Our Story

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.”

Co-founders Tom Downing of Suffolk, Virginia, and Jack Gwaltney of Holland, Virginia, recognized the need for an organization where community leaders could meet and discuss ways to make their community a better place in which to live.

The name “Ruritan” is a combination of the Latin words for open country “ruri” and small town “tan,” interpreted as pertaining to rural and small town life.

What is a Ruritan?

Ruritan National has nearly 30,000 members throughout the United States, all who work to improve more than 1,100 local communities. Since the organization’s beginning in 1928, Ruritan Clubs have served America with Fellowship, Goodwill, and Community Service. Ruritan is a civic service organization made up of local clubs in urban areas, small towns and rural communities.

Ruritan’s purpose is to create a better understanding among people and through volunteer community service, make America’s communities better places in which to live and work. The slogan of Ruritan is “Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service.” Club membership represents a cross-section of the community in which the club serves, and is not restrictive with regard to occupation, social position, or any other specific criteria.