Mark Lyons says the sight of the city hall flooded with blue light means a lot.
“It is really an awesome feeling,” said Lyons.
For four years now, the well-respected car salesman at Stockfish Ford has been organizing the "Light it up Blue" event where friends and families congregate to city hall and once the sun sets, the blue lights light up the downtown building in recognition of World Autism Awareness Day.
“It is something special for our special needs kids where we have each others back, people who have families with autism, they get it,” said Lyons, whose son Jack has been diagnosed with Autism.
“Especially when they see the blue and how significant it is to us, that is where it means something. It is blue, it means a lot to me and that is why we are passionate about it.”
The event has grown from a small event to a gathering of close to 100 people on Monday night outside city hall.
There was music, face painting for kids and information booths about the local services for children with autism.
As the parent of a child with autism, Lyons feels thankful for the services available for his son in North Bay.
He says his son can take part in special hockey, golf, and even is involved with the Nipissing Trackers.
“There is so much more to do to get our young kids involved with and that is what I am big on they have to learn how to do it younger to be better later,” he said.
Karen Grattan-Miscio is the Clinical Director of Autism Services at the HANDS Network. She is amazed at the work Lyons has done to bring awareness to autism at the local level.
She believes events like this make her job better.
“It is such a joyous event to come out and be with these families and it really just helps us celebrate. We see clients that we used to work with, years have gone by and we are able to experience this with them its just a great time.”