Latoya and Jravis Fluker are giving out Christmas calendars instead of Christmas cards this year.
That’s because the Greenwood couple’s 2-year-old daughter, JaKelsi MarChae Fluker, is featured on the cover of the Commonwealth’s Cutest Kids 2012 calendar.
“It was beautiful,” Latoya said of the full-color calendar, which is being provided free of charge today to home-delivery subscribers. It features 23 kids in all.
JaKelsi won the cover spot by receiving 3,440 votes in the Commonwealth’s annual Cutest Kids Contest. Each vote cost 25 cents.
Latoya said her mother, Deloris Spurlock, and her husband’s mother, Sylvia Fluker, worked to get the votes. Spurlock even got her co-workers at Golden Age Nursing Home to pitch in, Latoya said.
“It was kind of a grandmother thing.”
That continued through the final night of voting with online voting by the family.
“We waited until 11:30 and put all the rest on there that we had,” Latoya said.
Those last contributions helped JaKelsi stay in first place, edging out Demarius Dunham by 208 votes.
Demarius, the son of LaShunda Dunham of Itta Bena, is the featured child in January. Portrait photos of the 11 other top finishers highlight the other months.
JaKelsi, who likes baby dolls, cellphones and computers, had some friendly competition in the contest from her cousin, Taylar Martin. The two girls, born three months apart, go to the same day care and play together every day.
“This year, we let my baby win,” said Latoya. “Next year, we’ll let (Taylar) win.”
Taylar is the October featured child.
Latoya said the contest and the calendar have provided a lasting memory for her daughter. “Even when she gets older, I’ll be able to say, ‘You were on the calendar when you were 2.’”
JaKelsi will receive a $500 savings bond. Demarius, Taylar and the other top finishers will receive a $100 savings bond each.
Proceeds from the contest go toward the Commonwealth’s Newspaper in Education program, which provides papers to local school classrooms.
Additional calendars are available at the Commonwealth’s office, 329 U.S. 82 W., for $5.
