October 12, 1948
Married: Brenda Horton – 1973
Children: Joe and Lauren (wife) Moss
Hale Moss was born on October 12, 1948 at the old McFarland General Hospital in Lebanon. Hale is a lifelong resident of Wilson County. He graduated from Mt. Juliet High School in 1966 in a class of 63 students; most of whom started together in 1st grade at Mt. Juliet Elementary. Hale and his sister, Susan, were active in 4-H and showed beef steers and heifers for many years on the county and state level. In high school, Hale became very involved in FFA where he served on many judging teams and officers including Chapter President. At the annual FFA convention in May of 1966, he was elected state FFA President.
In the fall of 1966, Hale entered the University of Tennessee, Knoxville to pursue a degree in Agriculture. He joined the Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR) Fraternity, a social and professional organization for college students interested in careers in agriculture. He served AGR in many capacities including Noble Ruler. While at UT, Hale was a member of Professor E.R. Lidvall’s livestock judging team and was the high scoring individual at the Southeastern Collegiate Livestock Judging Contest at the University of Georgia in 1969. He then graduated with a BS in Animal Science in 1970. After graduation Hale continued his commitment to AGR by serving as Regional Vice-President from 1973 – 1998. Hale married Brenda Horton on June 16, 1973. In the fall of 1970, Hale accepted the job as the VoAg teacher at Lebanon High School.
After teaching for 4 years, he accepted an appointment with the TN Department of Agriculture as Director of Fairs & Livestock Show in the summer of 1973. This was the start of a passion and years of tremendous success with the Wilson County Fair. Hale served as the Beef Cattle Superintendent of the Tennessee State Fair Advisory Board from 1977 -2005. In 1977 Hale returned to Mt. Juliet to manage the family business of Moss Bros Seed Co. and along with Brenda, his mother, Ilene, and his aunt opened Moss’ Florist and Garden Center. The family continued to work here for 39 years until their recent retirement in 2016. However, not much down time, son Joe and daughter in law Lauren have opened the next generation of Moss’ Florist at a new location. Hale and Brenda, along with Joe, and Lauren, dogs CJ and Jasper, cat Neylee enjoy spending time on their family farm "Knobblehurst" in Mt. Juliet where they raise Hereford based, black baldy beef cattle.
In 2016 Hale was inducted into the AGR National Hall of Fame as only the second Tennessean to be awarded this prestigious honor for his years of service. Hale Moss’ name is synonymous with the Wilson County Fair. Hale helped to form Wilson County Promotions in 1977 and has served as President of the Executive Committee for 35+ years. Ask Hale why he has spent thousands and thousands working and improving the Wilson County Fair; his answer is very simple: "It is all about the kids".
