Yesterday I had the privilege of being on WBSM radio 1420 AM on the "Mid-Morning Magazine" with Phil Paleologos. we spoke about what Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts means to me and what the day of the pageant was like. Since my platform is "Creative Perseverance," we discussed the importance of finding ways to pursue your dreams and empowering others to do the same. We also discussed the Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts Foundation and my future competition in the Ms. Wheelchair America pageant. It was a great time! Radio is such an effective tool to empower others to share words of encouragement!

Well, things are certainly on a roll! This coming Monday, March 26 , I will be on live radio WBSM AM 1420 Mid-Morning Magazine with Phil Paleologos. Turn your radios on at 11AM and I will be on shortly after that. Friday, March 30th at 8 PM I will be speaking and doing a music workshop in Boston at a Partners for Youth with Disabilities meeting. I recorded an audition CD of me singing our National Anthem and I am mailing it out Monday. I am hoping to sing it live at Fenway Park at their Disability Awareness Day. I have put together my press kit and am very excited to have a date with Ablevision to tape a show about me and the Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts Foundation that will be aired sometime over the summer.

I am also working on finding sponsors and fundraising for my participation in the Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant which will be held in Providence Rhode Island August 6th-12th. If you would like to make a tax deductible donation please go to www.mswheelchairmass.org.

Remember to always pursue your dreams!!!!!!

This is my first blog entry as Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2012. The excitement has not gone away and probably won't for the entire year! Today I had a photo shoot for my promotional picture. As soon as I get it I will post it here. Holding the title of Ms. wheelchair Massachusetts is an incredible experience, and it has only been a week and a half! I feel empowered to be the voice of others with disabilities and empower them. It is a win-win situation.

The day of the pageant began at 6:30 AM when I got dressed, did my hair and makeup, made three different breakfasts because I was too nervous to eat and kept changing my mind! I arrived at the Mass Hospital School at about 9:45 AM where I was greeted by past titleholders and board members of the Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts Foundation. That day was filled with excitement, anticipation, and meeting instant friends. when there were two contestants left I literally held my breath. Winning was quite emotional for me but I was very conscious of trying not to ruin my makeup! The other contestants were so impressive and had such great outlooks on life that I sincerely hope that they remain involved.

There were so many people to thank it would take too much space on this blog. My advice to you is to go to the Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts website mswheelchairmass.org and get to know the foundation as well as the people involved.

March 30th I will be speaking at a Partners for Youth with Disabilities meeting. Since I am a musician I am going to do a workshop that night as well with the members. I will be posting pictures of my events as I do them.

Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2012

Congratulations to Patti Panzarino Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2012! Patti was crowned on March 3rd at the Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton MA. Ms. Panzarino will compete for the title of Ms. Wheelchair America 2013 this August in Providence RI. Keep checking this blog as Patti starts her adventures as Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2012!

Fundraising at Wal-mart!

Hello again! So... this is not going to be the post promised but I have an event too special not to share with you ASAP! I "canned" outside of Wal-mart Quincy this week for two days. I know what you're thinking, "canning isn't an event." Well I don't necessarily disagree!I had seen other people canning, mostly high school kids for their sport teams and I just felt kind of silly just sitting there all day with a can asking for donations. I knew it would bring in a lot though so I couldn't pass it up without giving it a try!

So I MADE it an event. I grabbed a TV tray table, tapped a poster with our logo to it. dressed an empty coffee can with some blue construction paper and our logo also, laid out brochures and a picture of myself in my crown and sash ( I know I was already there and dressed like that but people ate up the professional shot of me!) and set up outside the exit door. I never once asked for someone to donate. I just sat and waved. That seemed to get people to stop....and give!

My first day I arrived about 11AM and stayed until about 5PM. I thought for sure that by 2ish I would be so bored! Not true! I had so many people stopping to donate and ask questions the day just flew!By the time my ride got there at 3 I wanted to stay longer due to my success!!Luckily he was willing to stay with me!

My second day started at about 9:30AM. I knew I was in for a long day but I was motivated! If I needed a break I had the Subway (sandwich shop) to stop in if needed.This time I stayed until 7:30PM.

Among all the people I met was two former Ms Massachusetts USA contestants. It was exciting to talk to them. They are beautiful but there was more to them than that!They were both very nice, smart and very hard workers!It was interesting to discover that they are also judged on simply their looks. Not by the judges I mean but by the rest of us!!And to boot not a whole lot of us have sat down and watched a competition!

All kinds of people donated!A few Wal-mart associates also!My favorite donors were the mothers. Each child would get a dollar to put in my can. You could see the twinkle in the little girl's eyes when they looked at my crown! There was one girl that really stole the show for me though! I am broken hearted that I don't remember her name. She had down syndrome her mother had explained to me. The little girl had asked just that week "what was a wheelchair?"!I was more than happy to be a part of such a lesson! I hope down the road they will remember me because I will never forget them!

Once in awhile things got slow for me but that was ok. I had Wal-mart associates spending their breaks hanging out with me. That meant the most to me! I didn't expect such an interest!!!The crown and sash seemed to open up people that must have had questions for awhile!I am glad I got the chance to talk to them!

Well that's it for now!Lots to do in the coming weeks!!!Nationals is coming faster than I could have ever imagined!!!!Stayed tuned!

Ms Wheelchair Massachusetts 2011!!!!

So, it's been about two months now since the Ms Wheelchair Massachusetts 2011 Pageant. It has been a crazy two months but I now get to tell you about one of the most important days of my life this far!!!

Pageant prep started first thing in the morning with Mom and Pam (my PCA). Mom got there first and we started right away with hair and make-up. I knew mom would do my hair perfectly and I am still learning about make-up so she was a big help!I have to say, getting all done up with mom is my favorite part of the day even still!

Pam arrives and outfit selection is finalized. Now we are on our way to the Pageant with just a quick pit-stop at DnD's for coffee.

The event then kicked off with check-in and set up. This wasn't hard for me seeing as I know alot of the behind the scenes stuff from being involved previous years in one way or another.

I quickly found my table and set up my display. I felt kind of bad setting it up and leaving it to mingle but that feeling didn't last long. Conversation I was having with the crowd quickly turned from "tell my more about you" to "whose that girl over there showing off your board" I was relieved and so proud!!

I had invited my mentee from PYD's Mentor Match Program. I figured she would love it but I would have never guessed she would have so ready to promote me!!!I was loving it to say the least!Mingling also gave me a chance to meet some of the wonderful vendors we had that I didn't already know. We had many great vendors this year!

Things were not all fun and games though!There were private interviews for each contestant with a panel of three judges. Personally this scared me the most. Don't ask me why, smaller crowds just always did. Too intimate I guess! I was in luck though, we also had an interview session infront of everyone in attendance that day. Both sessions were nerve-wrecking because you never know what the judges will come up with so you can only be so prepared!

Then lastly (this was before being crowned of course!) and the most important part! The platform speeches! Even without a win I have been waiting for these two minutes for my entire 30 years of life!In these two minutes I get to tell my audience who I am (as a person NOT a wheelchair), about the things I have done and most importantly of course what I hope to do as Ms Wheelchair Massachusetts 2011.Giving that speech was a dream come true!

Now the moment has come!They are about to call the runner-up! It had been just me and one other contestant for the whole pageant so I know this will be quick. My mind was racing with a million things all at once!There could have been ten different girls up there with meand I wouldn't have been half as nervous as I was competing along side this one girl! We had met a few years ago when I first became involved with Ms W/C Mass. She is smart, passionate and has done so much that would qualify her for this and she had run before!As involved as i have been in the past this was my first time running.

So you can imagine my shock when they call her as the runner-up! After that things seemed to be in slow motion. They called my name then and there was a sudden rush of commotion all around me. The sash is pinned on me, the crown is placed on my head and flowers are laid in my arms. Hugs and kisses are coming from everywhere. I see the flashes of a camera I never knew was there all day come from somewhere behind the crowd

Lastly I gave my thank you speech. This is not something I wanted to overly prepare for fear it would jinx me.On the spot I feel is more heart felt anyways.

I rode home with Pam who had gone through the entire day and all the prep with me. We drove into my neighborhood and I noticed everyone looking at me. After 30 years as a disabled person I am used to people looking at me but this was different. People normally looked away when I caught them staring. Some even pointed!I just hope they went home and googled it!

In closing I would just like to thank everyone that was and is a support to me. Everyone that listened to my speech a million times. Everyone that were part of a memory that built my board. Everyone that was there in person or spirit. I thank all of you so much!!!

Well that is all I have for now. I hope you stay tuned!I have alot to fill you in on about the past two months and just when you think we are all caught up, I will have new things to share!

All Good Things Eventually Must Come to an End

During my final month as Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts 2010, I participated in two events in Boston. The first event I participated in is called the BLIN’G Camp (Better Living in Girls) on March 4th, 2011 from 6-9pm, which was an event put together by the Spina Bifida Association of Massachusetts (SBAMass) and the Myelodysplasia Clinic at Children’s Hospital Boston (the Spina Bifida Clinic). This was an overnight girls camp where ten girls (Ages 11-17 years old) along with one parent had the opportunity to participate in the BLIN’G Program, which consisted of an overnight stay at a hotel in Boston (the Omni Parker House on School Street near the State House), so they could learn about healthy living with Spina Bifida.

Among the guests for the program were a nutritionist, a reiki massage therapist, and a hair stylist and make-up artist who came to give the girls makeovers. The evening started with the nutritionist speaking about healthy eating and what we should/should not be eating to be healthy, which of course is always challenging to get all the nutrients we need in order to be healthy but it helps to have someone willing to advise us on it. Then, for our icebreaker activity to get to know people we got to play human BLIN’GO (BINGO), where the coordinators of the event put together BINGO cards based on a list of 10 things about ourselves that we all had previously submitted. Our task was to of course get BINGO, by figuring out who had which clues by going around and talking to each other. Prizes were awarded to the first three people who got BINGO, but everyone got some kind of token for their participation in the game, which was nice. Also, being Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts 2010 I had the opportunity to speak to the girls and the mothers for about 10-15 minutes or so about college, Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts/America, life with Spina Bifida/disability, achieving your goals etc. I really loved this event even though it was short because I really felt like I was able to make a difference and not only be an advocate for them but in this case I was also acting as a role/ “roll” model as well. I have been looking forward to this event for a while because I remember the challenges associated with that age range for myself, living with a disability but I really think that is a challenging transitional time for people in general. That is why I thought this was such a great idea. Everyone was truly appreciative of the time I had spent with the girls. Some of them even asked me for the website information which I gave out while explaining some of the things that are on there. I also mentioned to everyone the upcoming Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts Competition so I hope that some of them will be able to come and check it out! I just wish I could have spent the entire weekend enjoying the fun with them, but I had to take an MTEL exam in Somerville the next day. Maybe I will have more time to help out next year.

The other event I went to was the “Stepping Forward-Staying Informed Evening Lecture Series for individuals living with spinal cord injury, their caregivers & healthcare professionals”. This event took place at Boston Medical Center, BU School of Medicine and lasted from 4:30-8:00pm on March 14th 2011, and Judi Zazula was the coordinator of the event, whom I had met at a previous event back in October, during Spinal Cord Injury Awareness month. Patrick M. Tigue, Community Catalyst was the presenter and the topic of the lecture was “The Affordable Care Act and People with Disabilities: Policy and Politics”. Immediately preceding each lecture that they have is a support group meeting where people who have spinal cord injuries gather and get to know one another, which is great for networking and making friends. It’s always great to have people in your life who truly understand the challenges you must face on a daily basis and who are willing to talk to you about questions or concerns.

This was such an important topic to learn about because we all need accessible and affordable healthcare. Too many people today are struggling without proper health insurance or healthcare needs. As a person with a disability, I know how much this affects us because our needs are just so complex and it is scary to think what some of us would do without insurance and good medical treatment. There is just so much to consider including surgery, follow-up appointments, going to different specialists, hospitalizations, equipment and so much more. For that reason this was a really informative lecture which I enjoyed very much.

So ends my time as Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts 2010. This was truly a very enjoyable experience where I got to learn so much and help so many different people by participating in a variety of events each month. I will be looking to pass on the title at the 2011 Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts Advocacy Competition where the next titleholder will be crowned and given a chance to advocate on behalf of those in Massachusetts living with a disability. Although I will be passing on the title of Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts, this does not mean that my work as an advocate comes to an end now. There is still so much to do before people who have disabilities and people who do not have disabilities are seen as the same, and a group as a whole. By working together to support each other and spreading the word about the Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts Foundation and our mission, one day we will be able to come together as a whole and people with disabilities will not be singled out due to their differences. One day at a time we will prove that the Ms.Wheelchair Massachusetts program is not about exterior beauty, “celebrities” or royalty (crown/sash) but about helping people with disabilities live better lives and advocacy. As a final thought I wanted to remind everyone that with resources, support and encouragement that “Yes We ALL Can!” live our lives just as successfully as our peers who do not have disabilities. It’s all in the attitude, so let’s all stay positive!

Thank you for letting me be a part of such a wonderful program. I truly enjoyed every minute of it and know that this will open up the doors to new and exciting opportunities in the future. I want to wish the contestants in the upcoming pageant the best of luck and hope that I can continue to help out this wonderful organization in any way I can. YAY MWMA 2010!