Ruritan National is a

service club A service club or service organization is a Volunteering, voluntary nonprofit organization where members meet regularly to perform Charity (practice), charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. ...

located in small towns and

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

s in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. 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 is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times ...

, the National FFA Organization, or a

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

troop.

History

The first Ruritan Club, the Holland Ruritan Club, was founded on April 16, 1928 at the Hollland Hotel in

Holland, 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 larg ...

, now part of

Suffolk, Virginia Suffolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. As of 2020, the population was 94,324. It is the List of cities in Virginia, 10th-most populous city in Virginia, the largest city in Virginia by bou ...

. Its founders, Thomas V. Downing and Jack Gwaltney, wanted to establish a civic organization for rural communities. Its purpose was "to make the rural community a better place in which to live by bringing together farmers and business and professional men in a community in the interest of community service, fellowship, and goodwill." Ruritan was chartered on May 21, 1928; this is recognized by the group as its founding date. Along with Downing and Gwaltney, some of the charter members were W. E Beale, L. H. Gardner, J. D. Rawles, Hugh V. White, and H. L. Worrell Sr. Almost immediately, the club added chapters in nearby counties. It was known as the National Order of Ruritans by 1930. Dr. J. M. Bland of Boykins, Virginia was its first national president. It held its first annual convention on January 15, 1932, in

. Ten clubs and 200 delegates attended the convention. In 1935, the club spread outside of Virginia with the founding of a chapter in Sunbury, North Carolina. On May 25, 1958, a nine-foot-tall granite monument was dedicated in Holland, Virginia to commemorate the founding of Ruritan National. By 1958, Ruritan National had more than 700 clubs in seventeen states, with more than 24,000 members who were a mixture of farmers and businessmen. Its diverse areas of service were reflected by its standing committees of the era: * Welfare, Health, and Sanitation * Recreation and Community Goodwill * Agriculture and Farm Income * Rural Church * Rural Utilties * Public Highways, Streets, and Buildings * Education * Industry and Business Methods * Home and Home Beautification * Conservation and Forestry * Youth * Safety On January 17, 1965, the Ruritan held its 35th national convention in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

with World War I ace Eddie Rickenbacker as the keynote speaker. That year, it was the sixth largest civic club in the United States with more than 1,000 clubs in nineteen states. In 2024, Ruritan National has over 23,000 members in more than 900 local clubs. Its national headquarters is located in Dublin, Virginia. Its publication is the ''Ruritan Magazine''.

Symbols

The club's name was suggested by Daisy Nurney, a reporter for ''

The Virginian-Pilot ''The Virginian-Pilot'' is the daily newspaper for Hampton Roads, Virginia. Commonly known as ''The Pilot'', it is Virginia's largest daily. It serves the five cities of South Hampton Roads as well as several smaller towns across southeast Virgi ...

''. The name Ruritan was created from the Latin words for country (''run'') and small town (''tan''). Its motto is "Fellowship, Community Service, and Goodwill". In 1930, the club selected its official insignia, a round gold pin with the words Ruritan and National in black, surrounding a black circle with the words ''Rus'' and ''Urbs'' that encircle the letter "R" in gold.

Activities

Ruritan Clubs meet monthly. Unlike most community service organizations, Ruritan rarely has national programs, instead setting priorities based on the needs of its local communities. Many clubs provide and supervise community recreational centers, sponsor Little League and other athletic programs, build community parks and sports pitches, sponsor anti-litter campaigns, help the sick and needy, and provide a wide range of other activities to help improve their communities. Many Ruritan clubs sponsor local clubs or chapters of

, the National FFA Organization, or a troop of the

Girl Scouts of the USA Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, a year after she ...

Organization

The Ruritan organization is made up of Ruritan Clubs. 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 zones are organized into districts.

Notable members

Following is a list of some notable Ruritans. * E. Almer Ames Jr., Virginia Senate * Howard P. Anderson, Virginia Senate and

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

* John B. Boatwright,

* Andrew J. Boyle,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

* Earle M. Brown,

* Stuart B. Carter, Virginia Senate and

* Myron Dossett,

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

* Mills Godwin,

Governor of Virginia The governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. The Governor (United States), governor is head of the Government_of_Virginia#Executive_branch, executive branch ...

Lieutenant Governor of Virginia The lieutenant governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The lieutenant governor is elected every four years along with the governor and attorney general. The office is currently held ...

, Virginia Senate and

* Elmon T. Gray,

Senate of Virginia The Senate of Virginia is the upper house of the Virginia General Assembly. The Senate is composed of 40 senators representing an equal number of single-member constituent districts. The Senate is presided over by the lieutenant governor of Vir ...

and lumberman * Garland Gray, Virginia Senate * Major M. Hillard, Virginia Senate,

, and

Circuit Court Circuit courts are court systems in several common law jurisdictions. It may refer to: * Courts that literally sit 'on circuit', i.e., judges move around a region or country to different towns or cities where they will hear cases; * Courts that s ...

judge * Edd Houck,

* Jimmy Matlock,

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

* Gerald McCormick,

* Tony P. Moore,

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

* Blake T. Newton,

* Doug Overbey,

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the Eastern District of Tennessee,

, and faculty of

University of Tennessee College of Law The Winston College of Law is the law school of the University of Tennessee located in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1890, the College of Law is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a charter member of the Association of Ame ...

* Harold H. Purcell, Virginia Senate,

, and

judge * Harold B. Singleton,

and

judge * Robert Whitehead,

* J. J. Williams Jr.,

and member of the

Federal Home Loan Bank Board The Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) was a U.S. board created by the Federal Home Loan Bank Act in 1932 that governed the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB or FHLBanks), also created by the act; the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporatio ...

References

External links

*
State Listing of Ruritan Clubs
{{Authority control 1928 establishments in Virginia Service organizations based in the United States Rural society in the United States Organizations established in 1928