Byline: Refeloe Letsoisa
19 October 2022
Mr and Miss High School Ermelo pageant is a platform for learners who may have interest or talent in media with some leaners being good models, presenters, dancers, musicians, etc.
The pageant enables them to gain confidence in public speaking as they have an opportunity to engage with the audiences and judges.
Learners also get to learn how to build a good reputation for themselves and manage their public appearance with dignity.
Innocent Xolani Khumalo with the help of title holders of 2019 hosted Mr. and Miss high School Ermelo on Saturday, 17 September 2022 at Cassim Park Hall in Ermelo.
The purpose of the pageant was to bring back the culture of pageantry in schools.
There were about eleven (11) schools from in and around Gert Sibande District Municipality.
The show had two segments where schools from Ermelo competed for the main title, and schools from outside Ermelo were competing against each other.
Innocent also known as Mr X Wangalesiskhathi to his fans is a current ambassador for Mr Mpumalanga, he has been an ambassador for different companies in the industry, one of them being an ambassador for Ultimate Man Challenge Mpumalanga (UMC).
He is an ambassador that started from nowhere to somewhere.
He believes in giving and says being a giver is a natural gift you don’t get schooled for it and also describes himself as a man of his words.
One of his favourite quotes is by Bill Gates where he says “life is unfair, get used to it”.
The last show hosted was in 2019, crowned Phindile Nkosi (Ermelo Combined) and Thami Dladla (Cebisa) both have shown so much growth ever since their crowning and they played a vital role in making sure that the models were trained prior to the show.
The judging panel had twelve (12) judges with different titles namely; Miss TUT full figured, Miss Ekasi Teen 2019, Miss Thomas Heights etc.
Crowned Miss High School Ermelo 2022 is Busisiwe Nkosi along with Slindile Bason as first princess and Melokuhle Maseko as second princess.
Meanwhile Samkelo Shongwe was crowned the Mr. High School Ermelo 2022 along with Ncedo Gumbi as first prince and Puleng Nkosi as second prince.
Pamela Maseko crowned the Miss high school Ermelo exclusive 2022 meanwhile, Khulekani Manana crowned Mr high school Ermelo 2022 Ambassador.
The show was hosted with no budget but relying on the tickets that were sold before the show.
However, a company also sponsored gadgets which were awarded to the winners.
“I would like to thank everyone who participated in the pageant, media houses, the beautiful audience, families and everyone who was directly involved in making sure that the show becomes a success,” said Innocent.
Innocent aims to host yearly with the hope of getting more support from the community and sponsors for the events.
