The three young women gathered in the Caucus Room of the Radisson Fort George Hotel this afternoon to face the media over allegations first made public last Friday and bubbling for more than two years, were in no mood to “make nice.”
Reigning Miss Belize Universe Tanisha Vernon, 20, predecessor Maria Jeffrey, 25, and former Miss Belize World Felicita Arzu, 22, leveled serious allegations of mismanagement and disorganization at Pageants Belize Limited (PBL), the organization sponsoring Belize’s delegates to the Miss Universe, Miss World and Miss Earth international pageants.
Indeed, Ms. Vernon sounded much like a politician today, calling for “accountability” and “transparency” in PBL’s future dealings, and saying her press conference was a stepping-stone for “a new direction for pageantry in Belize.”
Joining them in royal protest, though not present, were past beauty queens Leilah Pandy (Miss Belize Universe 2004/Miss Belize Earth 2007) and Tracey Robateau, winner of the Top Model competition sponsored by Pageants Belize in 2007. Ms. Pandy was represented by her mother, Anne Wade, and Robateau by an unidentified family member.
In a joint press release distributed at the gathering, Robateau and Pandy allege mistreatment and ill usage by PBL director Margaret Johnson, speaking of “many negative experiences” dealing with her and “discrepancies in her explanations to us” which led them to “doubt everything she has ever said about herself, sponsors, the organization, and her intentions.”
A separate press release from Pandy dated January 30, 2008, confirms that she is “no longer affiliated with Margaret Johnson, Pageants Belize, or any other organization that comes under their umbrella.”
Pandy further states that her contract with PBL expired on December 31, 2007 and that she has not had contact with the organization since returning from Miss Earth in Manila, Philippines, in November 2007.
As for the queens present, Arzu came close to tears as she described being denied access to a list of her sponsors, left stranded in New York at an appearance during the annual Parkfest, and most unfortunately, only receiving her plane ticket to Sanya, China, five minutes before departure from the airport, from her area representative, Hon. Johnny Briceño, and not PBL, who gave her $125 US and no travel visa.
Jeffrey described being denied a promised scholarship and having her reign-ending speech at the 2007 Miss Belize contest in September heavily edited. She alleges that her preparation for the pageant in Mexico last May began only three months prior and that Johnson was unresponsive to her complaints.
As for the leader, Vernon, she claimed her winning prizes have not been given to her on time and that she was actually accused of mishandling gate receipts from a fundraiser in Belize City in January, in addition to having to take city transport for appearances at events and not being given a proper contract.
In Pandy’s release, she noted that she had had no contact with Johnson and PBL since December 15, but that the Little Miss Belize pageant in January had been advertised as having her appear when in fact she had not so consented, and would not have been able to in any case, as her contract had expired.
Pandy alleges that Johnson practiced “deception” in “pretending” to an “amiable relationship” between herself (Pandy) and PBL and in using Pandy’s name to “make promises” to pageant-goers, and baldly states that due to “common reasons shared with other former and current queens,” she has distanced herself from PBL, a situation that nonetheless “saddened” her.
It appears to sadden Johnson, too, who was present at the gathering and did not speak directly to her charges. But in a meeting with the media afterward, Johnson said she nonetheless felt she had to stand up to her “hijas” (daughters), as she called them.
Johnson promised the new direction Vernon is calling for, telling Amandala and other gathered media that new investors in PBL would make up all shortfalls and that they would shortly meet to plot the way forward. She denied many of the girls’ allegations; for instance, she said that many of the events Vernon attended had not been sanctioned for her by PBL, and that the private company’s money troubles were due to poor fundraising. She also says that at a future press conference, she will explain her side of the story in greater detail.
Amandala has been informed that at least one other queen, Azizi Hoy, is suing PBL over similar allegations. Vernon told Amandala today that she, too, is willing to go to court to keep her crown, and professed not to be “intimidated” by Johnson’s presence today.
However, she was quick to add that Johnson alone is not to blame for events. Vernon also told the media that if things do not work out, she would raise the money alone to represent Belize “independently” at Miss Universe 2008 in Nha Trang, Vietnam, on July 15, 2008, with Miss Belize scheduled for the end of July.
Asked why they had not said something earlier, Arzu and Jeffrey both said they had decided to keep quiet at first, advising potential contestants to be careful, as well as bringing their concerns to Johnson privately. However, when Johnson appeared to ignore their pleas, they decided to join Vernon in going public. Vernon had written a letter to the Reporter on Friday, February 22, airing her grievances; in addition, callers to the morning talk shows on Friday lamented Johnson’s management of Pageants Belize.
This latest trouble to affect Pageants Belize joins such debacles as the failure to send up contestants in 2002 and 2006 and the apparent slur to Belize’s Barrier Reef during Maria Jeffrey’s appearance at Miss Universe in 2007. Belize last made the top ten on Miss Universe in 1979, with Sarita Acosta.
NOTE: The title of this report comes from a statement attributed to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, used whenever she wished to express disappointment with her audience. It is an example of the “royal we”, or pluralis majestatis, made common by European and Asian royalty.