“I had the honor of being the closing keynote speaker
at the 2023 #OhioNeedsTransit conference hosted by the Ohio Public Transit Association earlier on September 20th. I am pleased to say that the accessibility of public transportation in Ohio was discussed at length at the conference. I enjoyed having the opportunity to share my personal experiences using paratransit, fixed-route buses, and inter-city buses. My speech went over very well and I am excited to have been invited to meet with the leadership of the Ohio Department of Transportation this February. Reflecting on my own experiences using public transportation, as well as talking to some of my friends with disabilities in preparation to speak at this conference, made me realize that, while public transportation has come a long way, accessibility-wise improvements can still be made. Hearing how passionate attendees of the conference felt about making public transportation more accessible and easier for those with disabilities to utilize gave me hope that those improvements can be made in the not-too-distant future. I pledge to do what I can as a disability advocate to speak with other users of public transit, leaders of public transit entities, and legislators to ensure improvements are made in Ohio and beyond. Please reach out if I can help you advocate for the improvement of public transit in your area or if I can help you advocate to make any other aspect of community life better for those with disabilities. As I said in my speech, as well as almost every public speech I have given since becoming a state title holder, multiple voices are better than one. I will be a voice for any advocate who needs it for the remainder of my reign as Ms. Wheelchair Ohio, as well as after because I am and will forever be an advocate for myself and others.
On September 23, I went to my second home in Urbana, Illinois, for an author festival called PYGMALION. As a former resident of Champaign-Urbana who still works in the community, I was honored to be a featured author at this year’s festival along with fellow author and poet Katherine Gaffney. I read from my second novel, The Magic Within. Additionally, Katherine and I each had a chance to answer questions about our perspective author journeys. I was thrilled to have a chance to talk about my READ for Equity platform. I am also excited to say that the bookstore involved in the event sold out of my books. PYGMALION was a wonderful experience, and I hope to have many similar experiences in the future.
With that goal in mind, I have a book signing scheduled for Saturday, December 9th from 2 pm to 4 pm at the Barnes and Noble in my hometown of Beavercreek, Ohio. My fourth book, Cherish: A New Kind of Unicorn should be published by then. While I am very excited about the signing, I am also nervous. I usually write young adult books rather than children’s books, and I am not sure how my readers will feel about the change. Despite my nerves, I am hopeful that the story will be enjoyed by many. I am just as excited about the illustrations as I am about the story itself. My illustrator, Ihor Yarmolenko, has been working on them and including all of the details I want. Please stay tuned to this blog as the signing gets closer for further details. To find out more about my already published books, please visit www.allisonmbootauthor.com/books.
One of the main reasons that September is lighter on appearances than other months of my reign is the DISABILITY Resource Expo that my husband and I co-coordinate for the Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, community is scheduled for Saturday, October 28th. This is only our second year at the helm as co-coordinators. Our second year is going a lot smoother than our first. Regardless, coordinating the Expo requires a great deal of our energy and time. After my husband and I get a couple more years of Expo coordination under our belts, we hope and intend to bring a similar Expo to Dayton, Ohio, and surrounding communities. To find out more about the Expo, please visit www.disabilityresourceexpo.org.”
