Amy Saffell |
by
Amy Saffell
Greatness
lies within us all, however sometimes we don’t recognize our potential without
someone else’s help. This is the case with the newly-crowned Ms. Wheelchair
Massachusetts, Patti Panzarino. What started out as an ordinary trip to get her
wheelchair serviced turned into much more. A woman who worked at the shop
mentioned the pageant to Patti, mentioning that she happened to be on the board
of directors and thought that she would be a great contestant. Patti had never
thought of herself as the “pageant type.” Particularly at the age of 53, she
had her reservations about a pageant, but after learning that the contest
focused on advocacy and accomplishment, she began to consider the idea a little
more. With the encouragement of this woman and her husband, who she married in
August of 2011, Patti was eventually convinced to compete.
Although
she was originally reluctant to participate, as Patti began to prepare and the
days got closer, she became increasingly motivated and excited. Becoming a part
of this pageant meant something to Patti, and she wanted to put her nerves
aside. She was worried that her accomplishments thus far weren’t on par with
the other contestants, nonetheless Patti stuck with the process.