March is a very busy month for many states in MWA. Before you get caught up in pageant activities, please take a few moments to read the following updates.

Coordinator Updates

Congratulations to California and North Carolina, who held successful state pageants in February.

March is the busiest month for state pageants. There are 11, yes, ELEVEN states holding pageants in March. Can you name them all? Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota, Michigan, and Pennsylvania will all crown new titleholders in March. Remember, the last weekend to host a pageant to select a participant for MWA in Little Rock is April 15.

Application packets for MWA 2007, “Women of Strength” will be mailed to all coordinators and state titleholders in mid-April. Coordinators, if you have not already provided Denise with accurate contact information for your state titleholder, please make sure you do provide this information so your titleholder receives this important packet in a timely manner.

Swap and Share

Last month’s question was from Crystal Childers, MWNE coordinator. In case you don’t remember, her question was:

Do other states use a newsletter to communicate with sponsors or community members? I would like input from any other states that use a newsletter, specifically pros and cons.

Unfortunately, we did not receive any responses from state coordinators. Perhaps this is because you don’t use a newsletter. Perhaps this is because you don’t read the newsletter we send to you. Perhaps it is because you are very busy and forgot to respond. Perhaps we should throw in a question to see how many of you are paying attention- quick, how many states are hosting pageants in March?

Please send your answer, as well as responses to Crystal’s swap and share question to Denise at: director@mswheelchairamerica.org. She will see how many coordinators are reading the MWA newsletter and forward ideas and responses to Crystal. All ideas will be shared in next month’s newsletter.

If you have a question you would like to see in future versions of “Swap and Share,” just send it to Denise. Or, if you have an idea for a newsletter column that would be more useful to you, let Denise know that too.

News from Kristen Connors, MWA 2006

I spent most of February wearing my state coordinator hat, preparing for my first Ms. Wheelchair Rhode Island Pageant. My pageant will be held on April 1st. I must say I have a new respect for all you state coordinators! I realize now how much hard work each of you puts in not just on your pageant day but throughout the year as well. I’m happy to report that I have 2 contestants, and I’m still hoping to have 1 or 2 more before the deadline. I’ve enjoyed planning my event and I can’t wait for the first pageant to take place. I am looking forward to attending the Ms. Wheelchair VA pageant on March 17th to have the opportunity to see one more state pageant before I host my own. I’ll give you a report of how it all went next month!

Little Rock, Arkansas July 31 - August 6, 2006

Ida Esh’t and her crew of MWAR volunteers continue to prepare for MWA 2007, “Women of Strength.” Ida sent this note for all coordinators:

We are so excited to be hosting all of you for nationals this year. We have planned some fun theme events, such as a ‘Wild World of Sports’ night, a ‘Cruise Around the World’ dinner, and ‘A Victorian Christmas.’ More information about these events, and much more, will be coming in the contestant application packets which will be sent out in April. As you gear up for Arkansas, think about any special clothing you might want to pack for these events. We can hardly wait for your arrival. It is the first day of March, and it is 80 degrees today. I think it may be a very hot summer! Have a blessed month.

Finally….a note from the ED

You may have noticed that I always try to find a catchy “hook” to make each month’s newsletter unique to that month. March offers up a host of possibilities- with March Madness, St. Patrick’s Day and the Ides of March all providing good examples to pick from. I had an idea to go with March Madness until I woke up this morning. March may have come in like a spring lamb for Ida in Arkansas, but it surely is coming in like a lion here in upstate New York. Where Ida has 80 degrees, today is only 15 degrees here in Albany, with a wind chill of -5. It’s tough to drag yourself out of bed on mornings like this. But, even though the temperature tells me otherwise, spring is going to officially start this month.

A lot of people think of spring as a time of new beginnings and new growth. We see it in the flowers that (hopefully) will start to sprout up soon and in the birds that may return from warmer climates. I think of it as the time when I can start to think about putting the scarves, mittens and heavy sweaters away for another 6 months. But there will also be new beginnings and growth for MWA in March. We will be finalizing the application packets for the national pageant. We will also be producing the first of our two hard copy newsletters profiling state titleholders. This newsletter will be mailed with the application packets in April.

I’m looking forward to getting to know your titleholders over the next couple of months! Think SPRING!