[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 28 (Wednesday, March 13, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Page S1855]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        HONORING BETHANEY ADAMS

 Mr. BUNNING. Madam President, I rise today to honor a truly 
amazing and enchanting woman, Ms. Bethaney Adams of Bowling Green, 
Kentucky. Bethaney was recently named Ms. Wheelchair Kentucky by the 
Ms. Wheelchair America Program, Inc. The Ms. Wheelchair America 
Program's mission is to provide an opportunity for women of achievement 
who utilize wheelchairs, such as Bethaney, to successfully educate and 
advocate for individuals with disabilities.
  One certainty that I have come to realize in life is that adversity 
will strike and often with a mighty blow. When Bethaney Adams came face 
to face with adversity, she did not back down from her fears or focus 
her thoughts on negative scenarios. In fact, she excluded the word 
defeat from her vocabulary and decided to live life with a purpose and 
meaning. Bethaney, a senior at Murray State University, is currently 
getting her undergraduate degree in therapeutic recreation. After 
completing her studies at Murray, she plans on pursuing her masters 
degree in therapeutic recreation and eventually wants to work in a 
children's hospital where she could assist and inspire those living 
with disabilities on a daily basis.
  Outside of her studies, Bethaney has made great strides in the area 
of community service. She has taken trips to Mexico, Washington, D.C., 
and New Orleans, where she worked to aid those less fortunate 
individuals living in poverty. Here in D.C., she stayed at a homeless 
shelter in an attempt to motivate those currently down on their luck. 
Bethaney made the choice a long time ago to view her ``dis''ability as 
just the opposite. Being in a wheelchair gives her the ability to 
communicate with others and make a difference in their lives.
  As for Bethaney's most recent accomplishment, winning Ms. Wheelchair 
Kentucky, she now plans to use this as an opportunity to broaden the 
scope of her audience. She will speak at camps across the Commonwealth 
and address inner-city youth in an effort to provide that successful 
and positive thinking leads directly to successful and positive 
actions. In June Bethaney will, for the third straight year, be a 
speaker at the National Spina Bifida Conference in Orlando, Florida, 
and in August she will represent Kentucky in the Ms. Wheelchair America 
pageant to be held in Maryland. The contest will judge the contestants 
based upon their accomplishments, communication skills, self-
perception, and projection in the personal and on-stage interviews as 
well as the platform speech presentation. I know Bethaney will make 
Kentucky proud.
  I once again congratulate Bethaney Adams for this honorable 
distinction and wish her the best in all her future endeavors. I 
believe each and every one of us can take something away from this 
incredible woman and her ability to turn an obstacle into a motivation. 
I thank her for being an inspiration to me and so many others.

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