SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2011 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 711
Commending the Hanover Ruritan Club.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 21, 2011
Agreed to by the Senate, January 27, 2011

 

WHEREAS, the Hanover Ruritan Club celebrates its 75th year of exemplary service to Hanover County in 2011; and

WHEREAS, since 1928, Ruritan Clubs have dedicated themselves to improving communities and building a better America through fellowship, goodwill, and community service; and

WHEREAS, organized in 1936 as a result of the efforts of numerous local men who desired to serve the community, the Hanover Ruritan Club meetings were originally held at Atlee High School and Battlefield High School under the leadership of president P.E. Rawls; and

WHEREAS, just a few years after its inception, the Hanover Ruritan Club began an ambitious service project — a bus service that provided a cost-effective way for residents of Hanover County to travel into the City of Richmond; and

WHEREAS, in 1948 the Hanover Ruritan Club garnered national press when its former president, Dr. C.E. Myers, served as Ruritan’s national president; and

WHEREAS, during the 1950s and 1960s, the Hanover Ruritan Club continued to grow in membership, fundraising activities, and service projects, including the beginning of a student loan fund and sponsoring a local carnival; and

WHEREAS, in 1962 the Hanover Ruritan Club was honored for its outstanding efforts to support the community when the local Ruritan district awarded the Club the District Community Service Award; and

WHEREAS, the Hanover Ruritan Club continued to provide valuable service to the local community during the 1970s, purchasing a boat for the local rescue squad, donating funds toward a pumper for the Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department, and chartering a local Boy Scout troop; and

WHEREAS, as the Hanover Ruritan Club celebrated its 45th anniversary, it was honored to have at its meeting Grayson Holt, the former president of Ruritan National who had presented the original charter of 1936; and

WHEREAS, in 1983 the Hanover Ruritan Club generously purchased and members installed a circulation desk at the Mechanicsville Library; the project received national attention when it was featured in the Ruritan National magazine and the Library Journal; and

WHEREAS, by 1984 the Hanover Ruritan Club had grown to the point that it decided to purchase land to build a clubhouse and in 1986, received articles of incorporation from the State Corporation Commission; and

WHEREAS, as the Hanover Ruritan Club celebrated its 50th anniversary of service to the community, it had the distinct honor to have former Governor Mills Godwin give the keynote address at the anniversary dinner; and

WHEREAS, in the 1990s, the Hanover Ruritan Club continued to sponsor a “Why I Love America” essay contest, supported drug abuse education and prevention through the D.A.R.E. program, and participated in the Hurricane Hugo rescue mission; and

WHEREAS, in the new century, the Hanover Ruritan Club continues to raise significant funds from its Christmas tree sales, “Steak Feast,” and other fundraising projects that enable it to generously contribute to community service projects; and

WHEREAS, the Hanover Ruritan Club has provided extraordinary service to the residents of Hanover County in its 75 years of existence while also providing an opportunity for its members to grow in character and fellowship; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend the Hanover Ruritan Club on the occasion of its 75th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Hanover Ruritan Club as an expression of the General Assembly’s congratulations and admiration and gratitude for the Club’s community service.