Jada Bodden was crowned Miss Teen Cayman 2020 Saturday night during a scaled-down ceremony at the Lions Club of Grand Cayman Hall.
Bodden was moved to tears at the crowning, expressing her gratitude to all who supported her Miss Teen journey. She was the first runner-up at last year’s ceremony at which Ashley Gooden was crowned Miss Teen.
As the new Miss Teen, Bodden will receive a $54,000 scholarship from the Ministry of Education.
This year’s event did not take the form of a formal pageant as in previous years due to the coronavirus pandemic, Miss Teen Committee chair Andrea Franklin told the Cayman Compass.
”We could not host a regular pageant due to the COVID-19, hence the reason for just having a crowning ceremony, as it was not a competition. We just had to make this event special for Jada Bodden, and she did feel special as she communicated to myself,” she said.
The pandemic, Franklin said, led to the cancellation of the 2019/2020 pageant. Initially, the plan was to request that the reigning 2019 Miss Teen renew her contract and reign for another year from August 2020 to August 2021.
“Our reigning 2019 Miss Teen Ashley Gooden advised that she did not wish to re-sign her contract for an additional year,” Franklin said, explaining that Gooden was going overseas to attend university, so would not be able to carry on the duties of Miss Teen for a second year.
The committee and the Lions Club of Grand Cayman board of directors then decided that last year’s first runner-up would carry on the duties of Miss Teen, she said.
Check back for more photos and details of the event.
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