Round Table Seychelles pledges R500,000 in support of President’s Village |04 November 2019
Star prize winner of the lottery, Ted Fred, accepting his car keys from Mr L’Etourdie
Round Table Seychelles (RTS) has pledged R500,000 to support a project or specific projects to be undertaken at the President’s Village, Port Glaud.
It was the President of RTS, Alain L’Etourdie, who said this during the official Regatta 2019 prize giving ceremony which is the time to present the lucky lottery winners and Miss Regatta contestants with their well-deserved prizes thus signaling the closure of yet another edition of the Regatta.
The prize giving ceremony for this 46th Regatta was held on Saturday evening at the Maison Marengo, Au Cap. The Regatta was held during the weekend of September 27-29, 2019.
Present at the prize-giving ceremony were the principal secretary for Social Affairs, Linda William Melanie, the sponsors and partners, the prize winners and members of RTS.
Mr L’Etourdie said that as members of RTS, they are very proud to be associated with the Regatta, the proceeds of which are dedicated to a national or community project.
He noted that the Regatta brand has grown well into the Seychellois culture and is furthermore cemented by the results of successful events and projects over the years.
“We are proud to remember it as our annual Regatta and we hope to carry on having it on the same spot at the iconic Beau Vallon beach for many years to come,” Mr L’Etourdie said, noting that this year’s event was great.
On behalf of the government and the Ministry of family Affairs, PS William Melanie thanked RTS for choosing President’s Village for their project, among the various assistance given, and encouraged them to continue with their purpose of assisting the community through their various noble activities.
The lottery was not record breaking this year with only over 92,100 tickets sold in only 3 months and which has raised funds in excess of R500,000 to support the President’s Village.
With the lottery draw being one of the main highlights of this annual event, the star prize of the brand new Hyundai Venue went to Ted Fred. He was presented with his keys by Mr L’Etourdie in the presence of sponsors PMC Auto and H Savy Insurance.
Mr Fred, who does not own a vehicle, said that he bought three tickets just to support the charitable event and he was not thinking of winning any prizes at that time.
He said that after test-driving the vehicle he will decide if he will keep it or do something else with it.
The lottery, tickets for which had cost R10 apiece, had a further 19 prizes up for grabs. The other top two prizes were a Suzuki Burgman 125 Scooter courtesy of Kim Koon Motors as the first prize and which has been won by nine-year-old Damien Thomas and a Samsung 58" TV & Home Theater System courtesy of Cellular Services as second prize and which has been won by Adon Bonte.
Nineteen-year-old business studies student Emilie Esparon, who was crowned Miss Regatta 2019 ahead of nine other contestants, won as prizes 1 year free social media management from iZest Media International, 1 year Life Coaching from Inspire International’s Master Life Coach and NLP practitioner, weekend stay for 2 on HB including boat transfers at Hilton Labriz Resort & Spa, a complementary night stay for 2 on half-board basis from Treasure Cove, 1 set of silver jewellery courtesy of Jouel, 3 course dinner for 2 including bottle of Bottega at La Plage Restaurant, 1 smart phone from Airtel service provider and gift voucher from Ipanema Seychelles.
Emilie also won prizes for the Best Charity Project and Best Evening Gown for a shimmering gold sequined dress.
First Princess Beverly Brioche won 9 months of coaching, a smartphone, lunch, dinner and a weekend for two at high-end establishments, among other prizes for Best Catwalk, Miss Talent and Miss Congeniality.
As second princess, Velma Sinon also won 6 months of coaching (Value: R28,000), 1 smartphone and lunch at high-end establishments among other prizes.
All contestants in the beauty pageant managed to clinch a prize among other prizes in the competition and the other winners were Nisha Belmont (People’s Choice Award), Stephie Rath (Miss Photogenic), Elsa Marimba (Miss Bloom), Philippa Philoe (Best Swimwear) and Jill Henri (Miss Conceptual). Karin Moncherry (Miss Flair) was not present at the ceremony.
Nisha Belmont, Velma Sinon, Beverly Brioche, Phillipa Philoe and Emilie Esparon were the five selected finalists for the final.
The Miss Regatta Beauty Pageant was held on the night of Saturday September 28 on the shores of Beau Vallon and the show, which was animated by several performances by an impressive line-up of renowned Cable Tunes artists, comprised three segments – casual wear, swimwear and evening wear.
According to Miss Regatta 2019, Emilie Esparon, the contestants will be collaborating and working together to implement a project at the President’s Village among other activities as contrary to previous years whereby each contestant comes up with their individual projects.
As partner of RTS, Bella Damou representing Cable & Wireless donated a cheque of R54,616 to Mr L’Etourdie while Terry Coopoosamy representing First Response Security donated a cheque the amount for which was not disclosed.
Text and photos by Patrick Joubert
