Aiken City Lifestyle met up with Beth Spangler-Huie and family at Eudora Wildlife Safari Park, the first drive-thru safari in South Carolina. Owned and operated by Mark Nisbet, Eudora Wildlife Safari Park located in Salley, SC was built on values of education, preservation, conservation and the protection of the animals and the environment. The park allows guests to drive through in their own vehicles and view and interact with exotic animals. New to the safari is the walking trail to get an up-close view of lemurs and exotic birds. We caught up with Beth and her husband, Rob, who are expecting a baby girl in October, and their two boys, Micah (4) and Malachi (2) to see just how incredible the Eudora experience is for families. Nisbet and his assistant first brought out the baby goats to feed, and the family was just smitten. Micah jumped right in and was a total natural. Though Malachi was a little skeptical at first, he followed big brother’s lead, and they both were completely delighted to feed and pet the goats. Beth, Rob, and the boys also had fun in the exotic bird enclosure where the birds seemed pretty smitten with Beth! One even crawled up on her shoulder while another put on a dance from up above. Eudora Wildlife Safari Park really is an awesome, hands-on experience which is exactly what Mark Nisbet dreamed to provide for people.
On the way back from the exotic birds and just before the family got to load up in Mark’s original safari truck for the drive-thru portion, we got to talk to Beth about growing up in Aiken, her time on The Voice and her passion for music and ministry.
When Beth Spangler was growing up in small town Aiken, there weren’t many opportunities or avenues in the music field to help her pursue her passion. But she didn’t let that stop her. With several years of working at the Children’s Hospital of Georgia under her belt, Beth felt called by God to share her musical gift with others, and so she began working to make that happen. After putting in forty hours at the hospital during the week, she would pack up and hit the road to record and do shows, work with the band, rehearse and then head back on Sundays to do it all over again. All those hours and hard work paid off when Beth finally released her first single online. And if that wasn’t exciting enough, shortly after that release, The Voice contacted Beth about a private audition which, of course, landed her on the show. She really credits her husband, Rob, for encouraging her to give the show a chance as trying big things and stepping outside her comfort zone wasn’t always easy to do. The Voice opened a lot of doors for Beth including releasing her first album, Audio Selfie, traveling and performing all over the country, and recording a song she wrote for a charity with the kids of the Tuleeni Orphanage in Africa. Though Beth was incredibly thankful for each and every opportunity the show brought her way, she found it difficult to handle the unforeseen pressure to be the small town talent on a national stage. And though she was fulfilling one of her biggest dreams, she couldn’t sacrifice having a family for the demands of a music career. Moving back to Aiken to focus on family led Beth to explore another calling dear to her heart, ministry. She started at First Baptist Church of North Augusta as the Artist in Residency and has since become the Director of Worship, planning and constructing services, leading online and on campus worship and ministering to kids in the Kid Zone on Wednesdays. One of her weekly highlights is Grounded, a Monday morning devotion through songs; it gives people encouragement for the week. Beth is strong in faith and loves that her passion for music has led her to minister and find her church family.
Beth isn’t done yet with her own music avenue. She is still writing songs, and once her kids are older, she would love to release another album, travel, and even write a book. She believes that her music experiences have led her right where she needs to be, and she doesn’t feel the pressure to pursue things and call them success by everyone else’s standards. Beth’s family, faith, and ministry are what she is focused on in this season, but there’s definitely another season on the horizon, and we can’t wait to see where it takes her. Aiken is lucky to have such a kind, genuine, talented person leading in the community.