A press conference held at the Social Security Building on Tuesday, June 12th, revealed that the reigning Miss Anguilla, Ms. Dee-ann Kentish-Rogers, is scheduled to travel to Antigua to participate in the annual Miss Jaycees International Pageant. The event will be held on July 29th, as part of Antigua’s Carnival celebrations.
Ms. Kentish-Rogers is Miss Social Security. She vied for the crown at last year’s Summer Festival and emerged as Miss Anguilla out of a field of 4 contestants. Since achieving this feat, she has been busily occupied in the UK completing her studies in the discipline of Law. As her sponsor, Social Security is now proud to contribute towards her participation in the upcoming Jaycees event.
Ms. Kiescha Brooks, Chairperson of the Miss Anguilla Pageant Committee, was delighted with the tangible sponsorship of Social Security, and gave expressions of appreciation:
“On behalf of the Anguilla Summer Festival, and the Miss Anguilla Queens Committee, I would like to thank the Anguilla Social Security Board for assisting Dee-ann with her participation in the oversees pageants and, in particular, the Jaycees Pageant. We definitely appreciate the support and contribution made by Social Security to Miss Anguilla 2017-218, Ms. Dee-ann Kentish-Rogers, Miss Social Security.”
Speaking on behalf of the Regional Pageant Committeee, its Chairperson, Marejah Smith, said: “I would like to congratulate Miss Kentish-Rogers for a successful reign, and I wish her every success in the upcoming Jaycees Pageant. I would also like to thank Social Security for offering this sponsorship to Miss Kentish-Rogers, who is Miss Social Security. Our best wishes go to her as she travels abroad to represent Anguilla and to make us proud.”
Miss Anguilla herself responded: “I wish to thank the Social Security Board for continuing to support me in all my endeavors as Miss Anguilla and Miss Social Security. They have been a tremendous sponsor for me, and they have done wonders during my reign. I thank them for continuing to believe in me and the Miss Anguilla Pageant. I would love to continue to act as an ambassador for the Social Security Board and for Miss Anguilla.”
“I have already begun my preparations for the upcoming Jaycees Pageant. I am ahead of the game, and I am now working with my team of creatives to develop and continue to fashion my talent. Talent is my focus, and I am definitely working intensely on developing my talent as I go into the Jaycees regional pageant.”
Miss Kentish-Rogers’ chaperone is Mr. Kerith Kentish. In part, he commented on his work with Queen Dee-ann: “There are many persons who work behind the scenes pooling their various talents, over a period of many months, to make sure that what we put on stage is the best that the delegate can exhibit.
“When we emerged victorious from the Miss Anguilla pageant, we recognized that we weren’t able to make a clean sweep. This is what judging is about — very subjective. So the first thing we did was to go back through the score sheets to figure out where we can improve. Although I think that Dee-ann is a really strong Miss Anguilla contestant, there is always room for improvement. And one of the areas that we thought that she could improve in is talent. So we have been working quite a lot at bringing together something that is going to be very crowd-engaging and very Dee-ann-like. It’s going to be a bit more natural, and she should be able to deliver it well in Antigua.
“The hard preparatory work that I put Dee-ann, as a delegate, through reflects the kind of appreciation for the kind financial sponsorship and sacrifice of her sponsors. We thank Social Security for its kind contributions, and we want to assure you that every cent will be used as wisely as possible. We have been working hard around the clock to prepare for this regional competition, and I expect Dee-ann to do us very well.”
Director of Social Security, Mr. Tim Hodge, applauded Miss Anguilla for taking the crown as Miss Social Security. He told Dee-ann: “In terms of the upcoming Jaycees Pageant, I want to wish you all the best. When we do sponsorship we want to do it as prudently as possible and we expect to get maximum returns, and that means ‘a crown’.
“When Social Security takes the decision to make sponsorships, we are not wasting money.” He noted that Social Security’s sponsorship money translates into yields that benefit our economy and our people.
Moderator of the press conference, Social Security’s Public Relations Officer, Ms. Rosanna Brown, reflected: “I had every confidence in Miss Anguilla last year when she entered the competition as our contestant. She did Social Security proud as she pulled it off and captured the title. Again, I have the confidence in her that she will do the same with Miss Jaycees International 2018.”
As an addendum to the press conference, it was announced that Social Security would be hosting its 12th annual Walter G. Hodge Memorial Lecture on Thursday, June 14th, on the Social Security grounds at 6:00 p.m. Guest speaker for the event would be the Hon. Vance Amory, former Premier of Nevis. The Memorial Lecture event would also feature a ceremony for the inauguration of a set of new chrome steel pans for the ALHCS, which was donated by Social Security.
