The winning smile goes to 18-month-old Lucas Warren, the first baby with Down syndrome to be awarded first place for the Gerber baby contest in its 91-year history. Out of 140,000 photo submissions, the adorable boy was chosen to be this year’s spokesbaby.
“Lucas’ winning smile and joyful expression won our hearts this year, and we are all thrilled to name him our 2018 Spokesbaby,” said Bill Partyka, President and CEO, Gerber in a corporate statement.
According to PR Newswire, Partyka said, “Every year, we choose the baby who best exemplifies Gerber’s longstanding heritage of recognizing that every baby is a Gerber baby, and this year, Lucas is the perfect fit.”
The 18-month-old’s mother, Cortney Warren, says she hopes this opportunity will help increase the acceptance of special needs kids.
“This is such a proud moment for us as parents knowing that Lucas has a platform to spread joy, not only to those he interacts with every day, but to people all over the country.”
The Georgia mother said, “We hope this opportunity sheds light on the special needs community and educates people that with acceptance and support, individuals with special needs have the potential to change the world – just like our Lucas!”
Lucas’ family will receive $50,000 as the Grand Prize Winner of the Gerber Baby Photo Search and we will be seing the adorable little guy in all of the company’s social media platforms in the near future.
