Jan. 21, 2005 — In a ceremony on the steps of the Legislature Wednesday, Senate President Lorraine L. Berry received the "Trail Blazer Award" in recognition for her efforts to promote the "Ms. International Bold and Beautiful" pageant.
A release from the Legislature said, that in conferring the award, pageant producer Kimberly Rodriquez said, "Senator Berry has blazed the trail and has been a tremendous inspiration to bold and beautiful women worldwide."
Berry said she was pleased to have been selected as a trailblazer, adding, "I am honored that the International Bold and Beautiful committee saw me as an inspiration to these bold and beautiful women."
Berry said, "Women of all faces and races are beautiful and this pageant should be an encouragement to all full-figured women in the community that no matter what size. You are beautiful."
The nine contestants vying for the International title hail from the US Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Barbados, St. Vincent, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago and Tennessee.
Berry said that full-figured women in the community should be encouraged by the nine contestants. "These women have proven even though they are full-figured, they are very beautiful and elegant."
The International Bold and Beautiful pageant will be held at 8 p.m. Saturday at the University of the Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center.