Ms. Wheelchair CA., Alyson Roth,
selected as 2nd Runner-Up at the
Ms Wheelchair America Event in South Dakota

Moreno Valley, CA:
Ms. Wheelchair California Executive Director Ruthee Goldkorn, just returned from the Ms Wheelchair America National Pageant and was totally elated that Ms Wheelchair California, Alyson Roth, was selected 2nd Runner-Up in the Ms Wheelchair America Pageant.

“We are very proud of the great work that Alyson is doing”, says Ruthee Goldkorn Ms Wheelchair CA Executive Director.

“It was a magnificent event and it was also exciting to see the others crowned as well. It was wonderful to see my friend Erika Boden, Ms Wheelchair North Carolina crowned the new Ms Wheelchair America; Ms Wheelchair Washington, Jennette Sexton, was the first Runner-Up; Alyson Roth, Ms Wheelchair California, 2nd Runner-Up; Amber Marcy, Ms Wheelchair Michigan, 3rd Runner-Up; and Ms Wheelchair Utah, 4th Runner-Up” Michigan Director and MWA Board member at large is Shelly Loose, says Ruthee.

At the event, a new Ms Wheelchair America Board of Directors were elected; they were Angela Wiggelsworth from TX, new President; Denise Di Noto from NY, Vice-President; Crystal Childers from NE is the returning treasurer, and Autumn Grant from MA, is the Secretary.

“Ms. Wheelchair America and Ms. Wheelchair California Pageants are competitions designed to select the most accomplished and articulate spokeswoman 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", says Ruthee Goldkorn.

"Ms. Wheelchair California's duties are numerous: each year she has the opportunity to travel, make public appearances, and conduct radio, print, and television interviews in the fulfillment of her responsibilities. These include promoting awareness of the need to eliminate architectural and attitudinal barriers, educating Californians on disability issues, and informing the public of the achievements of people with disabilities across our great state”, says Ruthee Goldkorn, Executive Director, and a former Ms Wheelchair 2001 winner.

We are so excited as at the National convention the California delegation won the bid to host the 2010 Ms Wheelchair America pageant which will be held in Long Beach in November 2010.

The Ms Wheelchair California pageant will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on April 10, 2010 in conjunction with the Abilities Expo.

"In November 2009 we will start accepting applications, which are open to any woman, ages 21-60, they can be married or single, but must use a wheelchair or motorized scooter 100% of the time when outside the home," says Ruthee Goldkorn, Ms Wheelchair Ca Pageant director. For more information contact Ms Goldkorn at knowbarriers@yahoo.com or call 951-247-8150. Please also check out our Ms Wheelchair California website at www.mswheelchairca.org. Ms. Wheelchair CA is a 501 C3 nonprofit organization and welcome donations to support their cause.

Some information on Alyson Roth our Ms Wheelchair 2009 and the current 2nd Runner Up in the Ms Wheelchair America 2009 pageant:   In 2000, Alyson was involved in a near-fatal car accident that left her with a spinal cord injury and paralyzed from the waist down. Alyson obtained her BS in Music Education at Samford University (2002), and her MS in Elementary Reading and Literacy from Walden University (2005). While at Samford University, she was successful in establishing a “Disability Awareness Week” where students learned about different disabilities and simulated them in order to understand the barriers that confronted students with disabilities. It brought a new awareness to the campus and became a catalyst for further accessibility within the community. After graduation, she taught music in the public and private school sector before joining Free Wheelchair Mission in 2007.

Free Wheelchair Mission is a non-profit organization that distributes wheelchairs to 71 countries around the world to the poorest people with disabilities. Alyson continued her advocacy by speaking at both the National Association for Music Education’s National Convention (2004) with her session entitled “Barrier-free Music Education: Concepts of Inclusion” and the National Orff Schulwerk Association National Convention (2005) with her session entitled “Mainstreaming the Process”. These sessions taught other music educators how to turn able-bodied music lessons into lessons that included those children with disabilities in the mainstreamed classroom.

She has also written several articles and been published in several magazines regarding disability awareness.

Yosemite National Park is now more wheelchair friendly and ADA compliant due to Alyson’s input while sitting on the Board of Directors. She has assisted Habitat for Humanity to help build a house for a disabled member of the Atlanta inner-city community. In an attempt to bring more recognition to those with disabilities, Alyson presented the “Ability through Mobility” Award to four recipients around the country for their outstanding work within their community despite their disability. She has traveled to Nicaragua to work at an orphanage for children with disabilities and teach music at a school for the blind. Alyson has also traveled to Mexico to deliver wheelchairs to the country’s poorest people with disabilities and has had the opportunity to collaborate with the former president of Mexico, President Vicente Fox, about the importance of providing wheelchairs to the citizens of Mexico in addition to providing aide and healthcare to everyone.

Alyson resides in Southern California. In her free time, Alyson enjoys providing mentorship for newly injured patients, participating in several outdoor activities including water skiing, surfing, and swimming, and singing in the Gospel Choir at Saddleback Church. It is Alyson’s desire to educate the public on the truths of having a disability and empower those with a disability to be all they can be in a world full of possibilities.

Again, we at Ms Wheelchair CA congratulate Alyson Roth on a job well done, and know that everyday she is touching lives and making a difference.

For more information on this release, contact Robbie Motter, PR Consultant at 888-244-4420.

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