The winners are: Andreas Francis of Windjammer Landing and Leona Constable of Coconut Bay.

Twenty-one-year-old Andreas Francis of the Windjammer Landing Villa Beach Resort was crowned Mr SLHTA, whilst Leona Constable walked away with the Miss SLHTA title Saturday night. The 24-year-old, of Pierrot, Vieux Fort, who represented Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa made history by becoming the first to take the crown away from the heavily centralized tourism areas of Castries and Gros Islet.            On the other hand it was the third win for Windjammer.
Saturday’s pageant, which was very well patronized and of a high quality, was held at the Gaiety on Rodney Bay and featured nine contestants; six ladies and three gents. The fact that it was being held on the eve of Creole Day was not lost on organizers who chose the theme “Sent Lisi Bel Natiwelman” for the event which started off with an introductory number where the contestants relived indigenous ring, song and dance games of olden days played under the moonlight.  The contestants then sold themselves and their properties to the audience with their ambassadorial speeches that were all exceptionally well presented.
The talent segment also thrilled the audience and was a marked improvement from past pageants and similar events. The guys were on first with Vejay Sydney of Hospitality Management Services putting on a skit on crime before performing Barrington Levi’s “Work.”  A minor technical hitch seemed to have thrown him off a bit however. Miquel Laporte was up next and the trained actor and dancer dressed as an old raconteur put on skit about change before staging quite an engaging dance to Sam Cooke’s “A change is gonna come.”  Andreas Francis was captivating doing his original composition which he penned himself entitled “Sent Lisi Bel Natiwelman.” His mannequin pose finish where he was carried offstage sent the audience in an uproar.
For the ladies talent segment a confident Glenda Abbot introduced her song with a dramatic presentation on the effects of crime to the citizenry and tourism. For Leona’s part she creatively segued from playing the steel-pan, to the tambour and then singing and dancing as she encapsulated the melting pot of Saint Lucia’s culture. Talking about pot, another one had the audience totally entertained. With a huge pot on stage Miguelita St Ange staged a humour filled presentation about the good and bad in Saint Lucia. Vernessa Gilbert of the Marina at Marigot Bay sang a song after a slight delay in her presentation and low projection in her final performance. Ria Herman of Intimate Inns was splendid in her dance presentation whilst Velma Soody of the Association of Travel Consultants paid tribute to the island in song. In the evening wear/national wear segments, much thought and creativity appeared to have gone into all of the contestant’s pieces and the accompanying descriptions.
The final segment, the interview, had its moments, but with very few minor slip-ups. The entertainment flow of the show was kept up with a presentation by designer Sharlene Lagon as well as musical renditions by Shervon Sealy, Joe Dubois and Gregerson Vitalis and a group of dancers.  A performance by the band Raw Element helped to break the tension as the audience awaited the results from hosts Claudia Edward and Ernie George.
When that call was made only the first place winner was announced in the male segment with Jesse Mitchell passing on his crown to Andreas Francis. In the female category Migelita St Ange who came into the pageant just two weeks before the event was the second runner up. Glenda Abbott was the first runner up and Leona was crowned Miss SLHTA 2009 by Latoya Louis who won last year. The winners were presented with their scholarships packages by Dr Ramesh Sinanan of Monroe College. There will however, be a grand prize giving ceremony at a later date where other gifts and prizes will be presented to all of the contestants.