Jim and Sandi Hotchkiss

Their story told by Sandi: 4-H has played a major role in our lives and continues to do so still today.

Growing up, Jim was a member of the Washington Hustlers 4-H Club showing sheep, horses and swine and participating in livestock judging and on the County Council.

Jim's dad was a 4-H leader and served in the sheep department for many years.

I was a member of the 4-H Maidens. At the time, if girls wanted to show livestock, they had to belong to both a girl's and boy's club.

I participated in clothing, food and nutrition, home improvement, sheep, livestock judging and was on County Council.

I met Jim the summer of 1970 in the sheep barn at the county fair.

I was going to be a junior at Mid-Prairie, and Jim was a senior at Washington.

My older brother, Steve, had become friends with Jim through livestock judging, camps and other county activities they participated in.

Being the little sister, I tagged along with my brother and his friends at both the county and state fairs that year where we all showed sheep.

That fall Jim and I started dating. We continued dating through the summer of 1971 when we attended the Citizenship Short Course in Washington, D.C.

The summer of 1972, Jim proposed to me under the trees north of the sheep barn on my birthday during the county fair. We were married in June 1973.

Jim and I both became 4-H leaders when our oldest daughter joined 4-H.

I was a leader for 20 years, and Jim continues to be a leader for the Horse and Pony Club, sharing duties with our daughter Jessica.

Our son Jake is a leader with the Green Acres 4-H Club.

All four of our children were active in 4-H, and now eight of our grandchildren are currently participating in 4-H in Iowa and Illinois - the other grandchildren are too young.