By Joselyn King
For The Intelligencer
Moundsville Resident Advocates For Accessible Transportation
Moundsville — Moundsville resident Heather Gillespie has been powering through life since a spinal cord injury 27 years ago, and now she is preparing to represent West Virginia on a national stage.
Gillespie will become the first West Virginia resident to compete in the Miss Wheelchair America Pageant, the 55th annual contest scheduled for Aug. 17-23 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
She and 19 other contestants will be judged on their ability to advocate for the more than 64 million Americans living with disabilities, according to organizers. The contestants will participate in a weeklong leadership conference featuring mentoring, workshops, private and public presentations, platform speeches and on-stage questions.
The competition also will highlight how contestants have advocated, influenced policies or raised awareness about issues affecting people with disabilities.
Gillespie’s platform will focus on accessible transportation and mobility issues.
Her journey began in 1999 when she was 19 and suffered a spinal cord injury in an automobile accident.
“After my accident, I was transported to Institute, West Virginia, to where the West Virginia Rehabilitation Center once stood,” Gillespie said. “There I had to learn to live independently. I had to relearn how to live life from a wheelchair.”
While at the rehabilitation center, Gillespie learned to drive using hand controls through an adaptive driving training program.
“It is called adaptive driving training evaluation,” she said. “Basically, it is drivers ed for people with hand controls.”
After completing the program, Gillespie was able to purchase a vehicle equipped with hand controls.
However, the program ended after the rehabilitation center closed in 2007.
“People now have to rely on others from out of state to teach them the course,” Gillespie said. “Those who taught me do private classes, but only in the central part of the state. Here, we lack that program.”
Gillespie later became a mother to three children — Theron, now 22; Kyle, 20; and Raelyn, 19.
“Not long after third was born, my car was vandalized and the hand controls were stolen,” Gillespie said.
As a single mother without another vehicle, transportation became a major challenge.
“In order to get around, I had to strap all three babies on my lap in the power chair,” Gillespie said. “Any appointments outside Moundsville had to be cancelled. It was one of the largest barriers we had to face.”
Now that her children are grown, Gillespie said she believes it is time to step outside her comfort zone.
A friend in Minnesota introduced her to the Miss Wheelchair America Pageant, which she had never heard of before.
“In the 54 years it has been in existence, nobody has ever represented West Virginia,” Gillespie said. “They told me, ‘Heather, you have to do this.’”
Gillespie said she selected accessible transportation and mobility as her platform because of her own experiences and the challenges she has heard from others across West Virginia.
She said West Virginia has one of the highest percentages of residents living with disabilities in the nation, with about 19% of residents compared to a national average of 7%.
“Public transportation for those with disabilities is scarce or limited to certain cities,” she said.
Gillespie hopes to promote the creation of transportation programs for people with disabilities throughout West Virginia.
She has not worked outside the home since her accident and has not owned a vehicle since her last one was vandalized. She is seeking a vehicle and plans to work with the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services to obtain hand controls.
Gillespie hopes to eventually return to the workforce and serve as the state coordinator for the Miss Wheelchair America Pageant.
“I love life,” she said. “In order to appreciate life, you have to be at your lowest and respect what life has to offer. That’s what it is all about. It’s beautiful. I love life.”
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