Mandeville, Manchester- Having been out of the parish since she copped the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen title on Emancipation Day, 25-year-old Chereese Ricketts was welcomed home with much fanfare last Wednesday.

In a brief ceremony at Porus, Mayor of Mandeville Brenda Ramsay, representatives of the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) and the national and parish queens addressed the audience.

“You’ve made us very, very proud,” said Ramsay.

Ricketts told the audience that she was “humbled” by the expressions of pride and joy.

“My promise is to, as our Pledge says, really use all the faculties of my heart, mind and body to contribute to our country in a way that truly develops…my fellow citizens,” said Ricketts.

She gave those gathered a synopsis of project eMotion, that she will be embarking on to provide information about mental illness and possible solution through dance.

It was then to the town of Mandeville where the motorcade for Ricketts stopped along the way giving her a chance to meet and greet residents and receive gifts from proud members of the community.

Leeroy ‘Ancient Priest’ Johnson, who made history this year when he became the first festival song winner from Manchester, since the inception of the event in 1966, was also on the motorcade and given his fair share of recognition.

He whetted the appetite of residents at intervals as he gave them a taste of his song Celebration Time.

Johnson and Ricketts were presented with keys to Mandeville by the Mayor at the Mandeville Court House before the festivities ended with a private reception at Oleeka’s Garden Café in the town.

-Alicia Sutherland