Michelle Lecky at the Miss Universe Competition, held in June, 2003, in Panama.
Alicia Roache, Staff Reporter
MICHELLE LECKY won the Miss Jamaica Universe Competition on May 5, 2003. Since then, she has represented her country in the international contest in Panama. During her one year reign as Miss Jamaica Universe, she has been involved in various charities. With the calendar year almost at an end and her tenure nearly over, The Sunday Gleaner sat down with the soft-spoken beauty queen to find out how her reign has been.
AR: What was the experience like as Miss Jamaica Universe and at the Miss Universe Competition in Panama?
ML:My experience as Miss Jamaica Universe has been great. It's been harder than I thought it would be in terms of support, in Jamaica on a whole, and I know the economy is not doing well; finance is very difficult. But it's been a great experience.
I've grown a lot as a person, I've gained a lot more confidence, I've met a tremendous amount of people, I've made so many contacts and its really a stepping stone for anybody who wants to do anything.
Myself, I've always been more into Finance and the type of people that I've met - because that's where I want to be eventually - have been big in the financial industry in Jamaica. So it's a big stepping stone for anybody in the field.
AR: In what way was the support of Jamaicans not been as forthcoming as you expected?
ML: It was incredibly difficult to find sponsors to go to Miss Universe. I found myself spending my own money to buy clothes so that I could look decent down there and Uzuri International were the only people who gave me clothes to go. Church's Chicken was great; they gave me... I believe it was Ja$100,000 to go buy a few things in Miami. I did that, but I spent quite a bit of money and I'm still spending quite a bit of money.
I left my job so I could concentrate on this more and do a lot more charity work. I didn't think it would be as difficult to make money but I guess the Jamaican economy just isn't doing very well, so it's harder than I thought.
But I just started a new part-time job with RE TV, hosting, directing and producing my own show, Under The Rock. That show was aired a month ago. It's two shows that are shown once every two weeks and that brings in a little income, so I can live. I've been able to give back to Jamaica to the best of my ability; I've been working a lot with HIV/AIDS, educating on prevention and awareness, and that has been incredibly rewarding.
AR: What is the focus of your show 'Under the Rock'?
ML: It's a show on issues that are happening in Jamaica. It's way different from what RE TV is known for. It's a more serious side of RE TV.
My first show, for example, was on deportees and the type of deportees that have come to Jamaica, the lack of support when they arrive here and them getting into "mischief" once they're here.
Right now I'm working on a show for rape, for Christmas, and one for the Children's Home. It's really a show to educate about political, economical, and health issues.
AR: Is there any real social consciousness/awareness behind beauty contests, or is it just a matter of a photo op?
ML: I believe that is the case with a lot of beauty queens, but for myself I would disagree with that. I've been very, very active. I've been able to send 20 children back to school, who were affected by AIDS, and in doing so I've harassed a lot of companies and a lot of persons to donate to the cause and I've been the one to drive around and give out letters and pick up cheques and all those things. But there are queens that have not really given back much but to each his own. Nobody pushed me to do this. It wasn't a requirement that I have to do anything. I decided I wanted to use the title and really do something with it.
AR: Is there any one charity that you enjoy working with, that is near and dear to you?
ML: Yes. The HIV/AIDS charity. I think when I decided that I really wanted to do something with the title, there was a lot of media around HIV, and people discriminating against people living with the virus. I thought someone needs to do something and I'm gonna try my best to help out. It was just a few very scary statistics that really prompted me to get involved with it. At first I was a little scared and hesitant to work with them, but after I got to learn more about the virus it was not very scary at all. I've learnt so much from them about life and how cruel people can be at times.
AR: Are there any particular functions that a Miss Jamaica Universe must fulfill during her reign?
ML: Its pretty much up to me to decide what I want to do. Pulse, as my agents, will suggest things like "it would be good for you to take up a cause and work on it", but as far as responsibilities and things that you must do there is no must-must, but they always encourage you to do your best. It's not mandatory to do it, unfortunately. I think it should be mandatory. But, at the same time, you have to want to do something to do it properly. With this I must also say it's incredibly time demanding - the charity work - because if I had a job I wouldn't have been able to do as much as I did.
AR: What are your impressions of the Miss Universe Competition?
ML: Amazing. I have new appreciation for these pageants. It was a huge production, I met so many people. There is no place in the world that I could go to and not have somebody to call. There were 83 countries there. As far as I don't know if I should say this but I didn't think Miss Dominican Republic would have won. But it's hard to pick a winner.
The judges do what they do best, knowing what they know. They only have one or two impressions, but I think it was a good competition. If I could do it all over again I think I could do exceptionally well, because I know what they expect. But it was great. I felt like a celebrity the whole time I was there. The amount of attention that we got from the media, from just the people in general, it was just unbelievable.
I think everybody felt like Princess Di, getting a lot of attention, and security was unbelievable. I think we must have left the hotel three times in the one month that I was there, because when we went out one day there was an incident when I think a car came in front of one of the buses to try and slow it down.
The police got involved and there were guns and everything. So after that they were like 'OK, everybody comes to us'. We had a lot of functions in the ballroom. It was wonderful. I really encourage everybody who wants to try out for it, to definitely go for it.
AR: What do you think the judges look for in a Miss Universe?
ML: At Miss Universe... Mr. Cooper at Pulse had read the requirements to me, what they look for, and I don't remember everything, but I distinctly remember that they weren't looking for anybody who was cocky or overly confident. They were looking for somebody who was intelligent, who knew who she was and carried herself accordingly.
The way that it was judged, they had 10 judges divided in two; they had two panels of five. You go into a room and stand at a podium and they asked you questions and the questions varied. Some were about yourself, some were about your country, some were about your opinion on different issues. We had two chances to make a good impression. You had the preliminary show, the show that occurred before the actual night everybody walks in their bathing suits, everybody walks in their evening gown and the judges judge you on the way you carry yourself.
The actual day the top 10 have already been chosen; they narrowed that down with the interviews and the preliminary show. Then the top 10 walk in their evening gown and swimsuits in front of a set of new judges and then those judges picked their top five based on the way they carry themselves. I actually met one of the CEOs; I sat beside him on the plane from Panama to Miami and I asked him 'do the judges watch us at all before the actual night?' And he was like 'no'. But why? Because they don't get to know who you really are.
AR: What are your impressions of the recently concluded Miss World Competition?
ML: I think that Miss Universe is a better production. In all honesty. But, I mean, Miss World is great. I think Jade did a great job of representing Jamaica in the competition. She made the top 20, which is absolutely wonderful, and I'm very, very happy for her. I can see a difference in the way that they pick a Miss World. Miss South Africa came third in the Miss Universe and didn't even place in the top 20 in Miss World. So they look for different things completely.
AR: As a beauty queen do you feel that people value you more as 'Miss Jamaica Universe' than as 'Michelle'?
ML: Yes, I would say that I have come across people like that. It is a little difficult to sift through those that are really being genuine and those that are not. I can say that people are more willing to talk to me if I say that it's Miss Jamaica Universe, definitely. Definitely it makes a tremendous difference. Yeah, because who is Michelle? You know. But the title really does do a lot, which I'm grateful for, and at the same time I'd like to be known for being myself as well.
AR: Do you get hit on by men more now than before you were crowned Miss Jamaica Universe
ML: I would say yes. It's been more in a respectful way, though. I wouldn't say I get the same comments I did prior. It's different; they approach in a more respectful way.
I think that it's different in a sense that someone might call me and say "would you like to go out to dinner sometime?", whereas before when you are in a club you know how the men go, you know, 'come here', things like that. They don't do that as much, anyway.
AR: Does the diet and exercise routine become a part of your lifestyle, even after the competition?
ML: I definitely fell off when I came back. I think I was so controlled in Panama that when I came back it was just like you know, O.K. When I went down there they had every kind of dessert you could ever imagine. If I wanted pizza, I could have pizza, if I wanted Cheesecake, it was all laid out right there.
It was very difficult, but I can say I never touched dessert once and I think when I got back it was all that was in my head. I lost a tremendous amount of weight when I went and gained back the majority of that, but I'm back on track and I'm exercising every day again.
