1 week ago
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Western Bureau:
Educator, 26-year-old Ashley-Nicole Lawrence walked away with the coveted 2025 Miss Hanover Festival Queen title on Saturday night when she upstaged the other six contenders in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission’s competition(JCDC), which was staged at Rusea’s High School.
With the evening temperatures very accommodating, following early afternoon rains, there was a large following for all the contestants as cheers rang out across the venue at the mention of each name, a feature that remained constant throughout the evening.
The judges, Angelita McDonald (chief judge), Opal Taylor, and Dervan Dinham, must have found it difficult to settle on the eventual winner as all the contestants represented well as they took aim at the prestigious title. The contestants were judged on cultural awareness, which focused on community involvement, leadership qualities and achievements; general knowledge; performance, which covered creativity and content and presentation; their walk, poise, eloquence and stage presence; and their ‘onstage interviews.
Lawrence, who kept a commanding presence throughout the evening, copped two of the six sectional prizes: Most Congenial and Most Culturally Aware.
In an interview with The Gleaner after crowning, Lawrence, a resident of Hopewell, promised to give her all in the national finals..
“I am very elated. I put in a lot of work in this competition, and today’s results just show that hard work does pay off,” she said. “Hanover can expect a great representation in Kingston from me.”
Dajae Taylor, who hails from Lances River, was the first runner-up. The Montego Bay Community College student also copped the sectional prize for being the most active in community involvement. Second runner-up Shianna McLaren, a clerical assistant from Clifton, was named Most Poised and Best Performer.
English (US) ·