NEGRIL, Westmoreland — A polished, confident and radiant Keisha Drummond from the sales department at Sandals Negril Beach Resort and Spa, wearing the sash Miss Chukka Blue Adventure Tours, was crowned Miss Sandals Negril 2003 at the resort’s recently concluded Talent and Awareness Pageant.

During the event, which was held at the Negril Hills Golf and Country Club, Keisha was also adjudged the most aware and most talented contestant.

Dahlia McLaren, a telephone operator who wore the sash Miss Transwest Limited, was first runner-up and winner of the award for best smile; while playmaker, Conneil Tate, who wore the sash Miss FAME Band Negril, emerged in third place. She also took the prize for the best gown in the competiton.

Keisha’s main prizes for winning the pageant include:

* a week for two at Sandals St Lucia, two complimentary return airline tickets to Castries, St Lucia courtesy of Air Jamaica; $25,000 in spending money courtesy of Wild Thing Cruises located in Negril;

* a cellular telephone courtesy of Digicel, a pair of miniature gold sandals courtesy of Ronald Mignott, a colour photo collection of 36 exposures inclusive of a gold framed 8×10 colour portrait courtesy of Andrew Vassel of Aqua Sun Limited from the Negril offices;

* a fully loaded Dell computer system with a 17″ colour monitor and an Epsom colour printer courtesy of Computer Electronics, a gold watch courtesy of the Royal Shop in the Times Square Shopping Mall in Negril, $7,000 worth of gift vouchers from Brumalia House Hardware in Mandeville and a week’s extra paid vacation time off work just for entering. Like all the other contestants, she also received a weekend for two — in her case to Jakes in Treasure Beach — dinner for two at Riu Tropical Bay Beach Resort in Negril, a rose courtesy of Flowers in Paradise and a gift package from Soft Sheen Procedures West Indies Limited. Added to her two other sectional prizes, she earned cash, prizes and incentives worth close to $900,000.

Keisha, one of the crowd favourites, started out as a telephone operator at Sandals Negril Beach Resort and Spa before a short stint as one of the front office receptionists before her transfer to guest relations in the sales department.

From the outset, Mical Dawes — a taxi driver from Salt Spring in Trelawny who journeyed all the way to Negril with seven of his friends to view the pageant — picked Keisha to win and sweep all the sectional prizes. But he admitted that all the girls were sexy, intelligent and showed a sense of purpose and comaraderie on-stage, and any one of them could have emerged the winner.