Ms. Wheelchair America Newsletter - by Erika Bogan

I was honored to be included in the Ms. Wheelchair America newsletter that goes out to all State Coordinators. Each Ms. Wheelchair America is responsible for writing and updating the Board and State Coordinators on her appearances and duties.

Thank you, Erika, for a great time at the Rose Parade, and I'm so happy you were able to be a part of it all with me!

Click on the picture to read the partial newsletter.

Featured around the Nation

I am always blessed when people hear about my story and are encouraged to share it with others. I am sponsored by Kenda tires, and recently they made a poster of me to help sell their products. This poster has literally gone around the nation to businesses, organizations, and individuals. I'm amazed when people feel so honored to have received a signed copy!

Recently, Duncan Creek Elementary School in Georgia put up a bulletin board featuring "famous" people who happen to have a disability. Well, my poster covered most of the bulletin board!! I hope that the children at that school realize that people with disabilities can accomplish anything - though it may be a different way - anything is possible!

Thank you, Duncan Creek Elementary, for featuring me on your bulletin board and for being an example to the students at your school that accessibility and disability awareness is so important. Thank you for helping to teach that people with disabilities are people, too!

Making Someone's Day

I was so excited to make a presentation at Top of the World Elementary School in Laguna Beach, CA on behalf of Free Wheelchair Mission, however I also had a very special meeting afterwards with a very special girl!

Each of the students below have been raising money for a wheelchair to give to someone in a developing country ($59.20 per wheelchair) and typically this school raises enough for almost 30 wheelchairs! Hopefully this year, they will raise even more! Their campaign ends right before Valentine's Day.

But after my presentation, I had a very special meeting with a beautiful girl named Alexa. She was told that I was coming, and the smile didn't leave her face the entire time! She was so excited to meet me!!

She told me her favorite thing to do was read. What a precious girl, and I feel as if I was more blessed to be in her presence than she may have been to be in mine!

I asked her if she'd like to try my crown on, and her face lit up! She couldn't believe it! Doesn't she look beautiful?

Afterwards, I signed a picture for her telling her to keep reaching for her dreams and to never give up. As you can see in her face in the picture below, she was in awe that she got to have a signed picture of me, too! So cute!

Thank you, Top of the World Elementary School, for allowing me to "Make a Wish," in a sense, to this beautiful girl. I can tell she's going to go far in her life with the spirit of perseverance and determination! Alexa, you are awesome, and I hope to see you competing in the Ms. Wheelchair California pageant when you turn 21 years old!

Happy New Year - Tournament of Roses Parade 2010

Happy New Year 2010 everyone! Please forgive the late post of the wrap up of the Tournament of Roses Parade and how it all went. It literally wiped me out with all the activities, and I fell asleep right after it was over (even had to stop halfway on the drive home because I literally couldn't stay awake) and stayed asleep the majority of the weekend after getting a bit ill. However, it was such a blast! Let me walk you through the day!

Erika Bogan, Ms. Wheelchair America 2010, and I originally planned on celebrating New Years Eve on East Coast time (meaning 9pm out here in California) and then going to sleep since we had to be up at 3am New Years Day. However, that didn't happen as both of us had gotten sick. You can only imagine having to haul two wheelchairs in one car with both of us paralyzed, in the rain, along with all of our luggage. It was interesting to say the least, and you wouldn't believe how many able-bodied people walked past us and didn't offer to help. Here's a quick look at what it looked like arriving at the hotel. We look more awake than we actually were!

So, Erika and I were up until 1:30am, not by choice. We finally fell asleep after taking care of each other, however that meant we both only had 1.5 hours of sleep, and neither of us had gotten but about 4 hours of sleep the night before. We were exhausted, but so excited about the day!

We woke up at 3am and got ready, put our crowns and sashes on, reloaded the car with our luggage, and packed up both wheelchairs in my car. All of this definitely should have been captured on film somewhere! It was hilarious! We arrived at the meeting location with all the other Kiwanis float riders as well as our "dad" for the entire three days - AKA "Papa Dave". Papa Dave was the best and really made sure all of us were taken care of, felt comfortable, and were safe.

Both Erika and I were honored to receive a beautiful plaque commemorating our time with the Kiwanis on the 2010 Tournament of Roses float as well as the official pin and program. Below I am receiving mine from "Papa Dave."

Alyson Roth thanking Dave Wallach for the wonderful plaque and opportunity to be on the 2010 Tournament of Roses Kiwanis float.

We had a light breakfast (mind you it was 4:30am) and then were escorted to the site where our float was located in the line up. Almost every street remotely close to Colorado Blvd. was closed off (which made getting to the meeting place almost impossible) and had "White Suitors" located at every barricade along with police officers. I was even told that FBI and Secret Service were located throughout the event!

It was very, very cold. Both Erika and I were dressed in short sleeves, but we were snuggled up in blankets, gloves, and jackets that early in the morning. We had some time to go see other floats as well as make one last restroom stop before getting onto the float. While heading to the Tournament House (below) to use the restroom, I had the amazing opportunity to be escorted to meet the Grand Marshall of the parade, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III. He is known for landing the airplane into the Hudson River last January 2009 and safely saving everyone's lives. He is a true hero!

Upon meeting him and his wife, I told him, "On behalf of the state of California and the Ms. Wheelchair California/America program, we thank you for your heroism and generosity to save the lives of so many people. Though I know you were just doing your job, it is people like you who make the world a better place." Media and press were everywhere filming our meeting as well as taking pictures of the greet. It was a true pleasure to meet such humble people.

Alyson Roth, Ms. Wheelchair California 2009, thanking

Captain Chesley Sullenberger for his heroism.

Captain Sully, Alyson Roth, and his wife, Lorrie Sullenberger in front of the Tournament House

Once back at the float, it was time to load up! Erika and I transferred onto our bench while the crew stored our wheelchairs underneath the float. Did you know that the driver of the float can't see where he is going? He relies on a navigator up front to tell him where to go and when to stop. Amazing!

The excitement of turning onto Colorado Blvd. was breathtaking. There were so many people! I couldn't believe how many people show up for this parade on New Years Day each year.

The Kiwanis International float was extremely excited when we were announced as the winner of one of the top three trophies given out, the Isabella Coleman Trophy. You can see Erika Bogan and myself along with Alexis Ostrander to the right behind the Boy Scout.

Here is a better close up of us on the float. The magnitude of each float, the music, the sunshine, the people, the energy - it was all surreal and magical!

This isn't even a quarter of the people. We were located on the non-camera side, but the thousands of people on the right (south) side of Colorado Blvd. were even more enthusiastic as we passed them during the 5.5 mile stretch. It took us almost 2.5 hours to complete the parade!

Alyson Roth, Ms. Wheelchair California 2009, and Erika Bogan, Ms. Wheelchair America 2010 waving to everyone and shouting "Happy New Year" as we passed by.

The picture below was taken towards the end of the parade. You can see that people were even positioned underneath the overpass to watch the parade.

Without a doubt, this has to have been one of the most memorable New Year's ever, and I am so thankful to the Kiwanis and Ms. Wheelchair California/America program for allowing this opportunity to happen. It's important that we show that people with disabilities can do anything and everything that everyone else can, and being a part of this nationally televised event was huge. We even got a big shout out from Stephanie Edwards as our float passed by. For those of you who missed the parade, you can by going to http://www.ktla.com/entertainment/roseparade/video/. We are featured on Part 8 of the video series, though not shown since we were on the non-camera side of the float.

We are so grateful for everything, and thanks again to everyone - from the crew, to the volunteers, to the organizers, to the spectators - thank you for making this an amazing, nostalgic, and memorable start to 2010! Happy New Year!

Tournament of Roses Parade - Final Day!

Alyson Roth, Ms. Wheelchair California, and Erika Bogan, Ms. Wheelchair America helped put the final touches on the Kiwanis Rose Float this afternoon. What a beautiful float we have!

Here I am in front of our float. It really is beautiful with all those thousands of flowers!

Erika, Alexis Ostrander, and me on our bench on the front right of the float. Look for us waving at you tomorrow! We weren't allowed to wear our crown and sashes for judging, but we will have them on for the Rose Parade. When the judges came to score us, we had to cheer, wave, and act like we were on Colorado Blvd. in the parade! It was rather odd shouting "Happy New Year!" to no one, but I was loud and smiled and waved!

Below are the rest of some of the beautifully decorated floats that will be featured in tomorrow's New Year's Day Tournament of Rose's Parade down Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, California. I love my state!

The Rotary Float

The City of Anaheim float

The Bayer Float

Trader Joe's float (way cool by the way!)

The Boy Scouts of America's float

Honda's Float (this is the most amazing as it shoots canons and fireworks out of it!)

The FFA Today float

And finally, the Rose Bowl stadium where Ohio and Oregon will duke it out for the title!

On our way home from decorating and judging, there were already people lined up on Colorado Blvd, ready to spend the night to get a prime viewing spot in the parade route. Technically, they are allowed to start setting up camp at 12 noon, but we saw people already there at 10am this morning! Insane!!

And finally, a beautiful sunset over Los Angeles and Burbank to round out 2009. Happy New Year to everyone, and may 2010 bring you many blessings! Can't wait to wave to you all tomorrow on television. Again, it begins at 8am PST/11am EST, and we are on the Kiwanis float (front right). We are number 85 of 91, so we'll be towards the end of the parade.

Happy New Year!

Tournament of Roses Parade Preparation Day!

I had such an amazing day today despite the drizzly and cold rain that set in about 9am or so. This truly is one of the most spectacular things I've ever seen. Watching the Rose Parade on tv does not do any justice to what the floats are actually like up close and in person. Each is intricately designed, shaped, and created so uniquely, and the aroma in the Rose Pavilion is simply breathtaking with all the flowers! The Ms. Wheelchair California/America Program is so blessed to be in partnership with the Kiwanis to be on their float.

Below is the float I will be on called "A Cut Above the Rest." Erika Bogan, Ms. Wheelchair America, and I will be sitting to the right of the tree in the front (almost directly behind where the lady in the green jacket is.) Out of 91 floats, we are number 85.

It was so much fun decorating the float. It was truly miraculous to be there from 8am to the evening and see the transformation happen right before my eyes at how marvelous it is turning out. I really is magical, and everything... EVERYTHING... is made out of flowers, seeds, or natural products like straw or wood.

Alyson Roth, Ms. Wheelchair California 2009

After helping to decorate the float, I had a wonderful luncheon with the Kiwanis and was able to meet the International Kiwanis President, Paul Palazzolo, and his family (above).

Another treat was meeting Ms. Wheelchair 2005 Juliette Rizzo, who flew all the way from Washington DC for today's preparations. She is an amazing woman!

Erika Bogan, Ms. Wheelchair America 2010, and Alyson Roth, Ms. Wheelchair California 2009 at the Tournament of Roses House. We were waiting to meet the Rose Queen and Court along with Stephanie Edwards, the official host of the Tournament of Roses Parade, along with Bob Sullivan.

The Rose Queen and Court along with Stephanie, Erika, and myself.

Finally, a last picture with Stephanie Edwards herself. She is a truly blessed and remarkable lady. I had such a lovely conversation with her and truly has a genuine spirit and love of Jesus.

Today was an amazing day and totally nothing of what I expected. I can't wait for tomorrow and the judging of the floats. Everyone is so energetic and there are literally thousands of people here touring the facilities to see the progress of the floats. I'm a extremely honored to have been here today and look forward to the rest of the time as we bring in 2010!

Getting Ready for the Tournament of Roses Parade

On January 1, 2010, I will be a part of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena on New Years Day for Ms. Wheelchair CA in conjunction with the Kiwanis Club. I am very excited about this opportunity and memory. I’ve never been to the parade before, so to jump forward and actually be ON it is thrilling! Wednesday and Thursday, I’ll be busy helping with the final preparations of the float, putting the final flowers on, doing media interviews, photo ops, luncheons, dinners, etc. It will be a very busy week for sure.

Here is the link to the Rose Float that I’ll be on with the Kiwanis Club. http://www.kiwanisrosefloat.com/2010_float.htm The parade starts at 8am PST, but there is no guarantee that our float will be televised. Nonetheless, it will be an exciting and memorable experience. I’ll be supposedly sitting on a park bench on the very front of the float. I’ll wave to you all on television! The Grand Marshall for the parade is Captain Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger , the heroic pilot who masterfully landed US Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson. http://www.tournamentofroses.com/press/press/press_2010_gm_announced.html

I'll update the blog on Wednesday evening once I find out more about the schedule along with pictures from the day. Be sure to set your DVR's for this amazing day as we bring in 2010 together!