(Radio Iowa) – Iowans with disabilities have a new spokesperson. Lisa Campbell of Tama is the new Ms. Wheelchair Iowa and she’ll spend the next year traveling the state, making public appearances at parades, county fairs and sporting events to advocate for people with disabilities. Campbell says winning the state crown was a real thrill. “Oh, my gosh, it was amazing,” Campbell says. “It was something that I have wanted for a while now and I’m just really, really glad that I got it.”

Campbell was born with spina bifida, a condition where the spine and spinal cord didn’t form properly, and she got her first wheelchair around age five. “I just take life one day at a time,” Campbell says. “I try not to get too down on myself. If I can’t do something, I know my limits, so I try to stick within those limits, but I do try to eventually push myself and see what more I can do.”

The Ms. Wheelchair Iowa program aims to focus -not- on disabilities but on the -abilities- of people who use wheelchairs. Campbell says people shouldn’t be shy about asking her questions about her disability. “I’m able to actually do a lot actually. When I was a preteen, my mother got me private swimming lessons so I am able to swim without any assistive devices,” Campbell says. “I can do pretty much everything, just in a different way.”

Ms. Wheelchair Iowa Lisa Campbell (MWI photo)

Each titleholder in the Ms. Wheelchair Iowa program focuses on a key issue during their year in the sash and crown, and Campbell explains her platform. “I’m trying to get amusement parks a little bit more wheelchair accessible. Just because we’re in a wheelchair doesn’t mean we don’t like those things,” Campbell says. “I absolutely love roller coasters. I love amusement parks and it’s really hard for a wheelchair user to get around in them because a lot of the rides are not equipped for wheelchair users.”

Campbell will represent Iowa at the Ms. Wheelchair America National Competition in Grand Rapids, Michigan in August.

To support the program, contact the state coordinator:

Samantha Edwards
202 North 2nd Avenue, Apartment 13
Marshalltown, Iowa 50158