Young Innovators and Entrepreneurs also using 4-H Skills to Start Local Businesses
The North Royalton Homesteaders 4-H Club and 4-H youth members continues its historical excellence, not only earning blue-ribbons for 4-H projects and earning top dollar for livestock projects at the county fair – but growing young innovators and entrepreneurs.
The local 4-H Club, led by 4-H president Kayla Kucharski, is now 35 members strong and has grown exponentially in the last several years, from its historical roots in the city to today, where local youth put on a dazzling display of their 4-H developed skills at the annual Cuyahoga County Fair, held August 6-10, 2025 in Berea.
Throughout the year, 4-Her’s work on animal (market and companion) and non-animal projects to present at the County Fair as part of 4-H, the nation’s largest positive youth development program. This year, 4-H members took a combination of animal and non-animal projects to the county fair, and many 4-H youth across the county competed at the Ohio State Fair.
In the past several years, in addition to completing their 4-H projects, local 4-H youth have also started businesses that showcase their 4-H skills. Local teens Ava Burrows (The Cluckity Homestead), Addy Nather (Bunny Bloom), Ben Hechko (Hechko Hives), and Alex Hechko and Christian Bryk (Brecko Boards) have all started businesses that help them sharpen their repertoire of skills, getting them ready for life beyond high school. A main component of the 4-H program is that 4-H graduates will be “beyond ready,” having cultivated many life skills by the time they graduate from high school.
“National 4-H data shows that 4-H youth are two times more likely to have the goal of being a leader, three times more likely to participate in community service, and 2 times more likely to report living life with intentionality and purpose,” said Cuyahoga County 4-H Extension Educator Robin Stone. “These youth are proof that 4-H develops young leaders who have set goals for their lives – and have turned their passions into purpose, starting local businesses.”
Ava, an 8th grader at North Royalton Middle School, along with her sister Emma, a 4th grader at North Royalton Elementary School, started The Cluckity Homestead. Through the business, they have gained many skills in incubating and raising quail, which are for sale at the Cluckity Homestead hatchery, along with a variety of other handmade goods. Ava’s market quail won Grand Champion at the 2025 Market Show, and were purchased by the Hines Family, and Emma’s quail won 4th place, and were purchased by State Representative Chris Glassburn (Ohio’s 15th District).
Addy Nather, who is also an 8th grader at NRMS, started Bunny Bloom in March of 2025 after a school computer literacy course requiring the creation and marketing of a business, wherein the Bunny Bloom fertilizer company was born. Bunny Bloom stars her three bunnies, Hershey, Misty, and Lincoln, who produce the fertilizer she sells in 1 lb. bags or ‘tea’ bag size. Bunnies Hershey and Misty are also part of the 4-H PetPALS program, an intergenerational companion animal visiting program where Addy shares her rabbits, which must pass a socialization test, with local nursing home residents. Ava and Addy were featured together on ‘A New Day Cleveland’ during fair week, which highlighted their businesses.
NR Homesteader Ben Hechko, a freshman at St. Ignatius High School, has started Hechko Hives, turning his bee colony from liquid gold to cash that will support his 4-H livestock projects. Ben has three hives, and hopes to begin selling his honey at local markets next year. His brother, Alex Hechko, a senior at Brecksville-Broadview Heights, and their cousin Christian Bryk, a junior at Revere High School, started Brecko Boards in 2023, where together, they design and create high-quality cutting and charcuterie boards for sale at local markets and online.
“The 4-H program, and our 4-H Club provide opportunities for youth to explore and develop skills across a wide range of programming; 4-H truly is a gateway to opportunity, providing a space for youth to learn and grow and develop real-life skills, making them ready for life beyond high school,” said Bruce Kucharski, Cuyahoga County Animal Science and Advisory Committee President.
North Royalton Homesteaders took 20 market projects to the livestock show and auction this year, earning Grand Champion awards in lamb, (Natalie Fitzgerald), duck (Natalie Fitzgerald) and rabbit (Hannah Eldridge), and Reserve Grand Champion in market broilers (Owen Szpak), among many of their accolades. Their hand-raised, high quality livestock garnered great community support at the auction this year, with North Royalton City Council President Paul Marnecheck again jumping in as a guest auctioneer.
Auction sales totaled a near-record high of $74,161, with many local community members, businesses, and local politicians coming out to support the 4-H youth, led by a record-setting price for market broilers, owned by Natalie Fitzgerald and purchased by Greystone Veterinary Hospital and Urgent Care for $2,070, and a record-setting price for lamb, $15/pound totaling $2,070, split between Greystone Veterinary Hospital and Jim Mikesina.
Local businesses Sullivan Orthodontics, DCJ Landscaping, North Royalton Animal Hospital, Brecksville Kids Dentistry, Peth Family Farms, and Cuyahoga County Farm Bureau were among the local businesses supporting the 4-H youth at the auction. These 4-H projects would not be possible without the longstanding support of these local businesses and many individual community members who support the 4-H Club members each year at the market auction.
Look for the North Royalton Homesteaders 4-H Club next month up at the City Green, for the annual City of North Royalton’s Halloween Madness, Saturday, October 18th from 2-5 pm, where they will have an animal showcase of their companion animals, including chickens, goats, dogs and more!
