She had an overwhelming sense of motivation to be active in the community and was eager to do her part as a role model. But when Kellie Hall returned from the Miss World Contest in Sun City, South Africa the bright starlights had dimmed.

No one from the Miss Bermuda Islands franchise was at the Airport to greet her when she arrived.

And the responsibilities she thought she would have with her Miss Bermuda Islands title seemed to have diminished.

In the beginning when entering the Miss Bermuda Islands contest, Miss Hall and the other contestants were told that the winning title would bring certain official duties throughout the year.

Contest organiser Mr. Terry Smith said he would keep the winner of the pageant as involved in the community as possible.

But Miss Hall has had no such luck and this week she voiced her concerns to The Royal Gazette in the hope to pave a better path for the next Miss Bermuda Islands.

"I have been selling myself, trying to get myself involved in the community,'' Miss Hall said. "I'm my own manager right now, trying to do my part.

"And the few jobs I've done, I got by talking to my customers at the Bank of Bermuda.'' She added: "We (the contestants) put a lot of work into the competition and I feel my winning the title was a reward for the hard work.

"But I've won, I have the crown, and I thought I would have a year of fun and involvement, and I thought I would get the chance to be an ambassador of my Country and give something back.'' "It is much more than a trip to South Africa, it's about representing my Country.

"I tried to get in touch with people to get involved with things like the Queen's visit, and Drug Awareness Day at the National Stadium but no one returned my calls.'' She added: "I ended up going to the stadium unofficially because I wanted to spend a few hours there.'' Miss Hall said that when she returned from South Africa she wanted a manager to get her involved with the community.

"I wanted the franchise to put me to work. There are so many areas in Bermuda to get involved with and that is what I wanted to do.

"I wanted to make a difference and Bermuda's young people needed assistance,'' Miss Hall said.

She intended to make a more organised approach to working with the community, but there was nothing.

And as for her trip to South Africa, which was truly a great experience for her, Miss Hall said the franchise and the Department of Tourism needed to realise that the Miss World contest could be used to promote the Island's tourism industry.

But she added sadly: "I suppose no one has picked up on that.'' When she was preparing to go to South Africa, Miss Hall said she wanted to take small cedar gifts that represented Bermuda and business cards which the franchise said they would provide, but instead she ended up making cards on her own.

The franchise sent her with gifts of pencils, leaflets, and tiny flag pins that were stamped "made in Hong Kong''.

The other girls brought things like paper weights, leather pouches, beads, business cards, and gifts made in their countries.

Some of them also had booklets that described who they were and information about the country they were from.

"Bermuda's got to get hip,'' Miss Hall said. "They have to get with it. The franchise is sending us down there to represent the Country, but they need to put more into it as far as financing.

She said most of the other contestants in the Miss World contest had people from the franchise travel with them for support.

And when they returned home people from their tourism agencies and the franchise were there to greet them along with a welcoming committee.

But when Miss Hall returned to Bermuda she was greeted by her loving family and a note from Mr. Terry Smith saying he could not make it to the Airport.

Miss Hall added: "I don't know if they need to reorganise the pageant set- up, but when you win the title you shouldn't just be able to sit back and relax for a year.

"All the prizes were great and the money came in handy, but there is much more to a pageant and much more to get out of it.'' She added: "I felt special in South Africa and when I wore my banner that said Miss Bermuda I felt important -- the title is important.

"When I returned someone said to me `did you represent us well' but where were they when I needed their help. "I wish Bermuda would call on me a little bit more because I want to make a difference.''