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ruritan in actionRuritans Make a Difference in Many Places Ruritans are making a difference. Just ask Jake Newcomb who received his Eagle Award from the Boy Scouts of America this fall after working with Wilson Memorial (VA) Ruritan Club members on many projects. His mentor in Ruritan was Past District Governor Conway Goodman who helped transport the young man to meetings and other activities. With the support of his Ruritan family, Newcomb was able to attend the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and the Medal of Honor Adventure in Valley Forge, PA. He plans to join the Ruritan Club and become an official member in 2007. The Earlysville Fire Department will also tell you that Ruritan makes a difference in their community, too. The Earlysville (VA) Ruritan Club members were instrumental in organizing the department in 1965 and today, over 40 years later, they are still supportive — raising $30,000 for the departments building fund. 
Pictured at right are members of the Fire Department and the club (l-r) front:
Jennie Byers, Dennis Holmberg, Wayne Sullivan, J. B. Morris, Eddie Via,
Ed Bailey, and Dick Huckstep; back: Bill Hopkinson, Chris Garrison, Bill
Sutherland, Fred Huckstep, and Mike Collins.Two students at Beaufort County Community College are also thanking Ruritan for making a difference. The Bunyan (NC) Ruritan Club presented two scholarships to the college — bringing their total number of scholarships to 47 to date. The club also supports EMS Departments, fire departments, Salvation Army and Relay for Life efforts in their community. The Draper (VA) Ruritan Club expressed its thanks to it’s oldest member, Boyd Mac Chumbley, Jr. with a 90th birthday party in May. The dinner was followed with birthday cake, ice cream and the presentation of a certificate of appreciation for 32 years of service, including 15 years as club secretary, an office he still holds. The Eagle Lake (FL) club recently presented a $1,000 scholarship to graduating senior Laura Williams who is now attending Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS. Clubs Can Reach Out with Associate Members The South Hill (VA) Ruritan Club has achieved long-distance status with one of it’s members. Because of a friendship cultivated over the years with President Wally Hudson the club welcomed a recent Associate Member who supports the club in spirit, even though he can rarely be around for a meeting. Jim Donahue has become one of the club’s best supporters since he joined in February 2006, even though his career in the airline industry keeps him out of the country many months every year and his home base in Orlando, FL has no Ruritan clubs. "We are happy to have him and would love to get more like him to spread the word of Ruritan," said Hudson. "Jim is a unique individual and is just what Ruritan is looking for today." Growing up in the medium sized city of Cambridge, MA, Donahue attended public schools, and was fortunate enough to be selected to attend the United States Naval Academy, at Annapolis, MD. After graduation, Donahue became a naval aviator and flew P-3 Orion anti-submarine warfare aircraft for the duration of his navy career. Military service has always been important in Donahue’s life as well as Boy Scouts, Red Cross Water Safety Instructor. Eventually his career shifted from the Navy to the airline industry where his traveling has continued. He has had the opportunity to fly as a captain for several airlines in and out of the U.S, flying both freight and passengers, and is currently serving as an instructor/check airman for an overseas carrier. 
He was introduced to Ruritan by his friend, Hudson who he has known since their mutual
careers in aviation brought them together.In an effort to reinvigorate the club, Hudson, and other members, have started a membership drive that has already yielded great results. They also started inviting Associate Members to become involved with the club but who cannot, for many reasons, attend regular meetings. Jim shared his introduction to Ruritan through Hudson, "Wally explained the goals of Ruritan to me and when I realized the positive affect it can have in molding young people into solid, productive citizens and future role models, I knew I had to become involved. My current job keeps me out of the country for 11 months of the year, so my relationship will be from a distance, for now. It will be a pleasure for me to return and become an active member in Ruritan once my international obligations have ended. Service is so important." Donahue became an Associate Member by signing up from his post in Frankfurt, Germany thanks to the internet. Donahue and his wife Janice are pictured at left. "We are very proud to have Jim on our rolls as an Associate Member, and one day, we would hope that our club could be instrumental in helping him to form a club in Orlando. The reach of Ruritan is global with the technology now available to us, and one day we may all be surprised as to where you see clubs forming "said Hudson. Have your club members looked to friends in other communities, even in other countries, to become Associate Members of your club? See more about the program on pages 5 and 6 of this issue. Clark County Ruritans Put Heart, Soul into Fair Reprinted with permission from the Clarke County Times, written by Claudia Bigelow Every year the Clarke County Ruritan Club works hard to organize a great county fair. This year’s 52nd annual fair running Aug. 13-19 on the Ruritan Fairgrounds in Berryville will offer a week-long schedule of excitement and fun things to do. Long-time Ruritans who helped organize this year’s fair include Billy Milleson, who is serving his 20th year as the club’s fair chairman, and Jerry Beydler, the current Ruritan president. Beydler has served eight terms as president. Both men joined the Clarke County Ruritan Club in 1960, the year that the club purchased the fairgrounds on West Main Street. The Ruritans have been organizing the county fair since the late 1950s. Both men said not only have they been volunteering with the fair for 46 years, but their entire families have joined in, too. Beydler and his wife Rosemary, and their children, now grown, Tony, Mitzi and Deborah, have all helped. Milleson said everybody in his family has gotten involved, too. His late wife, Jean, who passed away in 1991, and his present wife, Gail, have worked hard at the fair. His children Deborah, Michael and Rebecca all grew up volunteering at the fair. "The girls left town but Mike is still here," Milleson said. His son served as Ruritan president last year. This year Mike will be helping on the serving line for barbecue. Billy Milleson, a dairy farmer for 30-some years, still grows soybeans, corn and hay and raises some cows on his place on Crums Church Road. He used to be active in 4-H and raised beef calves and showed cattle at the fair. But he stopped competing when he became fair chairman, he said. He wants no accolades for his role as fair chairman. "It’s not a one-man show," he says. "All I do is get them together and try to keep them pointed in the right direction." Milleson served as a past president of the Virginia Association of Fairs and traveled across the state to help advise other counties with their fairs. But he shrugs when reminded of his accomplishments. And Milleson jokes saying he’s still the fair chairman in Clarke because "nobody else will do it." On a serious note, Milleson emphasizes that the fair is a group effort by all the Ruritans who get plenty of assistance during fair week from approximately 300 volunteers from the community. "I like to work with a whole group and have fun doing it," Milleson said. "Work goes a whole lot better when you have fun." Beydler, also a retired dairy farmer who worked with his father-in-law at Upton Farm and Johnson Brothers, says the Clarke fair is "one of the greatest." This year Beydler is the co-chairman for ticket sales for the carnival rides along with Charlie Kackley, and Beydler is also in charge of gate passes. "I’ve always thought a lot of people in this community saved up their vacation" so they could spend it at the fair "and see people they haven’t seen" in a long time, Beydler said. The Clarke County Fair really is "like a family reunion." |