Four women from far corners of the state will compete today for the title of Ms. Wheelchair Iowa 2001. State coordinator Judy Hoit says the contest is one that aims to promote the -abilities- of people in wheelchairs, not disabilities. Hoit, who was the state’s first Ms. Wheelchair titleholder in 1996, says the winner who’ll be crowned today will become an Iowa ambassador for people in wheelchairs. She says other people who don’t use wheelchairs often don’t understand what life is like in one.The winner today will go on to the National Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant in Denver, Colorado, July 31st through August 4th. Hoit says the Ms. Wheelchair Iowa pageant is not a beauty pageant. The four contestants will compete against one another through essays about their accomplishments since being put in the wheelchair.The competitors are: Becky Cadwell of Sioux City, Nikki Davis of West Des Moines, Heather Hurd-Schneider of Waterloo and Shannon Lundquist of Burlington. Today’s pageant begins at noon at the Eagles Lodge in Iowa City.
