Ms. Wheelchair America to Be Held in Bethesda, MD, July 23 – 29, 2007
(South Boston, MA) Kristen McCosh, was recently crowned Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts. She will now be competing for the title Ms. Wheelchair America 2008 at the national pageant held in the Washington, DC area, July 23 – 28th. 27 women of extraordinary strength and commitment, representing 26 states and the District of Columbia, will compete for the 2008 Ms. Wheelchair America title. The weeklong event will be held at the Doubletree hotel in Bethesda, Maryland. At the conclusion of six days of grueling judging and appearances, a winner will be crowned at the Gala event on Saturday, July 28th at 6:00 PM.
Ms. Kristen McCosh lives in South Boston, Massachusetts with her husband. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Massachusetts and has work experience as a grant writer, program consultant and information specialist. Kristen was involved in a diving accident as a teen and as a result uses a wheelchair. She has volunteered extensively within her community and has a long list of public speaking engagements. Ms. McCosh’s platform is to show people the strength and creativity of women in wheelchairs in everything she does, including writing and developing a series of novels with women in wheelchairs as heroines.
The mission of the Ms. Wheelchair America Program, Inc. is to provide an opportunity for women of achievement who use wheelchairs to successfully educate and advocate for individuals with disabilities. Unlike other pageants, Ms. Wheelchair America is in no way a beauty contest. It is a competition to select the most accomplished and articulate spokesperson for the millions of Americans with disabilities. The selected representative must be able to communicate both the needs and the accomplishments of her constituency to the general public, the business community and the legislature. She will promote awareness of the need to eliminate architectural and attitudinal barriers, inform the able-bodied public of the achievements of people with disabilities across the nation and promote Ms. Wheelchair America by assisting in the establishment or continuation of programs in all the states.
“The successful state titleholder will be very busy as Ms. Wheelchair America. She will be expected to travel, visit advocacy groups, make public appearances and conduct radio, print and TV interviews,” says Robert Watson, this year’s event organizer, Vice President of Ms. Wheelchair America, Executive Director of DateAble, Inc. and the State Coordinator for Ms. Wheelchair Maryland.
According to Gail McKoon, President of Ms. Wheelchair America, “there are more than 50 million Americans with disabilities, and that is why we work so hard to include representatives from as many states as possible. Ms. Wheelchair America strives to communicate the dignity and contribution of disabled Americans to the public, the business community and political leaders in each state across the nation.”
Contestants must be between the ages of 21 and 60 and use a wheelchair for 100% of their daily community mobility. They will be judged in three categories: personal interviews, on-stage interviews and public speaking. The origination of each person’s disability and marital status are not considerations in this event.
DateAble, Inc. is the major sponsor for this event.
Ms. Wheelchair America
1-877-679-4335
mswheelchairamerica.org
Laura L. Abdelaziz, Executive Director
170 Chesapeake Street SW Washington, DC 20032
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