[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 153 (Thursday, September 25, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2005-E2006]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE KING GEORGE RURITAN CLUB

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT J. WITTMAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 25, 2008

  Mr. WITTMAN of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and 
congratulate the King George Ruritan Club on the occasion of its 70th 
anniversary. This fine association has its origins in 1938 when a group 
of men banded together for the concerns of the well-being of King 
George County to form the King George Ruritan Club.
  The King George Ruritan Club was sponsored by the Richmond County 
Ruritan on October 31, 1938, and granted National Charter # 57 with 27 
members on the roster with J. W. Bland elected President. The Club 
began its service to the community in support of PTAs, church groups, 
the Daughters of America and the Rebekah Lodge by serving Ruritan 
dinners to raise funds for their activities.
  King George Ruritan was reorganized in 1948 after WW II with their 
new major initiatives to focus on the construction of sidewalks through 
the village to protect school children, and the King George Volunteer 
Fire Department. Throughout the 1950's the Club was instrumental in the 
installation of a public telephone at the Court House, the collection 
clothes for the needy, and support of the Ground Observer Corps.

[[Page E2006]]

  The Club's philanthropic programs in the late 1950's were the 
installation of lights on the High School athletic field and organizing 
the Fall Festival with the profits going to the Fire Department and 
Rescue Squad.
  In the 1960's the Club turned its attention toward a community center 
which became a reality in 1979 with John Owens turning the first spade 
of soil representing the King George Ruritans.
  The Club's main fundraiser in the 1970's was hauling manure from 
Hopyard Farm with the primary benefactor being the first community 
service group supporting the establishment of the King George Rescue 
Squad telemetry system. The Club also donated flag poles to the 
American Legion and King George Fire House, followed by the creation of 
a memorial scholarship in honor of J. Grafton McGinniss.
  The Club's support for the Boy Scouts began with the Charter in 1938. 
In 1954 the Club chartered Boy Scout Troop 191, which by the 1980s had 
grown to include the Cubs, Webelos and Explorer Scouts, which the Club 
still charters.
  In the late 1980s, the Club relied on its Chicken Barbeque as its 
primary fundraiser in addition to other food service activities. In 
1989 the Club started the Rudy Ruritan Bear Program with 10 bears given 
to the Sheriff's Department and 10 to the Rescue Squad and this program 
still continues.
  The King George Ruritan Club reached several significant milestones 
in the last decade. In 1999 the Club added its first female member who 
joined to carry on her husband's work and by 2000 there were a total of 
6 women in the Club. The first female President was elected in 2003. In 
2004, King George Ruritan Club had its first Tom Downing Fellow 
recipient, Aubrey Mitchell. In 2008, the Club had its first District 
Governor, Roy Maloy.
  Madam Speaker, I proudly ask you to join me in commemorating the King 
George Ruritan Club on the occasion of its 70th anniversary and its 
record of service to the community.

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