Following her historic win of the Miss Universe Great Britain pageant from a field of 37 contestants, Dee-Ann Kentish Rogers and the people of Anguilla, are looking forward with eager anticipation to her participation in the global Miss Universe in the Philippines towards the end of the year.
The 25-year-old Birmingham University-trained Barrister-at-law, who is walking in the footsteps of her family of lawyers, captured the Miss Universe Great Britain Crown on July 14 in England, amazing the world of pageantry and sending waves of delight across her far-flung small homeland, Anguilla.
Dee-Ann, who won the Miss Anguilla 2017 title, a significant part of that year’s Summer Festival, returned home to a big welcome at the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport on Saturday afternoon, July 28, with her new Miss Universe Great Britain title. She was officially welcomed home on the tarmac and in the VIP Lounge.
She later stepped out into the passenger terminal to a milling crowd of flag-waving Anguillians and others whose shouts of welcome and commendation filled the air. Seemingly taken aback by the magnitude of their welcome, she quickly began singing and tapping to the music and cultural song “This Land is Our Land” performed by the Mayoumba Folkloric Theatre. A costumed group from the Anguilla Tourist Board’s 2018 carnival troupe, as well as contestants in the upcoming Miss Anguilla competition, stood with her in solidarity and delight. She was eventually able to make her way through the dense crowd to the waiting convertible roof vehicle to take her on an island-wide motorcade.
Dee-Ann’s mother, Mrs. Lorna Kentish-Rogers, answered a question from The Anguillian newspaper about her daughter’s stunning success in the Miss Universe Great Britain pageant.
“Yes, she has made me proud and I think, as you said, what is really special is the amount of support that Anguillians have given her,” she said. “Believe me when I say that this has gone world-wide. When I was in England, and was following the results of the show, it was really amazing. I don’t know how to describe what happened after because I don’t think anything like this has ever happened following the crowning of a Miss Universe Great Britain.
“The volume of interviews and TV shows has never happened before, so all of it is really record-breaking. Based on the amount of emails and messages she has received on social media, it is not only an Anguillian thing. It is world-wide.”
Dee-Ann’s aunt noted Attorney-at-Law, Mrs. Joyce Kentish Egan, expressed her point of view when The Anguillian asked her to comment on the fact that a member of her family of lawyers was on the world pageantry stage – and had won.
“We never saw this as part of what we did as a family, but she did us proud,” she spontaneously replied. “She expanded the talent pool and showed that pageantry can be a noble and exciting thing. By the talent she brought to the pageant, Anguilla is lifted up. Great Britain is lifted up. Her self-confidence was just superlative. She did us very proud.”
“What this does to the legal profession?” Mrs. Kentish-Egan was further asked.
“It says that when you are multifaceted and multi-talented, you should take your talents and hone them in every direction,” the astute Attorney replied. “You can be an Attorney or a Barrister called to the Bar, and you can be a beauty pageant contestant all at the same time. There are no limits. Dee-Ann was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in London on Thursday, the 26th of July. It was another proud moment.”
Mr. Noel Egan, Mrs. Kentish-Egan’s husband, commented: “I have been in London with the family for the best part of the month, I think. What struck me was that when Dee-Ann went into the pageant she did so as a competitor. What nobody, and I, including the organizers, expected, was that not only would Dee-Ann win, but what we were not prepared for was that the British media would hit on the fact that she was the first black Miss Universe for Great Britain. That attracted all the media houses. She was invited to the BBC, ITV, and to all the other media houses. It was at that point that she opened her mouth and they saw not only that she was a beautiful black beauty queen, but she also had eloquence. She spoke with such a command of the English Language, and she absolutely sold Anguilla and the population of Anguilla. The youngsters have somebody to look up to.
“This has now resonated throughout the island and not only here but everywhere as well. The President of the National American Association of Coloured People contacted her and offered her anything they could do to assist her with the platforms on where she is going from here. They would be more than happy to do so. That’s where our little girl from right here in Anguilla is going. The notoriety and success she has brought to the table for Anguilla has got to be an inspiration to the rest of the island.”
Meanwhile, The Anguillian newspaper told Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism, Mr. Cardigan Connor, that Dee-Ann’s success had made it easy for him to market Anguilla – in the United Kingdom – as a tourist destination.
“I honestly believe that by her winning Miss Universe Great Britain …she has lifted the lid that anything you can possibly dream of, you can achieve. I, like many other Anguillians, expected her to win. But it still boiled down to the judges – we did not know who were going to decide on her fate. It tells me that you have to trust people out there, because what the judges did was to close their eyes and they saw beauty within.”
Mr. Connor added: “As Dee-Ann goes forward, the expectations that I have, and I am sure what Anguilla and Great Britain have of her, is that she will be a serious competitor at the international Miss Universe pageant.”
As memories about the huge welcome that Dee Ann received on her triumphant return to Anguilla linger on, the only disappointment was that the mainstream and more experienced media houses were excluded from the tarmac and the VIP lounge for the welcome and meet and greet ceremonies. As a consequence, these media houses have no record of those historical events, the absence of which significantly limits the national archives.
