Category: Little People of America

However, due to a series of disturbing events, I was persuaded to serve as Vice President of Membership on LPA’s national board. Past president Gerald Rasa expressed his confidence that I could “galvanize the group, heal breaches . . ., and keep the membership on balance.”

To say it was a turbulent time in LPA history is putting it politely and evidenced by the need for four faces to get the gavel across the finish line. After being elected as President, I received congratulatory emails in which people expressed comfort and confidence in my ability to lead LPA. What they didn’t know was that my strength and courage came from God. In pursuit of Solomon’s wisdom, I added his words as part of my email signature paragraph. For example, in February 2006, my 220 outgoing emails closed with this quote:

Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
∞ Proverbs 16:24, NASB

As president, I determined to finish the work the original Executive Committee began in 2004. In addition to chairing LPA Board meetings, my time as president was primarily spent as it should be:

• encouraging LPA leaders and members
• supervising staff
• coordinating with the development director
• coordinating with the Medical Advisory Board on research studies
• ensuring completion of the annual report
• writing proposed bylaws

Among the things I did to help plan the 2006 national conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I sent written invitations to international delegates in support of their visa applications, hosted an appreciation reception for national leaders, and presented the 2006 awards for Media and the Kitchens Meritorious Service at the closing banquet.

In a private ceremony, I presented an unofficial gavel to the other members of the 2004-2006 Presidential Relay Team engraved with all four names. We had held to our expressed campaign values of respect, integrity, accountability, and inclusiveness.

About 2,000 volunteer hours after deciding to run for national office in April 2004, I was delighted and relieved to pass the official LPA gavel to the newly elected President for the 2006-2008 term.

This post is excerpted from Part I, Volunteer Leadership Challenges, in “Always an Advocate.” Find out why so many reviewers recommend the book at https://angelamuirvanetten.com/always-an-advocate/.

From the outset, LPA welcomed internationals, but only as honorary members. Yet Billy Barty was a willing consultant to LP organizations forming in 1968 and 1969 in Australia and New Zealand, for example. However, it took 25 years before LPA hosted in Washington, DC the first international conference for little people. The April 1982 conference goal to improve the quality of life for little people globally was advanced when 80 delegates representing eight countries attended.

In July 1982, as the alien resident spouse of LPA President Robert Van Etten, I did not meet the criteria for a foreign-affiliate membership. As a result, a bylaw amendment to allow permanent resident aliens to become LPA members was proposed and approved.

The achievement of two more LPA milestones.

The essence of LPA was evident from inception. For example, at the 1957 convention a Telephone Booth Committee was formed to lobby Bell Telephone Company for booths reachable by people of 48 inches. In 1960, LPA planned to publicize equal employment opportunity for little people and committees were formed to provide education scholarships and adoption support.

Although LPA was originally incorporated as a nonprofit organization exempt from paying taxes, donors could not take a tax deduction for contributions. As the eighth person to serve as LPA President, Robert Van Etten believed LPA’s future growth depended on becoming a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. He was sure LPA’s educational, medical, and charitable activities qualified the organization for this status. And he was right. In 1984, together with the LPA Tax Exemption Committee he had appointed, Robert led LPA to another milestone event. LPA members at the St. Louis conference voted yes to amend the LPA charter and bylaws to align with IRS tax-exempt legal standards. And on October 28, 1986, the IRS granted interim approval for LPA’s section 501(c)(3) tax-exemption followed by final approval on December 31, 1989.

The first annual LPA conference held outside the United States was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in July 1985. This milestone week was memorable—the airlines lost our bags for two days, we got dripping wet from hot temperatures during the day and daily downpours at dinner time, and Robert and I took turns getting Montezuma’s revenge. Yet despite some discomfort, the conference was a huge success and the catalyst for the formation of an LP organization in Mexico. The highlight of Robert’s week was parasailing off the beach. The highlight of my week was watching him land on the beach. This post is informed by the 25^th anniversary LPA Souvenir Book published by the Billy Barty Foundation in July 1982 and by excerpts from Always an Advocate, Part I, Volunteer Leadership Challenges, chapters 1 and 2. For the rest of the story, buy your e-book or paperback copy at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1737333600/

• Conservative Rush Limbaugh and Liberal Howard Stern would not have criticized me in a radio broadcast on the same day for suggesting that Little People have a “cause.”
• I would not have talked to so many reporters.
• I would not have attended 28 national conferences in 20 states and four countries.
• I would not have received an LPA education scholarship.

• River rafting in the afternoon and modeling my wedding dress in the evening would never have happened.
• I would never have read so many great books written by people with dwarfism.
• I would never have used a scooter to extend my endurance and long term joint maintenance.
• ATMs and credit card readers on gas pumps at my local gas station would still be out of my reach.
• I would have earned fewer frequent flyer miles.
• I would have stayed in fewer hotels.
• I would have missed the free advice from medical experts in dwarfism.
• My T-shirt wardrobe would be deficient.
• I would have missed meeting other Little People with my diagnosis.
• I would have got a lot more sleep.
• I would have fewer friends.
• My photo albums and newspaper clippings would not feature Little People.
• I would not have met so many celebrities.
• I would not have met so many Little People from all over the world.
• I would not have seen an LP toddler grow from jumping up and down on my water bed to graduating from college, and getting married.
• Free time would be a reality not a concept.
• I would not have spent so many weeks of my life in meetings and become proficient with Robert’s Rules of Order.

• I would not have read LPA Bylaws or cared enough to try and change them.
• I would not have laughed and cried so much.
• The opportunity to encourage parents to raise their child with dwarfism with the same expectations and boundaries as their other children would have been lost.
• I would not have learned the lessons that come from being in the majority.
• I would have missed being in the LP melting pot of diagnoses, gender, ethnicity, nationality, economic and faith backgrounds.

This post was adapted from a 2005 LPA Today article. For additional insights, go to Amazon.com and order your copy of my book—PASS ME YOUR SHOES: A Couple with Dwarfism Navigates Life’s Detours with Love and Faith—a new release during Dwarfism Awareness Month in October 2020.