Mendota girl wins Junior Miss Illinois

A Mendota girl has become the next Junior Miss Illinois after a pageant competition in Iowa on Sunday.

Stella Denny, 11, who will be a seventh grader at Holy Family School in Oglesby, will hold the title for the next year and participate in many other parades and events throughout the state.

“I just wanted to go there, have fun, and meet new people,” Stella said. “And I ended up winning.”

The Junior Miss Illinois and Junior Miss Iowa pageants were combined and conducted at the same time in Muscatine.

Denny began participating in pageants at the age of 5, according to her mother Julaine Denny.

“There are not many 11-year-olds who can go in front of a panel of five esteemed adult judges and hold a conversation for 8 minutes,” Julaine said.

This is the third year of the Junior Miss Illinois program in the state.

Stella Denny plans to attend many events in the area this summer, plus volunteer with ReImagine Mendota. The Junior Miss Illinois also hopes to compete at the Bureau County Fair pageant.

In addition to holding the title for a year, she also was awarded a $500 scholarship.

“My friends have all congratulated me and sent me text messages,” Stella said Monday during an interview on WGLC Radio in Mendota.