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BEAUTY PAGEANTS AND SHOWBIZ NEWS => NEWS ABOUT BEAUTY QUEENS => Topic started by: erika on January 30, 2018, 06:15:28 PM

Title: Sedgefield folk line streets to welcome Miss Universe home
Post by: erika on January 30, 2018, 06:15:28 PM
(https://i2.wp.com/www.heraldlive.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Demi-LeighGR.jpg?resize=630%2C420)

The Garden Route town of Sedgefield was buzzing with excitement yesterday when homegirl Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters returned for a brief visit for the first time since being crowned Miss Universe in November.

The 22-year-old Sedgefield beauty has been travelling the world since she won the title and popped in for a day before heading to New York, where she is based.

She received a warm welcome from the residents, who lined the streets when Nel-Peters joined a parade organised in her honour.

Various organisations and groups, including school pupils and teachers, the Working on Fire team and Pink Loerie Festival representatives, followed her on brightly coloured floats from the Sedgefield Primary School sports field.

Before the parade, Nel-Peters had lunch at the Montecello Restaurant with friends, family and VIPs, including Knysna mayor Eleanore Bouw-Spies, who symbolically handed her the keys to the town.

“I’m incredibly happy to be home even if it is only for a quick visit,” Nel-Peters said.

“They say home is where the heart is, and my heart is here in Sedgefield.”

She said she had hit the ground running after winning the Miss Universe title.

“So it is lovely to be home around people who have a special place in my heart,” she said.

“I’m a small-town girl and hope I can take a little bit of that small-town girl all over the world.”

Nel-Peters said it was an honour to have brought the crown back to South Africa 40 years after Margaret Gardiner claimed it in 1978.

“This is not just a personal victory, this is one for Sedgefield and the rest of South Africa.”

Her stepbrother, Eduan Steenkamp, who joined in the homecoming festivities, said he had been excited for days in anticipation of seeing her.

He said although the time with her was short, he had no problem sharing her with the rest of the town as he understood how important her roots were to her.

Damien Douglas, 12, was one of the excited youngsters waiting for Nel-Peters to go past.

“Although she came from a small town, she is doing big things,” he said.

“That is inspiring, especially if you think that she went to the same school as you are going to and grew up in the same community as you.”

Resident Vera Vermaak said she, too, could not wait for Nel-Peters to return home.

“She has really made us incredibly proud,” Vermaak said.

Meanwhile Nel-Peters’s whirlwind visit to her hometown of Sedgefield on the Garden Route yesterday was more than just about visiting friends and family – she also came to make a difference.

Nel-Peters teamed up with several groups including Global Roofing Solutions, of which Tiso Blackstar is the holding company, to help a resident who was affected by the devastating fires that swept through the Garden Route in June last year.

Among others lending a helping hand as part of the project are Launch Photography, Technical Finishers, Gigi Foam, Plascon and Gift of the Givers.

Global Roofing Solutions national marketing manager Shayne Lessing said the project involved rebuilding the home, small restaurant and two 200m² sheds belonging to the resident, who had been running a self-sustainable farming operation and restaurant on the property until the fires swept through the area.

Lessing said the farm had a special place in Nel-Peters’s heart and she had therefore decided to help.

He said Global Roofing Solutions had been involved in various projects in the area since the fire and did not think twice about getting on board this time.

Since the fires, the company had delivered 15 000m² of roofing to the area and assisted in rebuilding another farm, among other efforts.

It was currently helping to rebuild a community centre and creche, as well as assisting a carpenter who had lost his workshop in the inferno.

Lessing said the project they were tackling with Nel-Peters was a project she had suggested and spearheaded.

After hearing about the project last month, they had played a role in gathering sponsors for the rebuilding, from painting and flooring to engineering and design.

“We are planning to rebuild the structures on the property using award-winning design, which blends the buildings into the landscape,” Lessing said.

“We will be providing the roof sheeting for the project.”
Title: Re: Sedgefield folk line streets to welcome Miss Universe home
Post by: wardiflex on January 31, 2018, 12:27:13 AM
Hi Miss Peters....