January 7, 2008
Dear Rafa,
Unfortunately we have never had the opportunity to meet each other, but I highly respect your site
and actually look forward to reading it. That was until I saw my own name appear in your weekly blog on December 24th.
I am glad that I waited a few days to calm down because when we act out of anger we can sometimes let our emotions bet
the best of us. Let me address the issues that were raised by a writer to you regarding myself and the Miss World
Ethiopia franchise.
The individual who is sending the remarks to many websites is a person who is very distraught over the fact that
I have been awarded several licenses once held by Mr. Andy Abulime and the Ethiopian Life Foundation, including
the Miss Universe Franchise. There was a press release in Ethiopia several weeks ago announcing that Mr. Andy
Abulime had lost the Miss Universe license due to trademark issues with their organization. With the license
being awarded to me, I have been under attack ever since.
It is a shame that a country new to this business has to experience a “Pageant Wars” where no one wins and everyone
has their image tarnished. The accusations against me are unfounded, but once published, the readers have been entertained.
I have held the Miss World license since 2003 where we placed 6th with our first entry in the world finals
and won the “Continental Queen of Africa ” title. We also brought Mrs. Julia Morley and several Miss World
queens to Ethiopia in 2004 that included the reigning Miss World, Rosanna Davison and Miss World 2001 Agbani
Darego. We were able to highlight the accomplishments of the Fistula Hospital and Dr. Catherine Hamlin for
their contributions. The Mayor of Addis Ababa even awarded Dr. Hamlin with Honorary Citizenship at our gala reception.
This testifies to the fact that our reputation is respected and only questioned by the individuals who are angry
with our success.
I have been in contact with Annette Cammer, licensing director for Miss Universe for nearly 15 years after
meeting her at their event in Bangkok , Thailand in 1992. At that time I was a coach and chaperone for a delegate
from another country, as well as the Fashion Designer of her evening wear and national costume.
When I arrived in Ethiopia in 2002 I contacted Ms. Cammer in relation to acquiring the Miss Universe license for Ethiopia.
Following constant contact she informed me in 2003 that she had signed and sent the license to me.
When she reviewed her documents she then realized that the license had been awarded to Mr. Andy Abulime.
She told me there was nothing she could do and that I would have to wait in the event that the license would
become available in the future. I maintained contact since that time, and upon noticing that no one represented
Ethiopia in the 2007 Miss Universe Pageant, Ms. Cammer told me that they were considering awarding the license
to me for 2009. There had apparently been some trade mark issues with regards to Mr. Abulime.
I traveled to New York in October and met with Ms. Cammer. Being honest and upfront I made it known that I was
also associated with the Miss World license for Ethiopia and if granted the license for Miss Universe I would
hold two separate events for the selection of our respective queens. She than awarded me the license stating
that I had been patient for a very long time and deserved it.
I then contacted Mrs. Julia Morley to inform her that I had received the Miss Universe license and my intent
of holding separate pageants in Ethiopia for the respective competitions. Her cordial response to me was
congratulations on my receiving the new license and she wished me much success. She also stated that she
would continue working with my co-partners of Miss World Ethiopia 2007, Artaele Enterprises, exclusively, as
she was pleased with them.
Quite obviously, I am no longer associated with Miss World, the Miss World Ethiopia program or its new
organizers Artaele Enterprises. As you can clearly see, there were no allegations of “dubious promises
and illegal practices”. There have never been any pageants produced outside of the country. The concept
of holding regional events and bringing the winners home for the national finals is similar to what Miss
Vietnam World 2007 has done. While we did give thought to this concept, we never implemented it.
All events have taken place in the capital city with contestants that have registered and entered there.
Certainly if this was an issue with Miss World Ltd. they would not be continuing with the co-producers to
the Miss World Ethiopia 2007 event.
Another false accusation is that the winner of Miss World Ethiopia 2007 never received her prizes which
included an opportunity at a modeling career in New York. The agency that we negotiated with felt it better
that she wait until after the Miss World finals took place before working with her. She is in preparation
to pursue that opportunity. Every queen in our history has received everything promised to them and they
all can verify this claim.
As all of my ventures were linked to one website, I have temporally closed the site to re-design and
separate my programs. I presently hold the licenses for Mister International, International Man and
Mister Intercontinental. All the above organizations are aware of our intentions to hold events in 2008.
I can no longer speak for Mr. World as they now have new license holders.
For the record, I have also held the license for Miss Intercontinental from 2003 – 2005 and our delegate
placed 3rd runner up in 2004. She was then invited by the WBO to compete in the Top Model of the World finals
and placed 1st runner up. I returned to the United States in 2006 to attend to family matters and returned the license to the World
Beauty Organization, which was then acquired by Mr. Andy Abulime for 2006, but awarded back to me in 2007
when he failed to meet the deadline for securing the license for both Miss Intercontinental and Top Model
of the World.
You will find me to be honest and forth right. If you are wondering, why the war?
Perhaps we need to go back to the beginning. We received the Miss World Franchise in August of 2003
and held the Miss World Ethiopia pageant after the license had been secured. Our competitor held an event
several months prior to that called Miss Ethiopia World and then tried to acquire the Miss World license,
but it had already been awarded to us after a very long waiting period. They still use the title Miss
Ethiopia World though they are not associated with Miss World Ltd.
They also continue to use the Miss Universe Ethiopia designation on their websites which is an issue the Miss Universe Organization will
pursue due to trademark violations. In 2003 when I received the Miss World license I also received
the license for Miss International and Miss Earth, but released them to focus on the Miss World event.
I should be commended, instead of attacked since the same individual holds those licenses presently.
LET'S KEEP IT CLEAN AS PEOPLE ARE HURT IN THE CONFUSION . . . BUT THEN AGAIN. . . WE DO KNOW THIS BUSINESS. . . DON'T WE!
Sincerely,
Gadol Wilson