Trini to the bone

THE Sunday morning that Adrian Raymond, one of the directors of Peter and Associates, drove by the home of Ren?e Sloane-Seale to break the news that she would represent Trinidad and Tobago at the Miss Caraibes Hibiscus 2003 pageant, he saw a familiar sight — a down-to-earth Ren?e. She was not having one of those typical beauty queen moments. Rather, Ren?e was caught in the act of dousing the family car with soap water — she was partially drenched, decked off in shorts, with her “hair all ruffled.”m “I said to myself ‘me, you want me?”’ she said in disbelief. When she eventually came to the realisation that she was going to represent her country abroad, Ren?e was determined to do her best despite the seeming odds before her.

“I knew it was gonna be hard, however, because we won the competition the year before.” Her real fears set in when she landed in St Martin and saw her competition. “It was intimidating when you see all these sexy, well-trimmed bodies. I told myself I had no chance. But then, if you don’t have confidence in yourself, you wouldn’t make it. “I think anyone going to represent Trinidad and Tobago is well prepared, especially by Alyson Brown, Peter Elias and Adrian. I always remembered Alyson’s words to me... she said you can never tell when you’re being observed, and she was right. There were two people whom we weren’t introduced to, but I had noticed that they always travelled with us. It turned out that they were judges and they were observing our comportment in the run-up to the pageant,” Ren?e told People. She said she was surprised at how often some of the delegates would pull out their make-up compacts while on tour, and thrust themselves before the local photographers and cameramen.

Nevertheless, her confidence, Alyson’s words and her recollection of all the “dos and don’ts” worked in her favour as Ren?e, the 25-year-old shy girl from San Fernando, was crowned Miss Caraibes Hibiscus 2003. After she delivered her descriptive piece of her native land, saying words to the effect that Trinidad and Tobago was not only rich in culture but its richness stemmed from the melange of races and people, she heard a welcoming applause. She said: “At that point I said ‘wow!’ there are only Trinis here. I felt proud, I did my country proud, my friends, my family. Peter made a good pick.” She won a cash prize, a week in Monaco for the Afro Mon festival orchestrated by the Prince of Monaco, and a visit to Paris, Panama, Puerto Rico and French Guiana. She has already toured islands of the Caribbean such as Martinique, Guadeloupe, Anguilla and St Bart’s. Ren?e is meeting heads of states, visiting monumental sites, experiencing new cultures and having fun. She quit her job as administrator at the South branch of Toyota and will begin the second year of a degree in Business Administration at Roytec in September.
 
“What I have enjoyed so far is the music in the islands. Wherever we went, there were live bands on the beaches. It was amazing.” After all, Latin and Ballroom dancing is Ren?e’s forte. She has been a member of the Trinidad Dance Theatre since age six. She attended St Stephen’s College, Princes Town, and was not singled out for any special treatment though a student in her mother’s (Allison Sloane-Seale) Food and Nutrition class. “I called her Miss... But she would always tell me, ‘at the end of the day, if you get into trouble, you would suffer worse than any other child because I am your mother.” She misses her father, Garth, a chemical engineer, terribly when he goes off to work in Suriname. “I love, love, love my mummy and daddy. I have a respect and special love for them. They always give me freedom of choice and guidance and I have learned from the morals they’ve instilled in us.

“I could tell them about anything because they have always been open to us.” She described her relationship with baby sister, Kimberly: “Oh, we’re buddies. She’s really a sweet sister. I know sometimes I really upset her ... But she’s my biggest critic, and if there’s anybody to keep me grounded, she’s the one. It was always my dream to be in a pageant and when I took the chance to enter the Miss TT, my sister helped me type up the application. And when I was chosen, she said jokingly, ‘I don’t know how they pick you. They know what they doing?’ “But all in all, I’ve looked at how life has unfolded. I’ve thanked God for every experience and person that has come into my life. “I’ve tried to keep myself grounded spiritually and that gives you your strength.” One of her goals is to establish a well-known hotel, and maybe venture into public relations. She added: “Right now I’m free, single and disengaged. I wanna have kids, wanna get married, and find Mr Right; but everything in its time.”