By: Emmanuel wise Jipoh
Miss Verolyn Veseh Vonleh, a 21-year-old indigene of Rivercess County, South-Central Liberia, has been crowned Miss Liberia 2022.
She won the crown in a very competitive pageant during the early hours of Sunday, 24 July 2022 after weeks of rigorous mentoring and modeling sessions as well as voting process via TipMe Liberia.
She defeated fellow contestants Miss Kindness Wilson of (Grand Gedeh County) as 1st Runner-up and Miss Joicet Jartu Fodey of (Grand Cape Mount) as 2nd Runner-up thus, replacing beautiful Nimba County Model, Wokie Dolo, who held the title for the last five years after she won the crown in 2016.
Miss Verolyn, who entertained and impressed judges during the 12 hours program, went home with mouth-watering prizes. She will represent Liberia in the 2023 Miss World Pageant.
She is a student of the African Methodist Episcopal University (AMEU) and shares ties with Nimba County where her father, Mr. Vonlehtay Vonleh, hails from, specifically, Gbor Wehplay, Nimba County.
In an interview with reporters after the competition, the elated winner said: “l am very happy and l hope to use my position to put smiles on the faces of children and above focus on other societal issues soon.”
A total 15 beautiful ladies from the 15 political subdivisions of Liberia, who participated in the preliminary round of the pageant made it to the final stage, including Faith Flourishing Collins of Gbarpolu County, Amb. Linda Doe of Bomi County, Favour Topoe of Grand Kru County, Kindness Wilson of Grand Gedeh County, Kariah Dorley of Rivergee County, Georgia Leela Bemah of Bong County, and Tracy T. Nagbo of Lofa County, respectively.
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Others are Antoinette Benson, County Sinoe; Julia D. Moore, Grand Bassa County; Alice Rozel Quaye, Maryland County; Joicet Jartu Foday, Grand Cape Mount County; Rebina Carson, Nimba County; Lelai Bendu Yekelorde, Margibi County; and Willimena Lela- Murlyne- Brown, Montserrado County.
The contestants faced simple but thorny questions from judges on the role of a woman in society, among others.
The filled-to-capacity Centennial Pavilion Hall came alive when the show started amidst cheers from the crowd for their contestants.
The ladies introduced the day undertaking a routine drill to the delight of the crowd that jam-packed the Centennial Pavilion in the heart of Monrovia, despite fears that various events being held around the capital would have overshadowed the nation’s foremost beauty pageant.
On May 13, 2022, the 25th Edition of Miss Liberia kicked off at the Monrovia City Hall when four contestants from Montserrado, Grand Gedeh, Grand Cape Mount and Maryland Counties were dropped.
It was a night of culture, entertainment and competition, and some of Liberia’s biggest stars, fashion promoters and socialites were featured as they graced the occasion, which also honored past and present icons.
Organized by XL Entertainment under the watch of the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), the head of the event, Zubin Cooper, CEO of XL Entertainment, said this year’s pageant is not only about having Miss Liberia but also restore the brand of the pageant.
Mr. Cooper noted that one of the main objectives for this year’s pageant is to conduct a process that is free, fair and transparent as possible that allows all Liberians to have an input on who should be crowned as the country’s next Queen.
He said the theme for this year’s Miss Liberia is: “Celebrating Liberia, its Culture and Tourism.”
He continued that it has been alleged that in Liberian pageantry, there are instances of cheating, but stressed that the host wants to make sure that accountability and transparency are the hallmark of the pageant going forward.
“Miss Liberia is one of the events in Liberia that is national in nature; we have the County Meet and Miss Liberia, where all 15 counties participate,” Mr. Cooper explained.
“In order for Miss Liberia and the contestants to have credibility and the full support of all Liberians, the process has to be free, fair and transparent”, he reiterates.
He says going forward, there will be a system and structure in place that others will follow so that will set a stage for a new era of pageantry in Liberia.
According to him, the event was characterized by public voting, which constituted 40 percent of the total votes, while the remaining 60 percent of the votes were determined by the judges.
The XL Entertainment CEO indicates that the host has also engaged a technology partner, MWETANA Consulting Group, and they have developed a Miss Liberia App, which was launched on 24 June this year, including a digital platform for judges. Editing by Jonathan Browne
