Don't call it a beauty pageant. The name might imply that Ms.
Wheelchair America is related to the contest that pits bikini-clad
women advocating world peace against each other. Ms. Wheelchair
America is a contest with a different slant entirely.
Women with disabilities from all over the United States met in
Richmond, Va., July 27 to Aug. 1 to vie for this year's title.
After several days of demonstrating academic, vocational and
personal achievement through public speaking, Cinda Hughes, Ms.
Wheelchair America for 2004, passed the scepter to Juliette Rizzo,
Ms. Wheelchair of Maryland.
Rizzo is a single, 36-year-old who, at the age of 3, contracted
a systemic infection resulting in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis,
scleroderma and fibromyalfia. Currently she is director of
communication and media for the U.S. Department of Education's
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
As the new national titleholder, Rizzo will advance the goals of
the all-volunteer Ms. Wheelchair America program, which requires
being a spokesperson and ombudsman for the more than 50 million
Americans with disabilities. Rizzo's platform, power through
participation, advocates personal development through community
involvement. Getting to a place where the wheelchair is not the
most important and visible part of a person's identity, she says,
is the goal of her campaign.
“Ms. Wheelchair America promotes participation beyond just
having a physical presence in the community,” she says.
“ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) has broken down many
barriers, but it's the realization of each individual's identity
through community life — participating in everything from
your own physical health and fitness to voting.”
The Ms. Wheelchair America program is deeply tied to home
medical equipment, and organizers are looking for ways to
strengthen those ties. From donating equipment to allowing Ms.
Wheelchair representatives to use a company copier, organizers say
there are a number of ways HMEs can participate, and they are open
to creative suggestions.
A Richmond, Va., HME was the reason this year's national Ms.
Wheelchair competition was held in Virginia. Wayne Sale, chairman
of Ms. Wheelchair Virginia and president of Health First Home
Medical Equipment, which supplies respiratory equipment and
services, lift chairs, bath aids and more, dove in head first to
bring the Ms. Wheelchair competition to Virginia.
“I got involved with Ms. Wheelchair Virginia because it is
a fantastic way to build a network for women in wheelchairs who
want to speak out and brighten the future for all people living
with disabilities. Running the state, and this year the national,
programs is both personally enriching and a natural extension of
our business at Health First, where we see community involvement as
integral to our business success,” Sale says.
Rizzo herself testifies to the importance of HME. “Without
my wheelchair, I couldn't have possibly had such great successes in
my life, such as my employment and winning Ms. Wheelchair
America,” she says. “I'm here now because of durable
medical equipment. It's this type of equipment that allows me to
participate in my personal life and has helped my personal
adjustment to my disability.”
HMEs can contact their state's Ms. Wheelchair coordinator,
found at www.mswheelchairamerica.org, to learn more about
the program. If your company is in a state that does not yet have a
Ms. Wheelchair competition, contact Pat O'Bryant at
877/679-4335.
