Scotty Maloney's chances of being crowned homecoming king were slim. Among other things, the junior at Unionville Community High School in Bedford County, Tennessee wasn't even nominated for the award.

But Scotty, who is developmentally disabled with Williams Syndrome, and the rest of the student body got quite the surprise last Friday when his name was called as king during the homecoming ceremony.

What happened was the three nominees had gotten together and decided that Scotty was more worthy of the award than they were. Williams Syndrome inhibits Scotty's learning and speech, but it also gives him a pleasant and extremely outgoing personality. Because of his extroverted good cheer, Scotty was a friend to all at Unionville.

"I've been blessed with so many things," said Jesse Cooper, who would've won the award. "I just wanted Scotty to experience something great in his high school days."

"He's always happy, so he deserves some recognition for who he is," Drew Gibbs, another nominee, explained.

When Scotty was called, the student body gave him an emotional 30 second standing ovation.

Scotty couldn't have been more thrilled with the award, and he's been wearing his homecoming medal around his neck all week.

This made Copper particularly pleased with his decision to cede the crown to his buddy.

"I wouldn't wear it to school every day," Copper said. I would put it on my shelf and say thanks for voting for me...he's so passionate about it."

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