Miss Sierra Leone USA Judges The Golden Affair 2013 Pageant

Hello world!!!

I hope you and yours are doing well. I'm doing well, thanks to the Almighty. On Sunday, November 17th, I served as one of the judges at The 2013 Golden Affair Pageant. This pageant was a joint event produced by the women of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (Eta Omega chapter) and the men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. (Eta Lambda chapter). The crowned winners will be the male and female representative of the sorority and fraternity as Mr. Rhomance and Miss Omega, respectively.

FACT: Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (ΣΓΡ) was founded on November 12, 1922 at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. The sorority is a non-profit whose aim is to enhance the quality of life within the community. Public service, leadership development and the education of youth are the hallmark of the organization's programs and activities. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority,Inc. has members in undergraduate and alumnae chapters throughout the United States, Bermuda, Bahamas, Canada, and Korea. The slogan of this organization is "Greater Service, Greater Progress."

Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014 Ruby B. Johnson

FACT: Omega Psi Phi (ΩΨΦ) is an international fraternity with over 700 undergraduate and graduate chapters. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911. Omega Psi Phi Fraternity is the first fraternal organization to be founded on the campus of a historically Black college (HBCU) at Howard University. From the initials of the Greek phrase meaning, "friendship is essential to the soul," the name Omega Psi Phi was derived. That phrase was selected as the motto. Manhood, Scholarship, Perseverance and Uplift are the Cardinal Principles of the organization. Omega Psi Phi and Sigma Gamma Rho are members of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC); the NPHC is composed of nine international black Greek-letter sororities and fraternities and promotes interaction through forums, meetings, and other mediums for the exchange of information, and engages in cooperative programming and initiatives through various activities and functions.

Presenation of awards to the 8 contestants of the Golden Affair pageant

The contestants were: Tara Shockley, Chris Terry, Dashauna Williams, Kwame Coles, Angel Walsh, Darren Siler, Princess Gibson, and Rodney Godfrey. This was my first time being a pageant judge, and honestly it was a nerve-wracking experience. I have been on the other side of a pageant before as a contestant when I competed at Miss Sierra Leone USA 2012, but I felt that it was much tougher to be a judge. As a judge I had to put away all forms of bias and focus completely on presentation and what we were required to look for in each segment of the competition. From the performance of all the contestants, I could tell that they worked very hard on each segment of the competition so I wanted to show positive approval with my scores but I also had to be honest with my scoring on level of performance in contrast to the others. It was also interesting to see how similar and different the preference of my fellow judges were. The talent presentations were phenomenal; I also loved the on-stage-question segment: one question based on contestant's opinion, and another question about Sigma Gamma Rho asked by a ΣΓΡ member or Omega Psi Phi asked by a ΩΨΦ member. All the contestants did an amazing job, but I know we chose two phenomenal individuals.

Miss Omega 2013 Tara Shockley, Mr. Rhomance 2013 Kwame Coles, and Miss Sierra Leone USA 2013-2014

Awards such as best in evening gown, Miss Congeniality, contestant that raised the most money, best in swimsuit, best in 1920s look, and best talent performance were presented to the contestants. The first-runner up to Miss Omega was Miss Angel Walsh, and first runner-up to Mr. Rhomance was Mr. Rodney Godfrey. Congratulations to Miss Tara Shockley (crowned Miss Omega) and Mr. Kwame Coles (crowned Mr. Rhomance). Congratulations to the planning committee and all the contestants of The Golden Affair pageant. A job well done, and thank you for having me as a judge.

Ruby B. Johnson,
Your Miss Sierra Leone USA.

Like my Facebook Page

Follow me on Twitter @MissSaloneUSA

Follow me on Instagram @MissSierraLeoneUSA