a ball"doing it!!."
Rick and Brian will be sporting red white and blue T-Shirts proudly displaying the specially designed tour logo. All are encouraged to stop by to say hi and meet the real star of the trip, Bethel, Brian’s German Shepherd Seeing Eye Dog.
CONTACT INFO:
Brian, Rick and Bethel are available to the media by calling Rick Morin at 781-373-1044 rick.morin@comcast.net
or Brian Charlson at 617-501-5752 briancharlson@comcast.net. Bethel doesn’t have a phone or email address as of yet.
ABOUT BRIAN CHARLSON
Brian Charlson is Vice President of Computer Training Services at the Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton, MA. directing the Technology Training Programs both on the campus and through Distance Learning. He began his employment at the Carroll Center in 1985 as a classroom teacher in the same program, training blind and visually impaired people to use computers through speech, Braille and large print. Brian has presented on adaptive technology subjects at International conferences and innumerable local and national conferences. He has also been a guest speaker on technology, leadership and special education at conferences in Spain, Israel, Greece, Canada and Australia. Brian is also active in the blindness community with the American Council of the Blind for over 25 years as a leader on both the state and national level; has represented the ACB on the regional and international level of the World Blind Union; and has served as a Board of Trustees member of the American Foundation for the Blind. Brian and his Seeing Eye Dog Bethel reside in Watertown, MA with his wife Kim and her Seeing Eye Dog Jubilee.
ABOUT RICK MORIN
Rick Morin is a 1977 graduate of Northeastern University in Boston. He is a Managing Consultant for EDS of Plano, Texas where he has worked for the last 31 years. Rick is a member of the American Council of the Blind and is the Treasurer and Chair of the Access Committee of the Bay State Council of the Blind, ACB’s Massachusetts state affiliate. Rick is the newly appointed chair of a national ACB task force chartered to draft Model Policies for venue operators that specifically address access for the blind and those with low vision at stadia and other large assembly areas. Rick resides in Waltham, MA with his wife Nancy and two daughters, Kylie and Nieve.
ABOUT HUMANWARE
HumanWare is the global leader in assistive technologies for the print disabled. HumanWare provides products to people who are blind and have low vision and students with learning disabilities. HumanWare offers a collection of innovative products including BrailleNote, the leading productivity device for the blind in education, business and for personal use; the Victor Reader product line, the world's leading digital audiobook players, and SmartView Xtend, the first fully modular and upgradeable CCTV-based video magnifier. HumanWare’s Trekker Breeze provides talking GPS directions that help users know where they are, where they are going and what is around them. Trekker Breeze offers the important benefits of GPS orientation tools. It enhances autonomy and confidence in travelling and makes learning new routes easier. As they walk by, users receive audible information, such as street names, intersections and reference landmarks. In case they are lost, they can retrace their steps. They can also reach favorite destinations with turn-by-turn instructions from their current position. The product makes it easier to travel alone, and allows people to discover and enjoy their surroundings.
SEEING EYE TOUR ITINERARY
- Friday, August 22, 2008 Houston Astros @ NY Mets, Shea Stadium 7:10PM
- Saturday, August 23, 2008 LA Dodgers @ Phillies, Citizens Bank Park 3:55PM
- Sunday, August 24, 2008 NY Yankees @ Baltimore Orioles, Oriole Park at Camden Yards 1:35PM
- Monday, August 25, 2008 Chicago White Sox @ Baltimore Orioles, Oriole Park at Camden Yards 7:05PM
- Tuesday, August 26, 2008 LA Dodgers @ Washington Nationals, Nationals Park 3:55PM
- Wednesday, August 27, 2008 Boston Red Sox @ NY Yankees, Yankee Stadium 7:05PM
- Thursday, August 28, 2008 Boston Red Sox @ NY Yankees, Yankee Stadium 1:05PM
- Friday, August 29, 2008 Chicago White Sox @ Boston Red Sox. Fenway Park 7:05PM
Posted by Nancy at August 8, 2008 05:24 PM