Sandy Eggers has been a 4-H volunteer leader in Windham County for more than 45 years. She has and continues to serve as a club leader for the CT Whiplash Teamsters 4-H club. The Whiplash Teamsters are the only working steer 4-H club in the state of Connecticut. For more than 45 years, this club has served youth from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
As a volunteer leader, Sandy has positively affected the lives of multiple generations of 4-H youth, many of whom go on to continue to serve the club as volunteer leaders and adult mentors once becoming 4-H alumni. Sandy not only mentors and supports her club members but also finds ways for adult family members and 4-H alumni to serve the club in meaningful ways through volunteer service and project leadership in a variety of areas of interest to club members.
Sandy greets all she encounters with a smile and kind word, bringing out the best in her members for almost five decades. As a lifelong member of the Windham County Agricultural Society, Sandy serves as an advocate for 4-H and its partnership with Brooklyn Fairgrounds to host the annual county 4-H fair each summer.
Though there is not specifically a 4-H working steer competition each fall at the Big E, Sandy makes sure that her youth are prepared for and encouraged to show at the open show. She also spreads the important message of the benefits of 4-H through club participation at many town and county fairs throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Sandy brings out the best in her youth by expecting nothing less and encouraging her members to excel at whatever they set their minds to.
One of Sandy’s long term goals was to get her club to enter the county food and nutrition show. After so many years of trying with little success, Sandy and other club leaders finally convinced three young men from the club to participate in the annual competition. She was overjoyed as she cheered on their efforts and celebrated their success.
Sandy’s 45 plus years of commitment to 4-H serves as a model to other younger leaders who strive to follow in her footsteps. The Whiplash Teamsters always have an abundance of adults willing to come forward to serve as leaders and role models for the youth of the club. This is in large part due to them seeing her modeling those qualities she hopes to see in others. Sandy’s enthusiasm and personal commitment is noticed and infectious by others in her presence.
Sandy has grown as she has had to develop new methods for the best ways to reach young people through the ever changing world in which we live. She has strived to adapt while not losing the qualities that make her such an effective leader in the first place. Thank you Sandy Eggers, for your continued support of the UConn 4-H program!
Help us grow the UConn 4-H legacy of impact supported by our Endowed 4-H Centennial Fund at s.uconn.edu/4hcentennial or make a gift to the 4-H Development fund to support immediate needs at s.uconn.edu/4hdevelopment