The Autism Society of the CNMI is having two big events this month to promote the awareness and inclusion of people with autism in the CNMI.
The first one is the annual Hot Dog Walk! This year the Hot Dog Walk will be on Saturday, April 11, 2015, at 3pm. The Hot Dog Walk has been going strong for several years now. We begin with speeches by our officers and dignitaries. Then at 3:10pm, the walk begins at the Last Command Post in Marpi and goes up the hill to where the road splits to Grotto and Suicide Cliff roads. This location is 1.5 miles from the Last Command Post. Once there, you turn around and go back to the Last Command Post where hot dogs and water await you. After cooling off and enjoying your hot dog, we take a picture of everyone there. Then we hang out and enjoy the rest of the day with others from our community. Last year we had 113 folks sign up and do the walk. There will also be emergency responders there in case we need it. The bathrooms are open for our use and it is situated by the pavilion we use every year. So we hope to see you all there at 3pm at the Last Command Post this Saturday for the ASCNMI’s Hot Dog Walk!
The other event is our signature fundraising event called “Quiz Nite” on May 2, 2015, at the Fiesta Resort and Spa Saipan. This year we will have Quiz Nite 4! It is a night to get together with others in our community to eat dinner first from 6pm to 7pm, and then to challenge in trivia. There are 50 questions and five categories of 10 questions each. Half of the questions or 25 of them are related to autism and or other disabilities. The other half is random. The hardest question from last year was how many circles make up the Olympic Games symbol and how are they arranged by color from the top row down. I believe no team last year, including the winning team from Kagman High, missed this question. Quiz Nite 1 and 2 were won by Mr. Mike White and his family. This year we hope for new teams with awesome names from various places in our community. We usually have school groups, families, co-workers, and people from all walks of life in the CNMI. So please come out and join us at the Fiesta Resort and Spa on May 2, 2015, from 6pm to 10pm. Tickets are on sale at NMPASI (235-7273/4) or at CDD (664-7001) at $25 apiece. For each ticket sold, ASCNMI will make $3, but it is about the awareness and friendships and not the money. Please come support ASCNMI by making your own team and try to win a trophy for first place and $500, second place and $300, or third place and $200. The most important thing is that we get together as a community to have fun and to share in the awareness of autism in our island community.
Thank you for your time and we hope to see you at both the Hot Dog Walk on April 11 at 3pm at the Last Command Post, and the Quiz Nite on May 2 from 6 to 10pm at the Fiesta Resort and Spa. On behalf of the officers and members of the Autism Society of the CNMI, we thank you all in our community for your continued support of autism in the CNMI. (Thomas M. Thorburgh/Special to the Saipan Tribune)
Thomas M. Thornburgh is secretary of the Autism Society of the CNMI.