At the Centerville/Washington Twp. store on Far Hills Avenue, 11 babies took turns behind the starting line in three heats. Two babies from each heat qualified for the semifinals. Some grinned, some finished; some cried, some didn’t finish.
Ten-month-old Preston Maggard won his preliminary round and the finals, where his two competitors were just too pooped from the first round to move at all. Preston’s grandparents Steve and Cindy Maggard of Springboro were there to cheer him along. Cindy was holding, of all things, a small portable keyboard at the finish line to get him excited about crawling.
Preston received a check for $100 that he promptly waved in a victorious frenzy to the delight of his parents, Chad and Molly Maggard of Miamisburg.
“We started training yesterday, and he goes to mommy’s races, so he’s used to this,” said Molly Maggard, while Dad was promising the check would go right into Preston’s college account.
Madison Stephens won Second Place, and Sawyer Brown of Centerville won Third Place. Kimberly and Matt Brown where there with their two older sons, Jacob and Liam. All first through third finishers received free diapers, baby wipes and bibs.
Nine-month-old Mackenzie Shooter, wearing a cute white hat and a T-shirt with “Here Comes the Star” on it, had a huge cheering section. Her parents, both sets of grandparents, and maternal great-grandparents were there to support her. She qualified for the second round but was too tired from the first qualifier to move at all. But her family and all the other participants received a gift bag for competing.
“We had her working out on her bouncer this morning, she was stretching out and she’s had a quick massage. She’s been in training all week,” said her mom, Lauren Shooter, who lives with her husband, Greg, in Centerville. “My brother Scott Lewis is 25 now, and he was in one of the first contests in Oakwood. So we are carrying on the tradition.”
Grandparents John and Terry Lewis of Washington Twp., said they had a picture of Scott’s race from 1991.
The Diaper Derby got its start in 1989 at the Oakwood Dorothy Lane Market, as part of an ad campaign for a diaper company.
Second set of grandparents, Ken and June Shooter of Washington Township were there, as well as great-grandparents James and Jean Hodge of Bellbrook.
Fred Pfeiffer of Dayton, eight-year store director of DLM Centerville/Washington Twp., said, “It’s a fun thing to do, and it’s a great way to get young families to try the healthy food at DLM.”
Winners at the other two DLM locations: Oakwood, Evan Kettler (First), with parents Jonathan and Heather Kettler; Nicholas Rabe (Second), with mom Abby Rabe; and Murray Brochu (Third), with mom Jenny Brochu. At Springboro, per customer resources director Jo Ann Potts: Miles Barnhart (First), with parents Toby and Jennifer Barnhart; Allison Mills (Second), with mom Ann Mills; and Sam Miller (Third), with parents Caleb and Natalie Miller.
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