|
| |
Ruritan National Organization
Ruritan National has nearly 34,000 members throughout the United States,
that work to improve more than 1,200 local communities. Since the organization’s
beginning in 1928, Ruritan Clubs have served America with Fellowship, Goodwill,
and Community Service. Ruritan is a civic service organization made up of local
clubs in urban areas, small towns and rural communities.
Ruritan's purpose is to create a better understanding among people and through
volunteer community service, make America's communities better places in which
to live and work. The slogan of Ruritan is "Fellowship, Goodwill and Community
Service." Club membership represents a cross-section of the community in which
the club serves, and is not restrictive with regard to occupation, social
position, or any other specific criteria.
Please visit the National Web Site @
www.ruritan.org
Ruritan National - History
The first Ruritan Club was chartered May 21, 1928, in Holland, 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."
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.
|
