Jhanielle Powell is Miss Kingston and St Andrew Festival Queen
Published:Monday | June 19, 2023 | 12:43 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
From a field of nine contestants, who all embodied the theme ‘The Jamaican Woman: Strong, Dignified, Creative’, Jhanielle Powell was last Saturday night crowned Miss Kingston and St Andrew Festival Queen at a well-attended event held at the Alfred Sangster auditorium at the University of Technology.
Twenty-three-year-old Powell was certainly among a handful of favourites and the mention of her name was the trigger for thunderous applause and shouts of approval from her throng of supporters. She was the recipient of three of the six sectional prizes — Most Culturally Aware, Most Active in the Community and Most Congenial — and even up until that point, she said, with much modesty, that she was “hopeful of winning, not confident”.
“Perhaps the moment when I thought I would win was just after they called the first runner-up. My fellow contestants in the top-five turned to me and said, ‘Jhanielle, yuh know yuh won’ ... and we were all holding hands ... and then my name was called. I was ultra excited,” Powell shared.
But, her father, however, had every confidence that his daughter would be triumphant last Saturday. “I’m on top of the world! I am so excited! It came as no surprise, but at the same time the anxieties are there as you see the process being unfolded. But I am really ecstatic that she has won. It’s a dream of hers and I know that she is going to do great at representing Kingston and St Andrew,” an uber elated Mark Powell said.
He added, “I was supportive of her because I know that she has the potential to achieve success at whatever she puts her mind to. She has proven it time and time again. There were times when she was growing up and I had doubts about some of the ventures that she wanted to enter into, but having seen the success that has come over the years, I knew that she would be able to handle herself well. The reward is tonight and what I am seeing I am very, very happy.”
Powell, a census communications officer at the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, is also a screenwriter, producer and director who won third place at a Jamaica Cultural Development Commission FiWi Short Film Competition. Additionally, one of her films will be premièred at GATTFEST on Tuesday at the French Embassy.
Her journey to Miss Kingston and St Andrew title began four years ago after witnessing Khamara Wright being crowned Festival Queen in 2019. So inspired was Powell that she started her preparation by getting her hands on civics textbooks and ensuring that she learn about Jamaica. She noted, however, that the gruelling six-week, hands-on preparation was nothing like what she learnt from any textbook.
“It was intense ... nothing like reading. It was like a crash course learning how to walk, how to talk, share information and packaging answers. The most challenging was learning about who you are at the core,” she shard.
Interestingly, she only recently found out that she is not the first in her family to enter the competition. Four decades ago, a close relative preceded her.
“My mother was the second runner-up for the parish of St Elizabeth in 1993 and I am just knowing that! And one of my cousins made the top-five years after,” Powell shared.
As she gets ready to take on part two of the journey, which will see her vying for the national crown, Powell is only too aware of the pressure she is under to ensure that Kingston and St Andrew keep the crown which was won by her parishioner, Velonique Bowen in 2022.
“I have to stand out; I have to be spectacular in every category. I am going to amend my vision board,” the parish queen said, still overwhelmed at the number of prizes she received on Saturday.
First runner-up in the competition was Erieka Dixon, who wore the sash Miss Ontime Taxi Service, while Jada Browne, a student pursuing Doctor of Dental Surgery at The University of the West Indies, Mona, placed third. Browne, who won the sectional prize, Most Poised, wore the sash Miss Dream Wedding Services.
The Miss Jamaica Festival Queen Competition is one of several activities to commemorate the country’s Independence. This competition began in 1963 as the Miss Jamaica Beauty Contest and has grown over the years to become the premier forum for intelligent, culturally aware and poised young ladies seeking a platform for their contribution to nation-building.