Hello State Coordinators!

First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by Hurricane Katrina. We are all stunned by the photos and video coming from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Thankfully, Dawn Peterson, MWLA 2005, and her husband are both physically OK- although they have lost everything due to the storm.

Ms. Wheelchair America has started a donation site, through the Ms. Wheelchair Maryland Pay-Pal account (Thanks Robert!), for those coordinators and state titleholders who wish to make a contribution to help Dawn in her time of need. If you would like to make a donation, simply click on the link pasted below and follow the instructions. If you do not have a credit card, you can send a check made payable to Ms. Wheelchair America with a notation in the memo designating the check for “Flood Donation.” Checks can be sent to Judy Hoit, MWA Treasurer. Judy’s address is:

Judy Hoit
1337 Burns Ave.
Iowa City, IA 52240

MWMD link:

http://www.ms-wheelchair-md.com/donations.htm

We will accept donations for Dawn through September 23. We thank you in advance for your support as one of “our family” struggles through a particularly difficult time. If you are unable to make a financial contribution, we urge you to contact your local Red Cross or Salvation Army office. Many states are involved in the relief efforts and there may be a need for volunteers in your own communities.

Congratulations Kristen!

We are proud to announce that our new Ms. Wheelchair America 2006, Kristen Connors, along with her twin sister Kelly Buonaccorsi, were recently awarded the Muscular Dystrophy Association Na tional Personal Achievement Award for 2006. This award recognizes the accomplishments of adults throughout the United States who are affected by muscular dystrophy and related neuromuscular disorders. The national award is presented annually to people who have shown excellence in areas such as community leadership, civic affairs, career accomplishment and personal goal attainment. Kristen and Kelly were also recipients of the Rhode Island State Personal Achievement Award.

Kristen accepted her award during the annual MDA telethon, just hours before hopping on a plane for Taipei, Taiwan! Yes - that’s right - Taiwan! Kristen is a guest at the 2nd Annual Miss Wheelchair and Love Without Borders Ambassador Contest, sponsored by the Eden Social Welfare Foundation. While in Taiwan, Kristen will meet the finalists in the pageant, as well as several local government officials and dignitaries. Watch future newsletters for Kristen’s full report on this international adventure.

Coordinator Updates

We would like to welcome Eileen O’Brien as the new State Coordinator for Florida. Eileen served as Ms. Wheelchair Florida 2004 and we are happy to have her on board as the new coordinator. We wish her much success as she begins to organize the Ms. Wheelchair Florida pageant.

This year we had 5 Independent Delegates participate at Ms. Wheelchair America, which means we have 5 new State Coordinators! They are:

Dawn Peterson - Louisiana
Laurel Labdon - Massachusetts
Kristen Connors - Rhode Island
Meg Hendleman - Utah
Michelle Beardshear - Washington

Website Updates

We are updating our website to make it more user-friendly and informative. One of the pages we need to keep updated is the page listing all of the state pageants. As soon as you have scheduled your state pageant, please e-mail the information to Denise so the web calendar can be accurate. The following information is required:

• State
• Date of pageant
• Location
• Entry fee
• Application deadline

Remember, the last weekend to hold a pageant to select a state titleholder eligible for MWA 2007 is April 15/16, 2006.

Do you have a state website? Many states do. As a reminder, state websites must be approved by the MWA Board before they are posted for general use. Protocols and requirements for state websites were issued to all state coordinators in August. Only those state websites that have been approved by the MWA Board will be linked to the official MWA website (www.mswheelchairamerica.org). We will be visiting state websites to ensure everyone is using the same criteria and language so now is the time to update your site to match MWA criteria, if you have not already done so.

Finally … Some thoughts from the E.D.

Thank you to all of the state coordinators and state titleholders who have sent in your post-pageant surveys. We appreciate all of your feedback. Your comments do help guide us as we work each year to improve our program. If you have not already done so, please mail your completed survey to Denise DiNoto. The MWA Board will read all comments and discuss the surveys at our annual fall board meeting.

Once again, thanks to Pat O’Bryant for many years of service as Executive Director. As the new ED, I have a new appreciation of all the hard work Pat put into this job- and I’ve only been on-board for one week! State Coordinators- be patient with us please as we complete this transition. Files are being shared, boxes are being shipped, and hopefully by the end of September, the new office will be fully up and running. I look forward to this new challenge and I can’t wait to work with all of you as we continue to help our program grow.