Posted on August 31, 2026 at 1:57 PM by Anna Egan
Jeff and Carin Murphy have been strong supporters of the Polk County 4-H program for many years. As their daughter, Cara, was growing up in the program, they looked for ways to help her reach her goal of showing cattle, even though they lived within the city limits of Ankeny.
Jeff grew up in 4-H down in Washington, Iowa, where he showed livestock, mostly cattle and pigs, and did public speaking each year, along with a variety of other projects. Once their daughter became old enough to join 4-H, they always took her to meetings and helped the Ankeny 4-H club. After his retirement, Jeff began assisting on the Iowa 4-H Foundation and the Polk County Endowment Committee. One thing Jeff was very serious about was supporting the public speaking projects.
Carin has always been a supporter of the Polk County 4-H program as well, helping to design presentations and poster boards, and she was always happy to help her daughter practice. While a city girl at heart, Carin never failed to attend the cattle shows and stayed to the very end.
4-H has been incredibly important to the growth and development of the Murphy family. They have always believed 4-H provides critical opportunities for youth development, providing communication skills, perseverance, work ethic, and giving back to your community. They have dedicated their life to some form of participation in 4-H and continue to support Polk County 4-H’ers in various ways.
