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Revised 8/2016
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 recog‑
nized the need for an organization where commu‑
nity 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 unani‑
mously adopted “Ruritan” as the organization’s
name. The word is a combination of the Latin words
for open country (ruri) and small town (tan), inter‑
preted as pertaining to rural and small town life.
Ruritan National
is an organization
consisting of
Ruritan clubs
. Individu‑
als are members of clubs and clubs
are members of the national organiza‑
tion. Ruritan National operates under
bylaws. Each Ruritan club is entitled
to send delegates to the national con‑
vention and only these
delegates
can
change the National Bylaws. These
delegates elect a
National Board of
Directors and Officers
and a
Foun-
dation Trustee
at the Ruritan National
Convention. The Board of Directors is a
policy‑making body that acts on behalf
of the delegates throughout the year. The
Executive
Committee
of the Board of Directors consists of the
national officers and the immediate Past Ruritan
National President.
The National Board of Directors employs an
Execu-
tive Director
who in turn employs a national office
staff. The Executive Director is directly responsible to
the Board of Directors. The National Board of Direc‑
tors also establishes geographical areas called
dis-
tricts,
and the president of Ruritan National assigns
one director to each district to assist district leaders
in following approved procedure and policies of the
organization.
Club delegates at district conventions elect a
dis-
trict governor
and a
lieutenant governor
for each
district. The district governor appoints district officers
and zone governors who constitute the
district cabi-
net
. At the discretion of the governor, elections may
be held for the other district offices and zone gover‑
nors. The national director assigned by the national
president is also a member of the district cabinet.
Purpose of this Handbook
This handbook for Ruritan club officers is de‑
signed to help each officer become thoroughly
familiar with the responsibilities and duties of each
office as well as the duties of other officers and
committee chairs in the club. Because Ruritan is
a volunteer organization and the time members
can spend is limited, it is extremely important that
each officer carry his/her share of the responsibility.
Clubs will be successful if each officer studies this
handbook carefully and follows the recommended
procedures.
Always remember, Ruritan is working to make
the community
stronger and a
better place in
which to live.
From time to
time, it is a
good idea for
leaders in Ru‑
ritan to review
the purposes
for which
Ruritan was
established.
This enables our organization to accomplish the
most good, not only for our own community, but
for our county, our state, and our country. When
Ruritans are requested to sponsor and help with
certain activities, they should ask the question, “Is
this activity in line with the purposes of Ruritan and
will it contribute to my community’s progress?”
The Ruritan Mission
Ruritan is a national organization dedicated to
improving communities and building a better Amer‑
ica through, “Fellowship, Goodwill, and Community
Service.”
Ruritan National National Office
Dublin, Virginia