About
The first Miss Jamaica Florida Pageant was held in 1990, and was a culmination of the dreams and efforts of its founder Bernard Anthony Baker.
Anthony migrated to South Florida in 1979 from Canada with one burning and aggressive goal. He was driven by the desire to utilize all his talents, skills and experience as one common movement that would help in developing young men and women into talented and cultural individuals, in order to enhance their lives with grace, charm, and etiquette. He formed Anthony Baker, Incorporated (ABI) and which at fist started as a charm and dance school but later developed into a broader based business.
In 1989 Anthony married Marcia Rigg, who became a major partner in ABI. Together they shifted the focus of ABI to the total development of the child. The objective was to provide the youth with training that would assist them in becoming self confident, rounded, well-adjusted people, aware of their society and their role in it. Classes included modeling, modern etiquette, social awareness skills, speech, dance and singing.
Out of the training operations of the company there developed another interesting operation, the staging of the annual Miss Jamaica Florida Pageant.
Despite obstacles of different types, each year the pageant was a fixture on South Florida's social calendar, with the exception of 1998. However, both Anthony and Marcia were totally committed to their goals and never gave in to the pressure that would have caused others to abandon their goals. The pageant each year is a testimony to the commitment as Marcia, now a widow, continues to set forth the dream and goal of her late husband and of herself.
Today the Partners for Youth Foundation in association with Anthony Baker, Incorporated (ABI) hosts the pageant. The Foundation is a charitable, non-profit organization and the pageant is its annual fundraiser.
The winners or ambassadors, as they are referred to, have gone on to enjoy success in the academic, modeling, and entertainment fields.
The Miss Jamaica Florida Pageant is open to all Jamaican born young women or those of Jamaican parentage. The concept is to reward the young people of South Florida for their talent, poise, and achievements. This is not a beauty pageant, but rather a chance for the girls to build self confidence. |