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BROOKFIELD -- Brenda Hall grew up on a 98-acre farm that was in her father's family for years.
It was originally a dairy farm, but when her father owned it, he switched to beef cattle since he also had a full-time job. Hall and her family still live in Brookfield, but on a bit less land.
As a child, Hall was in 4-H, where she showed beef cattle and sheep for 11 years, from 1979 to 1990.
"Of course I fell right into 4-H. My older siblings were in it, so I was around the (Trumbull County) fair probably since I was 5," she said.
To join 4-H, a child must be in third grade or be 8 years old, and they may continue until the age of 18. The organization now includes 5- to 8-year-olds in what is called "Clover Buds," giving younger children a chance for early involvement by being paired with an older child and their animal to gain some experience in front of judges.
Hall was born in 1971 to Frank and Gerri Murcko at Sharon Regional Hospital. She's the youngest of four, with older siblings Frank, Rita and Maureen. Hall has been married to her husband, Rick, since 2000, and has two sons, R.J. and Justin. R.J. is in college, and Justin is finishing his last year of high school and his last year in 4-H.
She went to Trumbull Career and Technical Center and took adult classes at night, earning a certificate in medical assisting in 1993. She spent 17 years as a pharmacy technician at Sharon Regional Hospital. But after awhile, Hall decided it was time to spend more time at home.
"That got to be a little hectic because it was all three shifts, every other weekend, and every third holiday," Hall said. "I wasn't happy not being at home, so I decided to quit to stay at home with my kids."
She started volunteering for the Brookfield Local School District and one day, she learned the district needed bus drivers. She eventually became one herself.
"I grew up on a farm and was used to driving big vehicles, so I thought I would give it a try," Hall said. "I'm at Mathews now. I was at Brookfield five years, and this is my fourth year at Mathews."
Hall was involved with the Parent Teacher Association and the soccer and football boosters.
"So I guess volunteering is in my blood. I think that's what led me to being an adviser for 4-H," she said.
When her son was in 4-H and showing market lambs, one of the advisers decided not to continue because her daughter aged out of the organization. Hall said she started as an adviser with the Trumbull County Hare Raisers, which she stayed with for about a year before becoming an adviser for Trumbull Best Shepherds -- the club she was in as a child. Trumbull's Best Shepherds was formed in 1979 by Jan Solomon, a longtime fair board member and 4-H adviser.
"She's one of my mentors, she is still involved with the fair, she's on the senior fair board and she's one of our advisers in the club, but she's had some health issues, so I kind of got thrown into being the head adviser, which is what she was. This is my eighth year being an adviser for Trumbull's Best Shepherds," Hall said.
An adviser must interview, pass a background check and go through extensive training, plus yearly training.
"The work of an adviser is much like mentoring. As far as advising goes, we encourage the kids to do most of it. We have officers in the club and they pretty much run the meetings. We do fundraising. We try to do a clinic for the younger kids, showmanship, feeding the lambs," Hall said. "It's amazing. These kids start out so shy as little third graders, but by the time they get up to junior high and high school, they're totally different. 4-H helps them become confident, it teaches them responsibility because they have to take care of their animals."
When a child is 13 years old, they can join the junior fair board and participate in running the fair. They run the shows during fair week, order the ribbons, pass out the ribbons and participate in fundraising.
"I was on the junior fair board, and my son is president of his club," Hall said.
This year, her son is showing sheep, ducks and a turkey. This is his last year in 4-H and Hall will need to decide if she is going to continue to be an adviser.
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