Young royalty: Goodyear’s ‘Sonny’ named 2024 Gerber Baby, photo contest winner

PHOENIX — Gerber unveiled 1-year-old Akil McLeod of Goodyear as the winner of its 14th annual Photo Search and named him the 2024 Gerber Baby, the company announced Tuesday.

McLeod, known as “Sonny,” was chosen by a selection committee featuring parents of past Gerber Baby winners and a variety of Gerber employees. This year marked the first in which previous winners’ parents were included on the committee.

The baby of the year photo contest was first introduced in 2010 by the leading childhood nutrition company.

Parents Akil McLeod Sr. and Dominique, as well as Sonny’s older sister Sage, join him in their commitment to “work with Gerber to support in its mission to help babies everywhere continue to grow with love.”

“We couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate (Sonny’s) first birthday than to be chosen as the 2024 Gerber Baby,” Dominique said. “We look forward to all the adventures in the year ahead collaborating with Gerber to share his sweet smile with families across the country.”

SO CUTE! 😍 Congratulations, Sonny! Arizona baby wins 2024’s Gerber Baby contest https://t.co/7d4oVQl7eL Photo: Gerber pic.twitter.com/KAjWAmgxRu

— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) June 26, 2024

Collaboration opportunities include Sonny being a focal point on Gerber’s social channels and marketing campaigns for the remainder of the 2024 calendar year.

With the award came a $25,000 cash prize, free Gerber products for up to a year, a new wardrobe provided by Gerber Childrenswear and prizes from several other leading parenting brands.

Gerber pledged to match the cash payout with a donation to March of Dimes, a non-profit entity that exists to “fight for the health of all moms and babies.”

Related

'Worth a pilgrimage': Pizzeria Bianco makes New York Times' top pizza joints in the United StatesNew downtown light rail station named after former Phoenix mayorPhoenix ranked 14th-best city to celebrate Fourth of July in 2024U.S. marshals arrest Los Angeles murder suspect in ChandlerBorder Patrol Agent sentenced for defrauding SNAP, WIC programsMan found guilty of attempted murder in 2021 shooting of Phoenix police officer Tyler Moldovan