Eight young women have expressed interest in taking part in this year’s Miss Cayman Islands contest.
An added incentive to this year’s pageant is one of the prizes – an electric car, donated by Cayman Automotive.
The eight women, including past contestants and beauty queens from other competitions, attended a meet-and-greet session, hosted by the Miss Cayman Committee, at Grand Old House last week to find out more about the upcoming pageant.
Miss Cayman Islands was last held in 2011, when Lindsay Japal took the crown.
Ms. Japal also attended the meet and greet last week to tell future competitors all about the contest. She described her experience as a “life-changing journey.”
She will hand over the crown and sash to this year’s winner.
“It wasn’t that long ago that I was in your position, nervous and doubtful of this possible undertaking,” she said. “There was nobody more hesitant than I was, but I’ve never looked back.”
She added, “Miss Cayman is by far the best decision I ever made … I have grown and developed in ways I never thought possible. You are about to make yourselves, your family, your friends, your district and ultimately your country very proud, and I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us all.”
John Felder, owner of Cayman Automotive, donated the electric vehicle for the potential contestants.
He said he had been so impressed with the work of the most recent Miss Cayman that he had decided to donate a car as a prize in the upcoming pageant.
“I had the opportunity to work with Ms. Lindsay Japal, the former Miss Cayman, and thought that she was such a positive role model for all young Caymanian women but also was an excellent goodwill ambassador for the Cayman Islands,” he said.
Derri Dacres-Lee, chairwoman of the Miss Cayman Committee, said the committee’s objective is to develop a program designed to equip each contestant with skills and experience enabling them to become productive and responsible members of the community.
“One of my short-term goals as committee chairperson is to build a sense of pride within the community to support and appreciate the pageant and the efforts of the committee,” she said.
The future of the contest had been in doubt due to funding issues and the departure of the former chairperson of the committee. But funding has now been secured from government.
“The committee is truly grateful to Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell and the Ministry of Tourism for some assistance with funding,” said Ms. Dacres-Lee.
Earlier this month, the Miss Cayman Committee announced that this year’s competition is back on track and that the contest will take place in October or November.
The contest is open to high school graduates between the ages of 18 and 26 who are single, of good character and who possess “charm, poise, personality, and have beauty of face and figure,” according to the organizers.
Full details of the selection criteria are included on application forms, which are available from the Department of Tourism or from committee members.
Related Videos
