Dozens watch Sprankles win Family Feud
SAXONBURG — A crowd of dozens of friends, family and Saxonburg residents came out to watch Sprankle’s Neighborhood Markets owner Doug Sprankle and his family not only compete on Family Feud, but win $20,000.
The Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company hosted the watch party for the Sprankles’ big day on Wednesday, April 24. The family went all out, with food and drink vendors, bounce houses, and games, culminating in the Family Feud episode at 7:30 p.m. The Sprankles also accepted donations on behalf of the Salvation Army.
The party was a community effort, with the stage donated by Wayne W. Sell Trucking, and the whole party sponsored by Pennsylvania Skill.
“We’re here to celebrate our community and help raise some dollars that will go right back into town,” Doug said. “The Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company was generous enough to allow us to have it here, which allows us to have enough space for all of our community.”
Doug competed on the show along with his nephew Colt, his father Randy, his older brother Ryan, and his sister-in-law Brandi. The Sprankles’ episodes were filmed in May in Georgia.
Wednesday night’s party marked the first part of a two-day spectacular for Sprankle at the fire company grounds, with the Campout for Community event set for Thursday at the same location.
The Campout for Community was originally going to be held in Leechburg, but was moved to Saxonburg to coordinate with the watch party when the Sprankles found out what day their episode would air. It just so happened the episode aired on the day before Campout.
“One hundred people were polled, and they said I’m a very lucky guy,” Doug said.
In keeping with the theme of the show, the Sprankles and other attendees wore blue and yellow oval name tags just as the contestants do on Family Feud.
According to Brandi, the Sprankles’ appearance on Family Feud was the culmination of a process which started three years ago. It was her friend Joy Spagnola who encouraged her and the family to try out for the show in 2021, when it began looking for families from the Pittsburgh area.
The Sprankles’ audition for Family Feud took place over a Zoom call. Brandi said it took about two years from when they first auditioned for the show to let the family know they had been selected.
“In March 2023, I got a text at 9:30 p.m. from the producer, saying, ‘Is your family available the first week of May?’” Brandi said. “I instantly said yes. I just auto-signed everybody up.”
As it turned out, the Sprankles managed to win on their first appearance on Family Feud, ensuring they would return for at least one more day. Not only that, but they took home $20,000 in the Fast Money round, with Belinda and Doug just managing to put together the required 201 points.
During the show, the Sprankles’ competed against the returning champions, the Blagmon family from Atlanta.
Before the show, some of the attendees got the chance to participate in a mock game of Family Feud, where Phil Kelley and Sprankle’s event coordinator Brittany Lambermont tried their best to emulate actual Family Feud host Steve Harvey. During this mock show, all of the survey questions were related to Sprankle’s Neighborhood Market.
The five Sprankle competitors also held a Q&A session to discuss their experience taping the show in Georgia. During this session, Brandi and Randy said that they were thinking of wearing shirts on the show to promote the grocery store, but this was not allowed by the producers.
As a result of the Sprankles’ win, there will be a second viewing party for their return episode during Campout for Community Thursday night.
