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Pioneers of Excellence: The Birth of Miss Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant

In the sultry evening of 1979, amidst a charged brainstorming session in St. Kitts, a revolutionary idea was conceived. Little did they know, this spark of inspiration would give birth to a legacy that would redefine regional competitions forever. The brainchild? The Miss Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant.

Amidst a whirlwind of ideas, one audacious vision emerged—to celebrate the prodigious talents of Caribbean teenagers. While critics voiced their doubts, the creators pressed forward undeterred. The trio of visionaries, Trevor “Kawundi” Blake, Walter “Robby” Nias, and Val Henry, leaders of The Harmonites, Haynes Smith Youth Club, and Rebels International respectively, were the architects of this ambitious undertaking.

Their meeting place was a popular Excelsior Restaurant on New street . Their motivation was clear—to create a regional impact from a youth perspective. Remarkably, within a mere 10 months of conception, the inaugural Haynes Smith Youth Club Pageant was staged.

The initial Co-Chairpersons of the organizing committee, Walter Robbie Nias of the Haynes Smith Youth Club and James Barman Hanley of the Harmonites Youth Club, set the stage for what would become an unrivaled showcase of regional youth talent. Melvin Edwards, then Director of Youth, and Irvin Sweeney from the Youth Department played pivotal roles in driving the concept, assisting in the development of the Pageant, and shaping the idea of a regional youth showcase of talent—a first in the Caribbean region, and still the only one of its kind today.

Today, we pay tribute to these pioneers for conceiving what stands as arguably the paramount regional competition in the English-speaking Caribbean. The Miss Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant has become a beacon of excellence and a testament to the unrivaled talent that the Caribbean region has to offer. Join us in celebrating these luminaries and the indelible mark they’ve left on the pageant world!