Saturday’s Miss Clarendon Festival Queen was 21-year-old university student and radio personality Shanecia Daley.
At the coronation show at Hotel Versalles in May Pen, eight females competed for the Miss Cousins Construction Services Limited sash. Daley won.
JCDC activities this year are themed “The Jamaican Woman: Strong, Dignified, Creative.”
Daley, who was the public favorite from the start, used her triumph to inspire other young women.
“I am in love with the arts, and JCDC has been the foundation of my growth and development in performing, so I wanted to find a way to get even better, and I thought this was the perfect avenue,” said Daley, who also praised May Pen’s ZAZ Dance Studio for helping her improve as a dancer.
The newly crowned queen, who built ramps for challenged pupils at Vere Technical High, her alma mater, in 2019, won four of six sectional categories for Most Involved in the Community, Most Culturally Aware, Most Poised, and Best Performance.
Sophia Daley told The Gleaner, “Shanecia has always made me proud.”
Daley, the reigning Miss Elsa Leo-Rhynie Hall queen at The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus and former Vere Technical head girl, is passionate about community service.
Her mother, Sophia Daley, said she always wanted Shanecia to compete. She entered this year’s staging out of pure excitement.
Through her For Their Eyes project, the next queen seeks to help state-home youngsters.
First runner-up Britnie Edwards, Miss Worldnet Microfinance Ltd., received an early birthday present. Norman Manley Law School student Edwards enjoyed competing.
“It empowers you as a Jamaican woman and makes you culturally aware, and the people you meet on the journey are something I would never exchange. Edwards also encouraged other young ladies to participate in the JCDC Festival Queen event.
Edwards said this year’s theme resonated with her and reflected Jamaican women’s strength.
Shamoya Smith, 25, won the Most Congenital Prize. Smith, Miss Juici Patties and a psychology and management studies major, said the competition was always her primary objective.
It was crucial to her growth, she noted.
“[The competition] taught me a lot of values and allowed me to work on skills and capabilities I didn’t even know I had,” she said.
