Tracys Landing Woman Named Volunteer of the Year

More than 30 years ago, Annetta Spruill and her husband created an outdoor classroom on their farm in Tracys Landing to empower children with agricultural knowledge and self-confidence.

By opening up her farm, Spruill invited disadvantaged children and taught them the value of science, the environment and the importance of getting an education. Her efforts with the Har-Pearl Spruill Foundation fund summer enrichment camps for deserving children in the region.

This week, after three decades of committed dedication to children, the Maryland Economic Development Association (MEDA) named Spruill as the 2012 Volunteer of the Year, according to a MEDA release.

“When I thought of Volunteer of the Year, I immediately thought of Mrs. Spruill. She is always doing something to help somebody,” said Lisa Barge, manager of Anne Arundel Economic Development Association in a video honoring the south county resident.

On her 90-acre farm, Spruill and her husband grow vegetables, host farmers markets and conduct education programs for kids.

“Mrs. Spruill certainly deserves this award. The work that she does is absolutely tremendous as she volunteers in our community,” said Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent Kevin Maxwell in the video. “She doesn’t do it for the recognition. She does it out of the generosity of her heart and her love for children.”

To this day, Spruill invites “disadvantaged children” to her farm in an effort to bridge the academic gap.

“It is a privilege that they have selected me because I try my best to fill that gap to help children,” Spruill said in the video. “What way to give back to the education system but to help these children further them in education.”

In addition to her investment in children directly, Spruill’s family recently donated 40 acres of land to Sojourner-Douglass College to create an education conference center focused on agricultural science and marketing, according to a MEDA release.