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Pay it Forward recognizes mom and dad behind massive Easter egg hunt

LYNDON, Illinois — What started as a backyard egg hunt to celebrate Easter for John and Kodi Wright’s young and growing family 14 years ago, has turned in...

LYNDON, Illinois — What started as a backyard egg hunt to celebrate Easter for John and Kodi Wright's young and growing family 14 years ago, has turned into something much bigger in the Village of Lyndon.

Every year since that inaugural egg hunt, the Wright's have organized it again, and again... and again. Now, they have to ask the town to borrow Riverside Park , which sits adjacent to the water tower in Lyndon, population 648 according to John Wright.

Come April 20, 2019 at noon, the Wright's expect 4,000 people to fill Riverside Park for their egg hunt. The relatively massive event takes a lot of coordination to make a success. John and Kodi spend countless hours collecting prizes, bikes and candy to give to the kids; it's all 100% free for the kids.

"It's a big park but it's getting small now because [the egg hunt] is getting so big!" said Renee Lanphere, of nearby Prophetstown, Illinois in March, 2019.

Renee is proud of her community - she says it's great the Wright's and so many others come together to put on the Easter egg hunt. That pride is why Lanphere nominated her friends for the Pay it Forward contest, sponsored by Ascentra Credit Union. For more information on how to enter click here.

"Renee, thank you for nominating John and Kodi for the Pay it Forward," said Megan Guldenpfennig, of Ascentra Credit Union, which sponsors the contest. "John and Kodi are the true definition of what it means to have a sense of community here in the small town of Lyndon. They are a great example of listening, caring and doing what's right, which are our core values at Ascentra Credit Union. On behalf of Ascentra today, I would love to present you with $300 so that you may Pay it Forward to them, Congratulations!"

Lanphere walked into Lyndon's gas station where she knew John and Kodi were doing a staged interview with Dan Eyrich of Aroundptown.com.

"I'm happy," said Lanphere about being about to surprise the Wright's with the money, "I'm glad I could do it. [Kodi] is a good person... [John and Kodi] both are."

The Wright's say they will put the $300 towards buying more prizes for the Easter egg hunt. For more information on the Annual Wright Family Easter Egg Hunt, go to the event's Facebook page here.

If you know of someone doing good things in your community, someone who shows the core values of Ascentra Credit Union, which are Listening, Caring and Doing What's Right, nominate them for the Pay it Forward Contest here.

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