Cap Juluca’s 2005/2006 staff appreciation closeout activities peaked on Thursday, August 31st with a grand End of Season Gala and the staging of the Ms. Juluca Pageant. At the end of a packed programme in which seven contestants representing different departments vied for the coveted title, Cleone Romney, Miss Guest Services took home the crown of Ms. Juluca 2006. Shelder Lewis (PIMMS Service) was adjudged First Runner Up, and Jennifer Edwards from Kemia Kitchen was voted Second Runner Up.

Cleone Romney - Miss Cap Juluca 2006

Other strong contenders Indah Wallace (Accounts) and Maureen Mussington (Housekeeping) demonstrated tremendous talent and vivacity to keep the competition very close.

Contestants serenaded by Chef Jerome Vanterpool

The four-hour Gala programme featured many prizes and surprises and, on many occasions, left the large crowd rolling in the aisles. The contestants, which also included crowd favorites “Peaches” (Maldwyn ‘Chappel’ Romney) representing the Maintenance Department and “Edisha” (Edgar Torres) from the Design Room, had the appreciative audience on their feet as they competed in four different segments; Introductory Speech, Beachwear, Talent and Evening Wear. The esteemed panel of judges comprised of Glen Hodge, Meridith Gumbs, Courtney Abel and Hyacinth T. Hughes rated the contestants on a number of criteria including content, delivery, appropriateness of attire, cohesion and flow and audience impact.

Juluca Pageant Dance

It is estimated that more than 500 people attended the Gala evening, including representatives from tourism, the Governor’s office, government offices, taxi drivers, media and Cap Juluca guests and staff. The night’s festivities got underway with a delicious buffet dinner at PIMMS/Kemia and were capped by the pageant and talent show, which also saw Cap Juluca Staff members displaying their many talents. Musical accompaniment was provided by The Musical Brothers.

Hospitality Heroes

All Ms. Juluca Pageant contestants received a participation award, dinner for two at any of Cap Juluca’s restaurants, bouquets arranged by Black Orchid Florists and a cellular phone courtesy of Cable & Wireless. The Second Runner Up received roundtrip transfer to St. Martin and two (2) nights accommodation at La Samana Hotel. The First Runner Up was awarded a trip for two (2) including airfare and accommodation to Puerto Rico and Ms. Juluca 2006 received an all expenses paid trip for two (2) to anywhere in the Caribbean, a spa pampering package at Cap Juluca and US$500.

Managers & Staff enjoy the show

Members of the Organizing Committee were also recognized during the festivities as Pearl Romney-Lake, who headed up the design team, was awarded a bouquet of flowers courtesy of Black Orchid and a Cable and Wireless cell phone. Pageant Coordinator Condon Proctor also received a beautiful bouquet from Black Orchid and a Motorola Razr V3 phone from Digicel.

Chef of the Year - Jerome Vanterpool

Other awards presented during the evening included the first ever Grand Marché International Chef Challenge “Chef of the Year” award to Jerome Vanterpool and a number of Hospitality Hero Awards. First place went to Veronica Richardson (Housekeeping) who was awarded US$1000 for a story submitted by her Manager Grithel Hughes. Second place and US$500 was awarded to Corin Reid from the Security Department who was recognized by Lockhart Hughes in Guest Services for going above and beyond the call of duty. Patrick Hutchinson (Maintenance Department) received US$300 for his third place nomination submitted by his Manager Ferdinand Van der Waals. Managers also received cash prizes for submitting Hospitality Heroes of the Week stories.

The final award of the evening was presented to Ferdinand Van der Waals, Manager of the Maintenance Department who received the Cap Juluca Outstanding Manager Award in recognition of his tremendous contribution to the day to day operations of the hotel throughout the year.

Cap Juluca closed its operations for the 2005/2006 season on Friday, 1st September with a Staff Beachnik, having maintained an average occupancy of 91% for the year. The 98 room award-winning property will reopen its doors for its 19th year of operation on Saturday, 28th October after a series of staff training and the annual Reopening and Staff Appreciation Awards.

The management and staff of Cap Juluca express their appreciation to their various business partners, including ABF Services, Albert’s Department, Collins Fish, Comp Nation, Fair Play Food Center, Fun Time Charters, General Foods, Grands Vin De France, Green Cuisine, Guichard International, Haskins Shipping, Max Printing, Merchant Market, P.D.G., Quality Fresh, Safe Cargo St. Maarten, Superior Sanitary Supplies, Tropical Distribution, The Fishery, Siccardi Imports, AutoBev Systems, Cable and Wireless and Digicel, who donated giveaway prizes for the staff or made other contributions to the success of the Gala event and the season as a whole.

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