There she is, Miss Surf City

Jenny Marder

Intelligence, poise and talent, topped off with a dollop of grace and

a splash of beauty: combined it’s the recipe for Miss Huntington

Beach, and 17-year-old Ruth Stainer had it all.

Reigning queen Lynette Hibben crowned Stainer as the new Miss

Huntington Beach on Saturday.

Ruth, the pageant’s youngest competitor, clinched the win with a

breathtaking ballet performance, judges said.

“She was a very charming young lady and her talent was

outstanding,” said June Dugmore, executive director of the Miss

Huntington Beach Scholarship Pageant.

The pageant, presented by the Women of Action of the Huntington

Beach Chamber of Commerce, was held at the Huntington Beach High

School auditorium on Valentine’s Day.

The 16 candidates, who attend local high schools as well as Golden

West and Orange Coast colleges, were judged in interview, talent,

swimwear and formal wear. Each contestant also had a platform issue.

Judges chose Ruth for her poise and confidence and for a

remarkable dance performance, in which she held a tambourine high

above her head and tapped it with her foot in time to the music.

“I was really shocked,” she said of the win. “It was amazing,

really.”

The 17-year-old Edison High School student will put the $1,500

award toward her college tuition. She hasn’t heard yet, but she’s

hoping to get into UC Irvine or UCLA.

Ruth has been dancing for 14 years with the Fountain Valley-based

Festival Ballet Theater. Her platform focused on the importance of

safe driving. During her interview, Ruth, a new driver herself,

discussed driving distractions and the importance of safety

precautions.

The winner’s focus on safe driving was inspired by a car accident

that almost killed her and her mother three years ago. Her mother

spent a month in the UC Irvine trauma center after the accident. Ruth

continues to suffer slight back problems.

First runner-up was Annalisa Abbs, a 23-year-old singer and Azusa

Pacific University student majoring in communications. Second

runner-up was Erin Britt, 20, a dancer and criminal justice major at

Orange Coast College.

“We have an outstanding array of talent,” Dugmore said. “These are

girls who want to go on with their education and make a difference.

I’m very, very proud of them.”

Ruth will go on to represent Surf City at the Miss

California-America Pageant in June. The state winner goes on to

compete in the fall for the Miss America title in Atlantic City, N.J.