Washington County Extension and Outreach has begun a monthly feature of local 4-H families this year, with the first showing just how 4-H can change someone’s life.
This month’s feature is Jeremy and Kari Statler, and their children Caleb, Abigail, and Elijah. They began taking part in 4-H when the second child Abigail begged her parents to let her show a goat. At the time her only farm experience was from spending time on her grandparents’ farm, and her parents decided to build a goat pen at their office at Statler Construction, Inc. The family’s passion for 4-H and showing animals grew from there, with them purchasing an eight acre property south of Wellman where they now live and raise chickens, goats, cows, and a llama. The youngest child Elijah has been showing animals since fourth grade, and he shares how it’s influenced him personally, “Well it definitely changed my life as it just showed me how much I like animals. And then at our old house I never really had cho