The New Ms. Wheelchair America

Posted by Megan Drummond Aug 30, 2009

The busy week of competition in Rapid City, South Dakota, didn't leave much time for Lynda Miller to keep me updated by email. I was able to surmise the goings on, however, with the few emails I got from Lynda and by reading other contestant's blogs.

The women arrived in South Dakota on Monday. They set up their state boards and attended a "get acquainted" dinner where they met the other contestants and learned their schedules for the week. Tuesday was a fun day of sightseeing at Mt. Rushmore and other points of interest in Rapid City.

On Wednesday, the real work began. Contestants began their workshops and personal intervies with the judges. As far as I can tell, this was the schedule through Friday - workshops and judging. Each of the contestant's delivered her platform speech Friday night.

Saturday was basically a free day, allowing the women to prepare for the big night. The top 5 were announced and had to give their platform speech again. After that, they had to answer two questions from the judges.

After some deliberation, the judges crowned Erika Bogan, a single mom from North Carolina, Ms. Wheelchair America 2010. I hope to bring you an interview with Erika early next year.

Rounding out the top 5 were:

4th Runner Up - Kimberly Yeoman, Utah

3rd Runner Up- Amber Marcy, Michigan

2nd Runner Up - Alyson Roth, California

1st Runner Up - Janette Saxton, Washington