Ruritan
Encyclopedia
Ruritan National is a service club
located in small towns and rural areas in the United States
. It aims to achieve "Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service". The local clubs are autonomous from the national organization. Many Ruritan clubs sponsor local clubs or chapters of 4-H
, the National FFA Organization
, or a Boy Scouts of America
troop.
Unlike most community service organizations, Ruritan rarely has national programs. Rather, each club surveys the needs of its own community and then works to meet some of those needs. Many clubs provide and supervise community recreational centers, sponsor little league and other athletic programs, sponsor anti-litter campaigns, help the sick and needy and provide a wide range of other activities to help improve their communities.
, now part of Suffolk, Virginia
.
Since that first club, Ruritan has grown throughout the United States of America, and in doing so, has become "America’s Leading Community Service Organization," with over 30,000 members in more than 1,200 clubs.
Tom Downing of Suffolk, Virginia, and Jack Gwaltney of Holland, Virginia, are known as the co-founders of Ruritan. Gwaltney and Downing recognized the need for an organization where community leaders could meet and discuss ways to make their community a better place in which to live.
The name "Ruritan" was suggested by Daisy Nurney, a reporter for the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper, and the club’s charter members unanimously adopted "Ruritan" as the organization’s name. The word is a combination of the Latin words for open country "ruri" and small town "tan," interpreted as pertaining to rural and small town life.
The National Office is located in Dublin, Virginia
, the location defined by the Ruritan Constitution.
Service club
A service club or service organization is a voluntary non-profit organization where members meet regularly to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. A service club is defined first by its service mission...
located in small towns and rural areas in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It aims to achieve "Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service". The local clubs are autonomous from the national organization. Many Ruritan clubs sponsor local clubs or chapters of 4-H
4-H
4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the United States Department of Agriculture , with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The name represents...
, the National FFA Organization
National FFA Organization
The National FFA Organization is an American youth organization known as a Career and Technical Student Organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agricultural education...
, or a Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
troop.
Unlike most community service organizations, Ruritan rarely has national programs. Rather, each club surveys the needs of its own community and then works to meet some of those needs. Many clubs provide and supervise community recreational centers, sponsor little league and other athletic programs, sponsor anti-litter campaigns, help the sick and needy and provide a wide range of other activities to help improve their communities.
History
The first Ruritan Club was chartered May 21, 1928, in Holland, VirginiaHolland, Virginia
Holland, Virginia was an incorporated town in the southwestern section of Nansemond County, Virginia. Since 1974, it has been a community in the independent city of Suffolk, Virginia following a [political consolidation which formed Virginia's largest city in geographic area.-History:Holland is...
, now part of Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk is the largest city by area in Virginia, United States, and is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 84,585. Its median household income was $57,546.-History:...
.
Since that first club, Ruritan has grown throughout the United States of America, and in doing so, has become "America’s Leading Community Service Organization," with over 30,000 members in more than 1,200 clubs.
Tom Downing of Suffolk, Virginia, and Jack Gwaltney of Holland, Virginia, are known as the co-founders of Ruritan. Gwaltney and Downing recognized the need for an organization where community leaders could meet and discuss ways to make their community a better place in which to live.
The name "Ruritan" was suggested by Daisy Nurney, a reporter for the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot newspaper, and the club’s charter members unanimously adopted "Ruritan" as the organization’s name. The word is a combination of the Latin words for open country "ruri" and small town "tan," interpreted as pertaining to rural and small town life.
The National Office is located in Dublin, Virginia
Dublin, Virginia
Dublin is a town in Pulaski County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,534 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Blacksburg–Christiansburg–Radford Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, the location defined by the Ruritan Constitution.
Organization
The Ruritan organization is made of Ruritan Clubs, of which anyone may become a member. Club officers consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Immediate Past President, and 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-Year Directors. Clubs are organized into zones, overseen by a zone governor and consisting of three to ten clubs at the discretion of the district cabinet. Zones are then organized into districts.External links
- State Listing of Ruritan Clubs
- Holland Ruritan Club (The first Ruritan Club)