Kevin Woods was announced as this year’s Roscommon Rose Escort of the Year at the Abbey Hotel on Saturday night.
The 25-year-old Rosmed Pharmacy employee (also his sponsor) was understandably delighted with the win but played it down in typical Escort of the Year style.
He said: “It’s all about the Roses at the end of the day really but it’s a great feeling anyway.”
So what does it take to become ‘Escort of the Year’ and what exactly helped Kevin stand out from the crowd? Kevin said it was about being there to assist his Rose, Nikita Heffernan from Ballaghaderreen.
“It’s about being there when you’re required. There’s no complicated formula really so whatever reason they chose me I don’t know.
“My Rose was lovely. She was very bubbly, a great girl. We also had similar interests and that helped. She’s studying drama in college and I’m involved with the Roscommon Drama Group,” he added.
However, the partnership got off to a rocky start according to Kevin.
“My first encounter with Nikita was at the first selection night at the Abbey. Yvonne (Corrigan-Donohue, Roscommon Rose Chairperson) came over and introduced us. Nikita’s reaction was ‘Oh my God. You’re so short!’” remembers Kevin.
The diminutive escort had high praise for all those involved in the event, however.
“The people involved had a massive part to play. The whole group really clicked, the Roses were absolute ladies and the escorts were all gents. The judges certainly had a difficult decision to make on Saturday night when picking a Rose.
“The Roscommon Rose committee and all those involved in organising the event deserve great credit for their hard work in organising such a successful event,” he concluded.
