City auditor shows children you can be a mother and have a successful career
CHILLICOTHE — Kristal Spetnagel is known to many as the city auditor in Chillicothe, while others may know her as part of the Ross County Land Bank, a former Unioto Elementary PTO treasurer or a board member of the Goodwill Industries of South Central Ohio.
While all of these titles are important one of her favorites comes from her four children — Mom.
Born and raised in Chillicothe, Spetnagel graduated from Chillicothe High School, which is where she met her now husband and father of her children Matt. The pair married in 2002. The two soon expanded their family when they welcomed their two sons Matt, now 22 years old, and Ben, now 20 years old.
As their family grew Spetnagel said she and her husband had very similar ideas on parenting, such as wanting to make family time a priority, this included making sure they always had time to talk with their children about the day and one of them was able to take them to school.
"We just try to be as involved as we can," said Spetnagel.
After her boys were older Spetnagel and her husband knew they wanted more children but when she fell pregnant again they were never expecting to find out they would be having twin girls. Spetnagel, herself a fraternal twin, and her family were excited to welcome Emma and Kara, now 12 years old.
With four children the Spetnagel household was and continues to be busy, even with the older children in college at the University of Rio Grande. Combined the kids play a variety of sports including cross-country, baseball, softball and volleyball. While Spetnagel said she enjoys cheering on all her children balancing all the different schedules can often mean hours in the car traveling to different events weekly. Still, she said it is all worth it as she is extremely proud of all they accomplish.
"We are very busy but it's well worth it," said Spetnagel. "It's been a lot of fun."
Raising her children she has loved being able to see them grow and develop their own personalities. With each child, she is able to see how they took after her in different aspects.
"All four of them have their own little thing that makes them stand out," said Spetnagel.
Spetnagel said her children were a big reason why she decided to run for city auditor, a position she took in 2016. She wanted to show them that even though some parts of the job, like public speaking, were out of her comfort zone she could still work hard and make a difference.
"I think it is an important thing for them to see and learn," said Spetnagel of trying new things even if you are scared.
She said it was also important to be able to show her daughters that being a mother isn't the only thing they can do in life. Mothers are capable of raising strong families and having a successful career if that is what they want to do. All it takes is hard work and determination.
"I want them to see that being a mother you can still be successful," said Spetnagel.
As auditor Spetnagel has worked to involve her kids when she can so they can see firsthand what she does, this includes coming to city council meetings, walking in parades and more. She said knowing that they are watching makes her a better auditor as she always aims to make them proud to have her as a mom.
Her hard work has paid off as she has heard her children speaking highly of her to their friends and classmates.
As her kids grow into new phases of their lives Spetnagel hopes they remember all of the fun memories and know that no matter what she does career-wise she will always be there to help and support them whenever they need her. She takes pride in being a mother and a friend to her kids whom they can call whenever they need.
"At the end of the day all four of my kids can call me at any time," said Spetnagel.
Shelby Reeves is a reporter for the Chillicothe Gazette. You can email her at SReeves@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @Shelby_Reeves_
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: City auditor hopes to always be just one phone call away from children
