Latest news with #JuniorMiss
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Ms. Wheelchair Kansas celebrates 20 years, crowns University of Kansas student as 2025 role model
Autumn Bertels, a University of Kansas student, smiles after being crowned Ms. Wheelchair Kansas 2025 at a March 16 ceremony in Lawrence. (Maya Smith for Kansas Reflector) LAWRENCE — Autumn Bertels is an accomplished, wheelchair-mobile biology student at the University of Kansas who will graduate this May. But after requesting accommodations for a chemistry lab due to lab tables being too tall, she was met with delays and excuses. She could only fully participate in one of 11 labs during the semester. Now, Bertels is the 2025 Ms. Wheelchair Kansas titleholder, which will allow her to advocate for the wheelchair community and educate others throughout the state about accessibility in higher education. 'Everyone has the right to equal opportunity, quality and access of education, and there are so many ways that we can do this,' Bertels said. 'Everyone has a right to education, and you shouldn't have to be a disabled person to combat these challenges.' Ms. Wheelchair Kansas has uplifted women like Bertels for 20 years with a contest to select the most well-rounded, confident and wheelchair-mobile contestant to serve as a statewide role model. The organization's mission is to provide the opportunity to compete in a pageant regardless of disability. CEO and 2004 titleholder Carrie Greenwood says this was the ultimate goal in bringing the contest to Kansas. 'We got here one year and one title holder at a time,' Greenwood said. 'I had no idea that it would last this long and that it would really become my passion. Or that we would impact so many people in our state. It's worth it to empower all the ladies who are here.' The contest has grown steadily each year. Thirty-eight women have competed for the adult title, with winners making more than 500 appearances in more than 65 cities across Kansas. They added the Little Miss title in 2015 and the Junior Miss title this year. Most recently, 2024 titleholder Tamara Blackwell became the first Kansan to win the national title. 'I have had the privilege to sit in rooms and be before people that I have never thought I would,' Blackwell said. 'I am so elated because that's been able to push Ms. Wheelchair Kansas in the spotlight, and I hope that it helps only shine a brighter light to show the beauty that lies within the community. That we are intelligent, that we are equipped, that we may be in chairs, we may be different, but there's nothing wrong with being different. And I just love that.' Bertels said she wants to use her platform to cultivate better accessibility and education about disabilities at other college campuses in the state. She will also serve as a mentor for the two younger titleholders and compete at the national level in August. 'We live in a time where accommodations aren't readily available to those who need them,' she said. 'My Little Miss is also focusing on education as well, which is really great for both of us to work on.' Isabel Einwich, Junior Miss 2025, was motivated to advocate for better awareness in education for those with disabilities. She says it took a broken elevator for her school administrators to realize they didn't have an emergency plan for students in wheelchairs. 'It shouldn't have to take a broken elevator to raise these questions. I hope to continue sharing my story and having opportunities to bring more attention to school issues surrounding disabilities through education,' Einwich said. 'I just hope we can get to a point where we hear much less of that phrase, 'Oh, we didn't think about that.' ' Everyone involved — whether contestants, parents or volunteers — agree that the community has driven the organization's growth and success. Greenwood believes these contestants are essential to the broader Kansas community. 'I ask everyone and anyone to get involved in this organization. It shows the value of diversity and working for a common purpose,' Greenwood said. 'When you put your heart into something it will always succeed. And our title holders, they are what's made this organization a success. They are the backbone of what we do, and they represent women and young girls who are wheelchair mobile so well.'
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Still standing by her man, Richard Scrushy's wife insinuates Satanic conspiracy in prosecution of former HealthSouth CEO
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — From 2003 to 2007, countless photos published in newspapers around the world showed former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy walking to and from courthouses in Birmingham and Montgomery over criminal charges against him as the head of the multi-billion dollar company. More often than not, his wife, Leslie, was right by his side. On Thursday, the former Florida Junior Miss runner-up-turned-entrepreneur-turned televangelist who had stood by Scrushy for so many years as he weathered indictments and criminal trials stood by him yet again in Montgomery as the disgraced businessman sought the U.S. government's help in clearing his name in his 2006 federal conviction on bribery and extortion charges. Richard and Leslie Scrushy were married on June 7, 1997 in a lavish wedding at the former estate of British playwright Noel Coward in Jamaica. It was Scrushy's third marriage, not a year after divorcing his second wife, Karon Brooks. In press reports at the time, guests included Martha Stewart, who reportedly helped plan the wedding, as well as singer Emmylou Harris, who stopped by and sang during the reception. Over the years, between state and federal trials, the Scrushys went through a lot. In the midst of Richard Scrushy's first trial in Birmingham, he and his wife began hosting 'Viewpoint with Richard and Leslie Scrushy,' a half-hour Christian talk show on local television. As the daughter of a Methodist minister, Leslie Scrushy knew how to wax poetic about God and often hosted the show herself when her husband was in court or awaiting trial. More than that, Leslie was Scrushy's rock. 'Leslie Scrushy reviewed FBI statements, questioned strategy and offered insight into how the jury viewed testimony,' reporter Janet Guyon wrote in a profile of her in The Washington Post in 2006. 'She led prayers before each day in court and dished the dirt on witnesses during recesses.' After Richard Scrushy's conviction in 2006, the wealth that he and Leslie had enjoyed for years was slowly stripped away, from their vacation homes to their boats. According to The Birmingham News, the couple handed over between $10 million to $12 million to HealthSouth to disprove claims that Leslie was hiding her husband's money. This included Mrs. Scrushy being forced to give up $3 million worth of jewelry, as well as $2.3 million in cash and investments. Nevertheless, she continued to keep the faith. 'God is just as good today as he was a year ago yesterday,' Leslie told The Birmingham News following her husband's conviction. 'And he works all things together for good. And so we'll see as time unfolds what good comes out of this day for us.' As Richard Scrushy served his time in a Texas federal prison, Leslie would visit him every weekend she could for five years, trekking 1,200 miles roundtrip each time before eventually moving the family to Texas to be closer to him. During the press conference Thursday, Scrushy looked behind him to Leslie and two of their children, Gracie Beth and Jaden, thanking them for their support. 'I don't know, Leslie, I don't want to ask you to say anything unless you want to, baby,' Scrushy said to Leslie. Initially, Leslie Scrushy shied away from the microphones pointed at her husband. However, within a few minutes, she slowly made her way next to her beleaguered husband to offer her perspective– a spiritual one– on what the last 20 years had done to her family. However, rather than talk about losing their once-luxurious life, Leslie addressed another aspect of what bothered her about her husband's trial, one that insinuated more Biblical evil on the part of the prosecutors than corruption. 'On the day that he was arraigned here and they read the charges, he was charged with Statute 666, so that was very clear to me where this attack was coming from,' she said. Specifically, the statute deals with theft and bribery concerning programs that receive federal funds, but that's not what Scrushy was talking about. During her comments, she emphasized a tie to her husband's case and '666,' known as 'the mark of the beast' in the Bible that signifies the Antichrist. Scrushy didn't stop there. 'And then, when the prosecutors rested their case, they rested their case on June 6 of 2006. 666,' she said. She also drew a Biblical connection with the names of three of the people at the center of her husband's case: U.S. District Judge Mark Fuller, U.S. Attorney Louis V. Franklin Sr. and Assistant U.S. Attorney. Stephen P. Feaga. 'From my perspective, it was a conspiracy that required Franklin, Feaga and Fuller all to accomplish,' she said. 'If you look at their names, they all start with the letter 'F,' which is the sixth letter of the alphabet, so part of how I made it through was to continue to pray to God, to thank him for all of the blessings that we see.' She said that while going through her husband's whole ordeal was difficult, she was thankful in her faith that led to a better life. 'Was it hard? Yes. Were there so many gut punches? Yes. Did we feel abandoned? Yes. Was it horrific at so many points and turns? Yes, but I am so thankful to my savior, to the father in heaven for getting us through this day and that our children are still doing well and thriving.' With that, Leslie Scrushy stepped back to be with her children. 'Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Leslie,' Richard Scrushy said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
