Contestant opts out of swimsuit but still wins.

Well thats not entirely true. 19 year old Dacia Ramirez won Miss Congeniality at this years Miss Tri-Cities Pageant in Kennewick, WA. As for the crown, I am sure that went to a girl in a hot two piece bikini.

Dacia Ramirez instead used the pageant to make a statement. She knew before she ever took the stage that winning was not going to be an option. Her choice to opt-out of swimsuit competition automatically disqualified her from the contest.

I'm a modest person, so I knew this would be an issue for me," Ramirez said earlier this week.

Ramirez, who is active in the Lighthouse Church in Pasco, says she wasn't trying to make a public statement, only to stay true to her personal beliefs.

Pageant coordinators, including director Dot Stewart, were unable to reach an acceptable solution to her concerns, so Ramirez quietly accepted the consequences and signed a waiver that she would not be a finalist.

"I'm OK with that. I was excited just to be in the program," she said.

In addition to the Miss Congeniality title, she received $850 in gifts as a contestant and the admiration of many contestants in the Miss Tri-Cities and Miss Outstanding Teen of Tri-Cities competitions. Not a bad haul for a couple hours work on the weekend.

Ramirez said she feels like she did the right thing, but she also believes in the Miss Tri-Cities scholarship program.

"It's an amazing program. The people work so hard, and I have gained so much confidence," she said.

But she also believes her example should be a signal to others that skimpy and revealing swimwear need not be required to win a scholarship pageant.

Changing the swimwear to more modest apparel, such as the active-wear required in the Miss Outstanding Teen competition, would "open the door to a lot more ladies," she said. She went on to say that she is considering participating again in 2009.

Hmmm, I guess so. Personally can think of about 850 reasons why she would....