BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (December 16, 2014) -- Young and ambitious Ms Shaniel Francis who is one of the five contestants for the 2014/15 Miss National Carnival Queen Pageant was simply referred to as Contestant Number 2 until Thursday December 11, when she was rebranded Miss Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis.
During a colourful ceremony held at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort on Thursday December 11, Development Bank’s Support Officer for Marketing Mrs Vernitha Maynard not only adorned Ms Shaniel Francis with the bank’s sash, but also presented her with a Certificate of Deposit of an undisclosed amount for the bank’s Student Loan Investment Programme (SLIP).
An elated Mr Francis while outlining the positive attributes of her sponsor, the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, in the area of economic and social development in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis noted that her induction into the SLIP family had propelled her to make changes in her future plans.
“My goals did not incorporate school, but because of the Student Loan Investment Programme, because it is something that is actually here right now and present, school now is something I can see being done about five years from now,” said Ms Francis. “If I were to go back to school I would like to study Business Management or Culinary Arts.”
Chairperson of the Pageants for National Carnival Ms Nisharma Rattan-Mack hailed Development Bank for its gesture and while supporting it, she challenged other sponsors in future to offer similar incentives to their contestants.
Development Bank’s Manager for Human Resources, Marketing and Product Development Ms Danienne Brin welcomed the 25-year old Ms Francis, a resident of Newtown and an employee of telecommunications company Digicel, and wished her all the best and looked forward to the crown returning to the Development Bank, having been won in 2011 by Ms Kalia Huggins who had been sponsored by the bank.
Ms Francis was introduced to the management and staff of the bank on Monday December 15, starting with the Acting General Manager Mr Carlton Pogson. She later in the day took part in a Christmas TV advert for the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Development Bank contributed $25,000 to the National Carnival Committee, a cheque of which was handed over to its Chairman, Mr Sylvester Anthony by Ms Danienne Brin on Friday December 12.
“The Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis has over the years supported the National Carnival for the role it plays in promoting our country’s culture and the opportunity it gives our young people to discover themselves,” said Ms Brin.
“We are happy to have a very confident Ms Francis as our contestant. She has now been accepted as a member of the Development Bank’s family and we are hopeful that the Queen Pageant crown will return to where it belongs.”
On receiving the sponsorship cheque, Mr Anthony observed that such a day was one he looked forward to when in the company of the Development Bank, which he said has been a steadfast supporter of the National Carnival Committee, and particularly the National Carnival Queen Pageant for a very long time.
“In fact I have been involved for the last four years and when I came Development Bank was already a sponsor,” said Mr Anthony. “This bank has been very reliable and very supportive of what we have been doing.”
Mr Anthony said that both the Carnival Committee and the Development Bank are about the task of achieving national objectives and as the single most and largest cultural event in the country, it is fitting that a bank like the Development Bank remains involved in the activities and for that they are extremely thankful.
“We are particularly grateful this year because the bank very early indicated their continued support for the National Carnival and that is important because no matter how bad things have been we have been able to rely on the support and sponsorship from Development Bank,” noted the National Carnival Chairman.
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