Stella Roberts of San Francisco is this year’s Miss Hollister Independence Rally.
She beat out six other contestants for the 4th annual crown, including Nilda Hernandez of Hollister. That means Roberts took home $1,000 in cash, and will pose for next year’s official rally poster.
Roberts said she watched last year’s contest from the crowd. And with a year of experience posing for the Texas Bikini Team, which does an array of photo shoots, she decided to sign up for the 2004 pageant, she said.
But she was “totally shocked” she won, she said.
“I didn’t realize it was going to be this big of an event,” she said.
The bikini contest Saturday carried on in the tradition of competitions from prior years. As 1980s rock music blared, and with a crowd filling the 6th Street Stage area, the six women strutted across the stage.
The first time they walked in biker wear and posed on a custom made motorcycle. Then they changed into bikinis and strutted across stage a few more times. Some of the women, like Stephanie Bakula of Fresno who tossed her beads into the crowd, carried themselves with more swagger than others.
The panel of judges included Hollister Fire Department Capt. Leo Alvarez and representatives from Custom Chrome, which sponsored the event.
Mareesa Pacheco of Discovery Bay placed second behind Roberts. Other women in the contest were from such cities as San Jose and Aptos. None were from out of state.
Last year, Hollister’s Brandi Sweeney won the Miss Hollister Independence Rally pageant. She returned this year to present Roberts with a sash and the 1st place trophy.
Kollin Kosmicki can be reached at 637-5566, ext. 331 or at
