November 21, 2023 • 9 mins
Experience the Autism Employment Network’s event Spectrum of Lights Night at Kennywood Park! This will be an unforgettable event at Kennywood filled with spectacular performances, local celebrities, select rides, a sensory-friendly silent dance party, and magical holiday lights! Join us for a new magical family Christmas tradition:
- Full access to Kennywood’s Holiday Lights activities and attractions including festive rides, giant model train display, Santa and more!
- Food vendors and refreshments available
- Highlighting talented individuals with autism through music, performances, and more.
- Showcasing autism inclusive businesses and hiring practices
- Free parking
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
Ninety four point five three ws pitsfirst Christmas music station. Johnny Heart Well
on a Saturday morning special guest instudio. Let's say hello to Brian Kaiger
of the Autism Employment Network. Goodmorning, good to see you again,
Brian. Good morning, It's goodto be here. And you have a
special guest, Matt Geier from DiamondKinetics. Good morning to you. Good
morning. How are you doing allright? You guys have a special event
coming up on Thursday. Tell useverything we need to know. We do,
(00:25):
Yes, we're so. This isour first annual Spectrum of Lights Night,
and this year we're hosting it atKennywood. This will be a spectacular
night for us to celebrate autism inclusiveemployment opportunities and a very fun, festive
environment. So if you're used tothe typical Kennywood holiday Lights Night, we're
going to have all those same activities, but so much more so. This
(00:45):
is a fundraiser for your organization.This is so, this is part fundraiser
and it's part celebrating autism inclusive employment. For those who aren't familiar with your
organization, tell us everything we needto know. So, the Autism Employment
Network was established to create autism inclusiveemployment opportunities from your very first job to
finding a job that is more congruentwith what you want to do as a
(01:06):
professional in life. In fact,one of our very first autism inclusive employment
partners is Diamond Kinetics, and Mattfrom dimond Kinetics is here to talk a
little bit about that. What's yourorganization, It's dimon Kinetics. It's a
baseball and softball technology company based herein Pittsburgh. We have a partnership with
Major League Baseball that allows us tofeed content from MLB players and video clips
(01:27):
right into the app that allow forthis very unique experience for players that get
to use our app and some ofyour employees, some of the people that
do some of the things that youneed to do, comes from the Autism
Employment Network. That is correct.The Autism Employment Network plays a crucial role
in our getting our product to market. They do all of our packaging needs
(01:47):
that allow us to get product intothe hands of baseball and softball players all
over the country. Companies like dimonKinetics that have allowed us to provide these
opportunities for individuals looking for entry levelemployment. So we're excited to showcase them
and There'll be other employers will beavailable at the event. This is going
to be a special night for anybodywho's participating in it. We've had a
silent disco dance party, which shouldbe pretty fun. This is a sensory
(02:10):
friendly activity where you can control themusic, you can control the volume,
you can dance with or without headphoneson, and you can have a fun
time. We will have live musicperformances from Band Together Pittsburgh and another disability
a group that's doing some performances forus. We will have rides and attractions
that are available from Kennywood. ThePirate Parrot will be joining us. We'll
(02:30):
be doing family photos for those whowant a holiday photo. Now, keep
in mind, you can't get ticketsfrom Kennywood. You have to you know,
you have to get them through theAutism Employment Network because this is a
special fundraiser night for US, soAutism Employmentnetwork dot com. All right,
So it's a special event coming upon Thursday. Spectrum of Lights Night a
special fundraiser event at Kennywood, presentedby Mac Discount and Spectro Delta Confectionery.
(02:53):
More with Brian and Matt coming upninety four point five three WUS, Pittsburgh's
Christmas Music station. I mean christmascountChristmas jo let us Pittsburgh's number one Christmas
music station. Johnny Hartwell here specialguest in studio Brian Kiger from the Autism
Employment Network and Matt Geyer from theDiamond Kinetics. Special event coming up this
(03:15):
Thursday at Kennywood. It's the Spectrumof Lights Night, a special fundraiser event
at Kennywood. It benefits the AutismEmployment Network. So Brian tell us some
of the things that are happening atKennywood. So one of the things that
makes this night specials we're doing acouple of different interactive activities that you don't
typically get, so Spectro Dolt willbe there. We'll be doing some chocolate
treat dipping, so you'll be ableto make your own chocolate snowman and take
(03:37):
that home with you and that's includedin the price of your ticket. And
Diamond Kinetics will be with us aswell, demonstrating Swing Tracker, which is
the same type of activity that youwould have seen at P and C Park
this summer. Matt wants to talka little bit more about that. Yeah,
Brian, like you said, ifyou got a chance to go to
P and C Park this summer.This Diamond Kinetics Swing Match was an experience
that existed in the kids zone outsideof raat Field. What this is going
(03:58):
to allow you to do is takea swing like a baseball or softball swing,
and time Kinetics is going to beable to tell you who your swing
closely resembles. On the Pirates,we call it swing match. So it's
really exciting when you get the chanceto go through there and you get to
see what big leaguor you swing like, especially at Pittsburgh Pirate. So that's
a couple of the interactive things thatyou have. What are some other things
you might see at Kennywood? Soyou're going to see some pretty incredible performances
(04:23):
by banding together Pittsburgh. So thisis a group that I know that three
WS is pretty well acquainted with.With the insert Christmas coming up, some
of their individuals will be on stagethroughout the night performing different songs that you'll
hear at Insurer Christmas, but alsosome other things that they've prepared specially for
this event. You have special guests, you have the Pirate Parrot, you
have your friends from WTAE, You'vegot photos everything, and of course you
(04:45):
can enjoy all the rides and lightsthat Kennywood provides. Absolutely over two million
lights will be available in a veryfestive, fun environment. Now remember this
is November thirtieth. This is justa few days from today. This Thursday,
starting at five o'clock, a specialfundraising event benefit the Autism Employment Network.
Now, if you want to gettickets, you don't go to Kennywood,
you go get the tickets at AutismEmployment Network dot com. Right,
(05:09):
that's correct, all right? Onceagain, Autism Employment Network dot com a
special event coming up on Thursday.Who are some of your sponsors? Some
of our sponsors are Mac Discount.Mac Discount has been a big sponsor of
ours and an employment partner of oursas well, Speciro Dolce Confectionery, Bayata
Habilitation, Intervala which is a manufacturingcompany, and Simpson and Crazy. All
(05:30):
right, So Autism Employment Network Spectrumof Lights Night, a special fundraiser event.
They've got you know, some spectrumyou know, friendly events going on
as well and of course interaction,plenty of rides and lights. So make
sure you get your tickets for thisThursday special event Autism Employment Network dot com
(05:50):
Autism Employment Network dot Com More withBrian and Matt ninety four point five three
WS dot Christmas christ You're Home forthe Holidays ninety four point five three Dony
West Johnny heart Well on a Saturdaymorning hanging out with Brian Kaiger from the
(06:10):
Autism Employment Network, Matt Geyer aswell. Now, you have a special
event coming up on Thursday at KennywoodSpectrum of Lights Night. But it's not
exactly a Kennywood event, right,No, this is a special night that's
not part of their normal operating hour. So this is a night that if
you go to the calendar, you'renot going to see it listed. You
have to go to Autism Employment Networkdot com to get your tickets. This
is a special night just dedicated tous and celebrating the different interactive things that
(06:34):
we're doing. We'll have all thenormal typical holiday lights things that you would
expect a Kennywood and the rides andthe rides, all those things will be
open free parking for this event,which is not something typically available, and
this will involve a lot of interactiveactivities. Some of the things we've talked
about with Diamond Kinetics, chocolate treatdipping, the Silent Disco dance party,
which is a nice sensory friendly activity. We'll have the Gateway High School marching
(06:58):
band with us leading a parade tothe Tree Life around six o'clock. And
this is really just you know,it's an event at Kennywood, but it's
really so much more, all right, Brian, you mentioned Matt and Diamond
Kinetics. What are some of theinteractive things that you have. Dim Kinetics
gonna be on site on Thursday demoingour swing match component of our app.
So what that does is you justtake a swing and it helps show you
(07:19):
exactly who your swing most closely resembleson the Pittsburgh Pirates. Well, so
tell us about your connection with theAutism Employment Network. So time, CINETS
and Autism Employment Network have been workingtogether very closely for a long time.
At this point, the AN doesa lot of work in packaging up every
single unit that we ultimately get intothe hands of consumers. So without the
(07:41):
Autism Employment Network, we really wouldn'tbe able to get our products out into
the world. Well, Brian,not only is this a fabulous Evanna Kenny
Waitt and people are going to enjoythe lights and rides, but this is
a chance to kind of show showcaseyour organization too. Yeah, absolutely,
I mean, and it's partnerships likeDimond Kinetics that really help us provide employment
opportunities right away for somebody who mightnot have ever had a first job.
I mean, some of us hadour first job and a retail center or
(08:03):
something like that, and that comeswith a lot of anxiety and a lot
of things that happen when you're ateenager getting your first job. And what
we're trying to do is create opportunitiesright away for somebody who's never had their
first job, whether whatever age theyare, to come into a autism inclusive
environment and be able to work rightaway. And so these partnerships with Diamond
(08:24):
Kinetics are important for us. Wehave other companies we work with as well,
and this fundraiser helps fund the costof that. So job coaching at
different levels that are available. Thisis what these type of funds go to
cover it. Thursday night, SpecialFundraiser Night at Kennywood Autism Eemployment Network dot
Com. To get your tickets,You're gonna get free parking, you're gonna
get live entertainment, you're gonna geta free chocolate dip treat. You're gonna
(08:46):
get a silent disco dance party.You're gonna have a lot of fun in
two million Christmas lights surrounding you,and you're gonna be able to support a
really good cause to help us providethese employment opportunities that are so needed.
All right, don't forget you haveto purchase your tickets online at Autism Employmentnetwork
dot com. Autism Employment Network dotcom. Brian and Matt, thank you
for coming in, Thanks for havingus once again. If you need more
(09:07):
information, it's Autism Employment Network dotcom. Brian and Matt, thank you
for coming in. Thanks for havingus once again. If you need more
information, it's Autism Employment Network dotcom. It's Pittsburgh' Christmas Music Station ninety
four point five three WS. It'sbeginning to look a lot Live Christmas
Ninety four point five three ws pitsfirst Christmas music station. Johnny Heart Well
on a Saturday morning special guest instudio. Let's say hello to Brian Kaiger
of the Autism Employment Network. Goodmorning, good to see you again,
Brian. Good morning, It's goodto be here. And you have a
special guest, Matt Geier from DiamondKinetics. Good morning to you. Good
morning. How are you doing allright? You guys have a special event
coming up on Thursday. Tell useverything we need to know. We do,
(00:25):
Yes, we're so. This isour first annual Spectrum of Lights Night,
and this year we're hosting it atKennywood. This will be a spectacular
night for us to celebrate autism inclusiveemployment opportunities and a very fun, festive
environment. So if you're used tothe typical Kennywood holiday Lights Night, we're
going to have all those same activities, but so much more so. This
(00:45):
is a fundraiser for your organization.This is so, this is part fundraiser
and it's part celebrating autism inclusive employment. For those who aren't familiar with your
organization, tell us everything we needto know. So, the Autism Employment
Network was established to create autism inclusiveemployment opportunities from your very first job to
finding a job that is more congruentwith what you want to do as a
(01:06):
professional in life. In fact,one of our very first autism inclusive employment
partners is Diamond Kinetics, and Mattfrom dimond Kinetics is here to talk a
little bit about that. What's yourorganization, It's dimon Kinetics. It's a
baseball and softball technology company based herein Pittsburgh. We have a partnership with
Major League Baseball that allows us tofeed content from MLB players and video clips
(01:27):
right into the app that allow forthis very unique experience for players that get
to use our app and some ofyour employees, some of the people that
do some of the things that youneed to do, comes from the Autism
Employment Network. That is correct.The Autism Employment Network plays a crucial role
in our getting our product to market. They do all of our packaging needs
(01:47):
that allow us to get product intothe hands of baseball and softball players all
over the country. Companies like dimonKinetics that have allowed us to provide these
opportunities for individuals looking for entry levelemployment. So we're excited to showcase them
and There'll be other employers will beavailable at the event. This is going
to be a special night for anybodywho's participating in it. We've had a
silent disco dance party, which shouldbe pretty fun. This is a sensory
(02:10):
friendly activity where you can control themusic, you can control the volume,
you can dance with or without headphoneson, and you can have a fun
time. We will have live musicperformances from Band Together Pittsburgh and another disability
a group that's doing some performances forus. We will have rides and attractions
that are available from Kennywood. ThePirate Parrot will be joining us. We'll
(02:30):
be doing family photos for those whowant a holiday photo. Now, keep
in mind, you can't get ticketsfrom Kennywood. You have to you know,
you have to get them through theAutism Employment Network because this is a
special fundraiser night for US, soAutism Employmentnetwork dot com. All right,
So it's a special event coming upon Thursday. Spectrum of Lights Night a
special fundraiser event at Kennywood, presentedby Mac Discount and Spectro Delta Confectionery.
(02:53):
More with Brian and Matt coming upninety four point five three WUS, Pittsburgh's
Christmas Music station. I mean christmascountChristmas jo let us Pittsburgh's number one Christmas
music station. Johnny Hartwell here specialguest in studio Brian Kiger from the Autism
Employment Network and Matt Geyer from theDiamond Kinetics. Special event coming up this
(03:15):
Thursday at Kennywood. It's the Spectrumof Lights Night, a special fundraiser event
at Kennywood. It benefits the AutismEmployment Network. So Brian tell us some
of the things that are happening atKennywood. So one of the things that
makes this night specials we're doing acouple of different interactive activities that you don't
typically get, so Spectro Dolt willbe there. We'll be doing some chocolate
treat dipping, so you'll be ableto make your own chocolate snowman and take
(03:37):
that home with you and that's includedin the price of your ticket. And
Diamond Kinetics will be with us aswell, demonstrating Swing Tracker, which is
the same type of activity that youwould have seen at P and C Park
this summer. Matt wants to talka little bit more about that. Yeah,
Brian, like you said, ifyou got a chance to go to
P and C Park this summer.This Diamond Kinetics Swing Match was an experience
that existed in the kids zone outsideof raat Field. What this is going
(03:58):
to allow you to do is takea swing like a baseball or softball swing,
and time Kinetics is going to beable to tell you who your swing
closely resembles. On the Pirates,we call it swing match. So it's
really exciting when you get the chanceto go through there and you get to
see what big leaguor you swing like, especially at Pittsburgh Pirate. So that's
a couple of the interactive things thatyou have. What are some other things
you might see at Kennywood? Soyou're going to see some pretty incredible performances
(04:23):
by banding together Pittsburgh. So thisis a group that I know that three
WS is pretty well acquainted with.With the insert Christmas coming up, some
of their individuals will be on stagethroughout the night performing different songs that you'll
hear at Insurer Christmas, but alsosome other things that they've prepared specially for
this event. You have special guests, you have the Pirate Parrot, you
have your friends from WTAE, You'vegot photos everything, and of course you
(04:45):
can enjoy all the rides and lightsthat Kennywood provides. Absolutely over two million
lights will be available in a veryfestive, fun environment. Now remember this
is November thirtieth. This is justa few days from today. This Thursday,
starting at five o'clock, a specialfundraising event benefit the Autism Employment Network.
Now, if you want to gettickets, you don't go to Kennywood,
you go get the tickets at AutismEmployment Network dot com. Right,
(05:09):
that's correct, all right? Onceagain, Autism Employment Network dot com a
special event coming up on Thursday.Who are some of your sponsors? Some
of our sponsors are Mac Discount.Mac Discount has been a big sponsor of
ours and an employment partner of oursas well, Speciro Dolce Confectionery, Bayata
Habilitation, Intervala which is a manufacturingcompany, and Simpson and Crazy. All
(05:30):
right, So Autism Employment Network Spectrumof Lights Night, a special fundraiser event.
They've got you know, some spectrumyou know, friendly events going on
as well and of course interaction,plenty of rides and lights. So make
sure you get your tickets for thisThursday special event Autism Employment Network dot com
(05:50):
Autism Employment Network dot Com More withBrian and Matt ninety four point five three
WS dot Christmas christ You're Home forthe Holidays ninety four point five three Dony
West Johnny heart Well on a Saturdaymorning hanging out with Brian Kaiger from the
(06:10):
Autism Employment Network, Matt Geyer aswell. Now, you have a special
event coming up on Thursday at KennywoodSpectrum of Lights Night. But it's not
exactly a Kennywood event, right,No, this is a special night that's
not part of their normal operating hour. So this is a night that if
you go to the calendar, you'renot going to see it listed. You
have to go to Autism Employment Networkdot com to get your tickets. This
is a special night just dedicated tous and celebrating the different interactive things that
(06:34):
we're doing. We'll have all thenormal typical holiday lights things that you would
expect a Kennywood and the rides andthe rides, all those things will be
open free parking for this event,which is not something typically available, and
this will involve a lot of interactiveactivities. Some of the things we've talked
about with Diamond Kinetics, chocolate treatdipping, the Silent Disco dance party,
which is a nice sensory friendly activity. We'll have the Gateway High School marching
(06:58):
band with us leading a parade tothe Tree Life around six o'clock. And
this is really just you know,it's an event at Kennywood, but it's
really so much more, all right, Brian, you mentioned Matt and Diamond
Kinetics. What are some of theinteractive things that you have. Dim Kinetics
gonna be on site on Thursday demoingour swing match component of our app.
So what that does is you justtake a swing and it helps show you
(07:19):
exactly who your swing most closely resembleson the Pittsburgh Pirates. Well, so
tell us about your connection with theAutism Employment Network. So time, CINETS
and Autism Employment Network have been workingtogether very closely for a long time.
At this point, the AN doesa lot of work in packaging up every
single unit that we ultimately get intothe hands of consumers. So without the
(07:41):
Autism Employment Network, we really wouldn'tbe able to get our products out into
the world. Well, Brian,not only is this a fabulous Evanna Kenny
Waitt and people are going to enjoythe lights and rides, but this is
a chance to kind of show showcaseyour organization too. Yeah, absolutely,
I mean, and it's partnerships likeDimond Kinetics that really help us provide employment
opportunities right away for somebody who mightnot have ever had a first job.
I mean, some of us hadour first job and a retail center or
(08:03):
something like that, and that comeswith a lot of anxiety and a lot
of things that happen when you're ateenager getting your first job. And what
we're trying to do is create opportunitiesright away for somebody who's never had their
first job, whether whatever age theyare, to come into a autism inclusive
environment and be able to work rightaway. And so these partnerships with Diamond
(08:24):
Kinetics are important for us. Wehave other companies we work with as well,
and this fundraiser helps fund the costof that. So job coaching at
different levels that are available. Thisis what these type of funds go to
cover it. Thursday night, SpecialFundraiser Night at Kennywood Autism Eemployment Network dot
Com. To get your tickets,You're gonna get free parking, you're gonna
get live entertainment, you're gonna geta free chocolate dip treat. You're gonna
(08:46):
get a silent disco dance party.You're gonna have a lot of fun in
two million Christmas lights surrounding you,and you're gonna be able to support a
really good cause to help us providethese employment opportunities that are so needed.
All right, don't forget you haveto purchase your tickets online at Autism Employmentnetwork
dot com. Autism Employment Network dotcom. Brian and Matt, thank you
for coming in, Thanks for havingus once again. If you need more
(09:07):
information, it's Autism Employment Network dotcom. Brian and Matt, thank you
for coming in. Thanks for havingus once again. If you need more
information, it's Autism Employment Network dotcom. It's Pittsburgh' Christmas Music Station ninety
four point five three WS. It'sbeginning to look a lot Live Christmas
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