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Tuscola Today  Lions clubs donate GPS to local blind man

By Eric Andreychuk

Staff Writer

MAYVILLE — Two local Lions Clubs from Kingston and Mayville helped one Thumb area blind man keep his bearings straight by purchasing a personal GPS system

allowing him to navigate on his own.

Nathan “Nate” Sweet is a 33-year-old blind man from Kingston, who graduated from Marlette High School in 1998 and loves nothing more than playing the guitar

and singing.

Blind since birth, Sweet relies on the help of others to travel, but now with the help of the two Lions Clubs, getting around on his own is more of a possibility.

The two clubs purchased Sweet a Kapten Plus GPS system that is designed specifically for the blind and visually impaired that costs over $300.

The device is a new generation of GPS that allows for voice-controlled navigation and eases the mobility of blind or visually-impaired people by providing

real time voice descriptions of what is around during a person’s travels and announces street names, crossroads, and local establishments like the post

office, schools, etc.

“A friend of Nate’s contacted us about helping acquire one of these devices,” said Janet Grieve of the Kingston Lions Club.

“Janet then asked us here in Mayville if we could help split the cost,” explained Ron Johnson of the Mayville Lions Club.

The two organizations helped split the cost and presented Sweet with the device. To thank them for their generosity and help, Sweet performed on his guitar.

NateSweet Copy

Not only does he perform, he is a skilled music writer as well. The song he performed for the Lions was an original song that he helped write.

A very accomplished musician, his interests began at age eight and eventually began taking lessons from Brian Mallory of Cass City.

“It was very difficult at first,” said Sweet. “But Brian was a good teacher and he really helped me a lot.”

Now he plays all over, helping support others by playing at different area events like the Kingston Car Show and for senior citizens at the Fisher Senior

Care in Mayville and at the Tuscola County Medical Care Facility in Caro.

When he plays alone, he’s known as the musical act “Sight Unseen” and sometimes he is joined by his buddy Ean Elliot and their duo is called “Sweet Elliot

Explosion.”

Nate’s close friend, Amy Filipek, said that he would also be performing for a benefit for an exotic animal rescue sanctuary in Brown City on Oct. 1.

“A Nashville recording artist heard Nate play and asked him to perform at the event,” she said.

Sweet has only been performing at public events for a short time now, but really enjoys it. He says he would like to continue playing for others and plans

are in the works to establish a website so that people may contact him for future performances.

Eric Andreychuk is a staff writer for the Tuscola County Advertiser. He can be reached at eric at tcadvertiser.com.

http://www.tuscolatoday.com/index.php/2011/09/13/lions-clubs-donate-gps-to-local-blind-man/