David and Sherri Hoar
“I’ve got heritage here” is just one of the things that David Hoar loves about Washington County. “Our family is amazed that people know us so well in the community. People know you by name.”
David Hoar was born July 1, 1961 to Morris and Betty (Clevenger) Hoar. He was the baby of the family with 4 siblings. His oldest brother Donnie (now deceased) was 18 years older than David and Bob was 10 years older. His sisters are Connie and Marcia. He grew up as the 7th generation on the family farm near West Washington Schools. “Marcia was more or less my mom because Mom worked with Dad out in the fields.” he explained.
There were always lots of activities to do on the farm, mostly working. David remembered his dad telling him “chores are your extracurricular activities”. Of course, his dad was only partially serious. David also enjoyed basketball and track and was a 10-year 4H member and active in FFA, which he still remains active in today. He fondly recalls 4H projects of electricity exhibits and showing livestock, primarily hogs. His experiences in FFA taught him a lot about public speaking, livestock judging, the responsibility of being an officer, and parliamentary procedure. “In an Ag. community; you do Ag. stuff”, says David.
Sherri (Bush) Hoar was born on August 24, 1963 to Gary and Shirley (Smith) Bush. Unlike David, Sherri didn’t have any siblings. “I often wished I had siblings, but there were always kids at the house,” recalled Sherri. One of her favorite playthings was her grandfather’s old chicken coop that had been converted into a playhouse. Sherri fondly remembers, “He changed it over for me with electricity, carpet, window, and other things.” During her youth, Sherri was active in cheerleading and Brownies and played with the other neighborhood kids. One activity Sherri is very proud of is her involvement with Job’s Daughters. She even went through the steps to be the Honored Queen. “I traveled with Roscoe and Irma Walker to various states to attend Officer State Meetings and meet other members from all over the U.S.” She also remembers having wonderful babysitters when she was little. “Mom started at Bata Shoe Company and then went to work and Kimball’s. Dad was a police officer, so that was different.”
David and Sherri have always been “a house divided” when it came to education. Sherri attended Salem Schools and David attended county rival, West Washington. For college, David attended Purdue University and received a BS in Ag Economics. Sherri attended IUPUI to study dental assisting. After working in that field for a while, she realized she always wanted to be an elementary school teacher so she went back to school at IUS, earning her BS in Education, as well as her MS. Sherri has taught at West Washington Elementary School for many years and enjoys the children she teachers each year.
David and Sherri knew each other in high school and had some of the same friends in college, but didn’t start dating until Sherri returned home to Washington County after attending IUPUI. They were married in 1984 in Campbellsburg and they quickly became involved in the county.
Before attending Purdue, David bought a farm with his parents and put a hog operation on it. When he came back he was already set with the farm and knew what he wanted to do. “The only boss that I ever had has been my dad or myself,” says David. Sherri agrees, adding that “he’s kind of spoiled.”
David and Sherri moved to the family farm after getting married, added on to it, and quickly became involved in the community. “You have to be involved with the community you live in at some point.” Sherri became involved in Tri-Kappa and both were involve with Farm Bureau and the Farm Bureau Young Farmers. They were chosen for the Indiana State Young Farmers District 10 for two years. Through that, they traveled all over the US and made a lot of friends through these involvements. They helped set up the Young Farmers Conference in Indianapolis and were involved with a lot of the speakers and planning.
David has stayed active at the County level as well, especially with the Soil and Water Conservation District, local government as a County Councilman, and Property Tax Reform Committee for several years. He has also been to Washington, DC several times to lobby for different issues.
Sherri has also been involved in local projects. “School was good to let me have the time to be involved”. While on the Washington County Farm Bureau, she implemented the first Farm Day program. “The first year, we did it at our house with the local neighbors. Then it grew into a county program held at the fairgrounds every year.”
David and Sherri attend Westview Christian Church where David is an elder. Sherri also serves on the Board of Directors for the Washington County Community Foundation. “We’ve been involved in a lot of things and never been paid for it. Our family has been here for a long time. It’s just part of us to just give back without expecting anything in return. If you put tally marks next to everything, you’re not doing it for the right reasons.”
David and Sherri have two children Leslie, born on July 29, 1990 and Ashley, born on July 27, 1994. They are also the proud grandparents of Hendrix Stumler (Leslie and husband, Nevin’s son) and twin grandbabies Beau and Emily . “We’ve been blessed with our family,” they said.
Faith and family are very important to David and Sherri. The older they get, the more important family is to them. David’s brother passed away at the age of 58. “The competiveness of the farm changed. His death changed the whole family. It used to be really intense. Now we realize that family has to hold more together. Life is a roller coaster.” Sherri says, “You always have your family, through good and bad things, no matter what.”
Education is also a main focus that David and Sherri want to pass on. “You have to have an education if you want to do well in life. You have to at least complete high school. The high school boys that come and work for us know they have to finish school to keep a job here.” David learned a lot about education and leadership through Jim Brown, his high school Ag. advisor. David didn’t have to work hard in school. For competitions and leadership, he started out doing the bare minimum. Jim started to challenge him his Junior year. “He told me you can do all of this, but you have more potential.” Sometimes there were issues between male and female officers. “Jim cornered me and told me I knew this wasn’t right and needed to step up. From that point, I’ve had a relationship with Jim. He helped mold me in to who I am today as far as running meetings and being a leader.”
“Growing up, you don’t think the people that you’ve been surrounded by your whole life will be in your life again, but they’ll be back.” David and Sherri find this a very rewarding experience. They are grateful for the people that supported them.
“Our families and community have shaped us. We enjoy this community. It has given us a lot of things, but this is an opportunity for us to give back in more than just our time and resources. This isn’t just ‘David and Sherri’s Fund’, it’s a community fund.”
