The Miss Jamaica Florida Pageant, a premier cultural event in the South Florida community for 19 years, was held on Saturday, June 28, 2008 at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive in Coral Springs.
Twenty-four young women, ages 5-21 vied for four titles – Little Miss, Junior Miss, Miss Teen, and Miss Jamaica Florida.
Taking the top spots this year in the Little Miss category was seven year-old Emmani McGhee; in the Junior Miss category Dia-Alexis Francis, 12; in the Miss Teen Brittany Suer, 14, and the Miss category Raquel Miller, 21. Little Miss runners-up were Knyja White and Amali Morris; Junior Miss Taryn Brown and Georgianna West; Miss Teen, Ayana Hutchinson and Tiana Henry and in Miss category Crystal Pullock and Antonia Graham.
This annual event is a fundraiser for The Partners for Youth Foundation, a charitable, non-profit organization committed to the enhancement of children internationally and recognition of young women in the performing arts in the United States. Each year, a monetary scholarship is offered to an African-American college student majoring in theater or music at a tertiary institution. The 2008 scholarship recipient will be announced at this year’s pageant.
The Partners for Youth Foundation and The Miss Jamaica Florida are supported by local and national corporate partners serving the community including Air Jamaica Limited, Western Union, National Weekly and also Dolphin’s Cove in Ocho Rios and Rose Hall Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica.