There are 19 members of the Sharon and Bruce Spangler family; 18 of them are 4-H members or volunteers, but don’t blame number 19. Little Caroline Spangler won’t turn 4-H age until next year. The family has been selected as the 2015 Illinois 4-H Foundation Family Spirit Award winners.
The application highlighted the Spangler family’s devotion and pursuit of 4-H excellence over the years. Saying the family was “small but mighty,” Holly Spangler wrote that “at the heart of their volunteerism is a desire to better the community.”
Sharon (Wilcoxen) and Bruce Spangler were members of 4-H clubs in Fulton County. Sharon received a state award which earned her a trip to National 4-H Club Congress in 1961. The couple encouraged their three sons to join 4-H. Robert, David and John did just that, and married women who had were either 4-H members or 4-H volunteer leaders.
Sharon and Bruce have been 4-H club leaders now for 42 years. “Through their years as club leaders, Bruce and Sharon have impacted an estimated 250 4-H members,” Holly wrote. “One of their goals as leaders is to teach young people to give back through community service projects.”
The 4-H tradition even goes back one generation farther. Sharon’s mother and father, Edith and Ralph Wilcoxen, were members of the Blackjack 4-H Club in Fulton County where Edith earned a trip to National 4-H Club Congress in 1932. The matriarch was also a member of the Canton Community Clothing Club and served as home economics teacher for 32 years after receiving her degree from the University of Illinois.
Collectively, the Spangler Family has 141 years of 4-H membership, 121 years as club leaders and 147 years of 4-H volunteerism since the early 1920s. Seven different members have received Illinois 4-H’s top award by attending National 4-H Congress. Five have attended 4-H camp, two served on the state livestock judging team, 13 have exhibited at the state fair and one has participated in an international exchange.
“At every level and every generation,” Holly said, “Spangler family members have sought to make 4-H a guiding part of their family and community.”
