Richmond, VA -- Juliette Rizzo of Rockville, Maryland, is on a roll: She's just been crowned Ms. Wheelchair America.

The 36-year-old communications director at the U.S. Department of Education earned the title over the weekend at the Ms. Wheelchair America 2005 competition in Richmond, Virginia.

There's no swimsuit competition because the event isn't a beauty pageant, but there is a Q&A where contestants must wow the judges with their personal achievements and their adjustment to their disability.

Rizzo says her disability began at the age three when she contracted juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which eventually left her completely wheelchair-bound six years ago.

Now that she's been crowned, Rizzo says she plans to "put her best wheel forward" and reach out to the disabled and non disabled community alike to show folks that disabilities are "not about pity, it's about possibilities."

But she doesn't expect her new duties to slow her down from the things she loves, such as sailing and collecting Pez dispensers.

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