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The twenty girls competing for the Miss Guyana/Universe crown made their first public appearance on Thursday at an elegant cocktail reception at the Umana Yana.
Dressed in stylish black gowns and high-heeled gold shoes, the ladies introduced themselves to members of the media, prospective sponsors, relatives and friends.
The only hitch in the evening's event was that the programme never got underway until one hour and five minutes past its scheduled
7:00 pm starting time.
However, everything else went smoothly and after about 45 minutes of introductions and a speech by the head of McNeal Enterprises, Odinga Lumumba, who is this year's Miss Universe franchise holder, the girls were allowed to mingle and chat with guests while light refreshments were served.
Twelve of the contestants are from Georgetown, while the other eight hail from Mocha, East Bank Demerara; Hopetown, West Coast Berbice; Bartica; New Amsterdam; Wales, West Bank Demerara; Montrose and Buxton, East Coast Demerara; and Linden. Some of the girls have had considerable experience in the field of fashion shows and pageants.
According to Clem David, one of the three public relations officers on the Miss Guyana/Universe committee, who also co-hosted the evening's proceedings with committee member, Negla Brandis, over sixty girls wanted to be in the pageant but some of them had to be disappointed.
"It was not an easy thing to do. There were tears, there were some who felt we were hard on them, there were some from the country areas who felt that we were Georgetown-oriented... and all that," David said.
During the programme, Lumumba told the guests that some fourteen girls had already secured sponsors, but their names would not be disclosed now since they did not wish to make any of the others uncomfortable. He said that they would be holding a sashing ceremony soon.
Referring to a letter published in this newspaper claiming that one of the girls was not suitably qualified, Lumumba responded, "I am happy to say that this bunch is the most qualified bunch that ever came up to any pageant in the history of this country." Lumumba said his committee had had a look at the certificates and he jokingly noted that if they had been forged then the police would deal with them.
He disclosed that they already had about twenty potential candidates for next year's contest and he promised that the girls then would have more time to prepare for the pageant. He said that he had been getting great support from Guyanese in New York and whoever was crowned queen would travel to the United States, once they had a US visa, to be trained over three to four days before going to Puerto Rico where the Miss Universe pageant would be hosted.
Lumumba spoke glowingly about all the plans they were making to ensure that this pageant would be one of the best ever in the history of Guyana, adding that the panel of judges would be announced before the event and would include national and international personalities.
He said also that there would be models from Trinidad and the USA to team up with local models in the fashion show segment of the pageant and at the grand ball planned afterwards.
Clothing for the delegates is being provided by the three local designers on the committee - Michelle Cole, Pamela Fox and Pat Coates.
Noting that they were trying to follow the Miss Universe pattern, Lumumba said that the swimsuit competition would be held one week before the pageant on a floating barge at Splashmin's Fun Park.
Delegate number one in the pageant is Lourianne Pluck who is a student at the University of Guyana (UG) doing a degree in public communication and she had experience in television production. She loves swimming, writing short stories and reading. Pluck was a runner-up in the last Miss African Heritage pageant.
Juanita Collins, an employee of BWIA, is the next delegate and she is president of the Rotoract Club of Georgetown Central and in her spare time she does community service and also loves dancing.
Sissel Moore, who recently took part in the Miss Mashramani pageant, said she loves cooking, knitting and designing. The Georgetown resident is a trained nursery school teacher.
Twenty-four-year-old Sharon McPherson holds a degree in architecture and is at present employed at the Ministry of Education. She likes interior designing and photography.
Candacy Evelyn, who hails from Mocha, East Bank Demerara, is a 19-year-old final year student at the Cyril Potter College of Education and she enjoys reading and corresponding.
Petal De Santos is employed at St Joseph's High School as an art teacher and in her free time she enjoys taking care of her four dogs.
Shamaine Joseph who hails from Hopetown, West Coast Berbice could be called a veteran when it comes to pageants since this is about the ninth one she has entered. Her most recent appearance was in last year's Miss Guyana/World pageant when she copped the first runner-up spot. She is now doing a degree in history at UG, and loves to read and collect stamps.
Angelica Fredricks is from Bartica and the 21-year-old is a teacher at the Bartica Secondary School and her hobbies are reading, writing and dancing.
Twenty-year-old Mia Rahaman has been involved in the promotions business, particularly grass track motorcycle racing, and one of her hobbies is dancing.
Jonelle David is from New Amsterdam, Berbice and she has also been a competitor in a number of pageants, including last year's Miss Guyana/World. She holds a diploma in computer science and is also a certified cosmetologist. She loves singing and dancing.
Heera Raghubir of Wales Estate, West Bank Demerara, is pursuing a degree in bio-chemistry at UG and is currently employed at GUYSUCO as a chemist/shift manager. She likes meeting people, dancing and listening to music. Raghubir was a contestant in the last Miss Guyana/Universe pageant in 1999.
Shaneeza Galloway, who is the reigning Miss African Heritage Queen, is a third year student at UG and is pursuing a degree in international relations. She is a teacher at Tutorial High School and enjoys modelling, dancing and singing.
Nineteen-year-old Tandica Singh loves reading, singing and swimming and is furthering her studies at the Academy of Higher Learning.
Darda Harmon-Lewis, 19, is computer literate but she said she wants to become a medical doctor and has already commenced studies which will lead towards that goal. The petite young woman likes reading, swimming, modelling and interacting with people.
Another 19-year-old, Rodney Tamara, is a public communications student at UG and is also a television producer at GTV. She enjoys dancing and writing poetry.
Thandi McAllister who resides at Montrose, East Coast Demerara, is a second year student at UG. The 20-year-old was a participant in the last Miss African Heritage pageant and one of her hobbies is reading.
Olivia Brown hails from Buxton, East Coast Demerara and the 18-year-year is a sixth-form student at Queen's College. She loves singing and dancing.
Another contestant is the reigning Miss Teen Guyana, eighteen-year-old Asha Peters, who enjoys singing, dancing, reading and playing the piano.
Bibi Faroon said she is pursuing studies in the field of accountancy and this 18-year-old enjoys reading, writing, meeting people and corresponding.
Linden resident, Cephauna Glasgow, is a teacher at the Wismar Hill Primary School and she loves cooking, washing and being involved in community service.