Bliss Welch, Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee 2013 at the Ms. Wheelchair America 2014 competition in Houston, TX this past weekend.

Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee Bliss Welch, of Harrison, was named first runner-up Saturday in the 2014 Ms. Wheelchair America pageant in Houston.

The annual competition is a forum for women who use wheelchairs to "educate and advocate for the more than 54 million Americans living with disabilities," according to the Ms. Wheelchair America website.

The winner was Jennifer Lynn Adams, of Tacoma, Wash.

Welch is working on her master's degree in accounting at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is married and has a daughter, according to her Facebook page.

On the Ms. Wheelchair Tennessee website, Welch said she has limb girdle muscular dystrophy, which causes weakness and wasting of the major muscles.

She said her goal is to raise awareness of what people with disabilities can achieve, rather than their limitations.