Trinidadian hotelier trades 'Secrets'

In 1970, a beautiful young woman was crowned Miss Trinidad and Tobago. The queen and her crown were inseparable as they travelled the globe, but 43 years later, Bernadette Dunn has decided to give her precious ornament to the lucky woman who was crowned Miss Secrets Resorts and Spas, at its inaugural beauty pageant contest held at the Seawind Beach Club on Sunday night.

A member of the entertainment department, Althia Sinclair affirms that has been created, with her being the first to receive the title. The crown will be passed on to the resort's successive queens in the years to come.

LEGENDARY CROWN

"I kept it in a box; it went through three hurricanes and I would take it out now and then, shine it and replace it. I lost all my photos and every other memorabilia," said the resort's retail manager and original holder of the crown. Dunn is also fluent in Spanish, French, German and Japanese and is currently learning Russian.

"I am part of the Secrets family and I thought I would give it up for the contest, as part of my legacy and bring joy and happiness to someone else. It is materialistic, but if I can share the joy with someone else, then it makes me satisfied."

Christina Smith, who placed second, said the journey had been challenging, but emphasised she was very grateful for the outcome on the contest. "I'm feeling very happy."

Third-place winner Dyvina McIntosh, said she was confident she would have made it in the top three, as she had put a lot of time and hard work into the contest. "I am overwhelmed and feel honoured by this opportunity," Dyvina stated.

Meanwhile, general manager, Emilio Huhn has described the Miss Secrets Beauty Pageant as an ambitious project. "The competition has created a buzz in the resort and the employees rallied to support each other," he said, adding that he was confident that the contestants would be great ambassadors for the resort.

 Full Caption: The newly crowned Miss Secrets Resorts and Spas, Althia Sinclair (seated), gets her crown affixed by Miss Trinidad and Tobago (1970), Bernadette Dunn (second right), at the resort's beauty pageant held at the Seawind Beach Club in Montego Bay on Sunday. At left is Christina Smith, the first runner-up, while at right is Dyvina McIntosh, second runner-up. Sinclair won a four-night stay at any AM Resort in the Dominican Republic, airfare for two courtesy of Amstar and J$40,000 cash, among other prizes. - Contributed