Ruritan is a national organization dedicated to improving communities and building a better America. Ruritan’s purpose is to create a better understanding among people and to make America’s communities better places in which to live and work through volunteer community service. 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.
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. Ruritan has nearly 30,000 members throughout the United States that work to improve more than 1,100 local communities. Since the organization’s beginning in 1928 in Holland, Virginia, Ruritan has become “America’s Leading Community Service Organization.” Unlike most civic service organizations, Ruritan rarely has national programs. Rather, each club surveys its own community as to the needs of that community and then works to meet some of those needs.
The Armuchee Ruritan Club was chartered on March 22, 1954 with forty-six charter members. The club was originally known as the North Floyd Club. The club made many significant contributions to the community over its history. Members of the club convinced officials at Berry College to sell portions of the right-of-way along Martha Berry Highway to permit water and sewer lines to be extended to the Armuchee community as part of the Floyd County Water Department. Charter Member Roy Selman was responsible for contacting a large number of Armuchee residents and obtaining commitments from them to convince the City of Summerville Natural Gas Department to run natural gas lines into Floyd County. The first Floyd County Fire Station also resulted from efforts of Armuchee Ruritan Club members Roy Selman and David McClain. McClain, who was employed by the Georgia Forestry Commission, was able to secure a fire truck as part of the Rural Fire Protection program sponsored by the Commission. The Storey Lumber Company gave permission to keep the truck at its location on Sike Storey Road and allow employees to respond to fire calls in the area during the workday. The Club was also instrumental in promoting the bond referendum that provided the funding to build the new Armuchee High School in 1980. Former Club President Freeman Shelnutt was personally responsible for convincing the Georgia Department of Transportation to install a traffic signal on Martha Berry Highway at the entrance to Armuchee High School, due in large part to his long-time friendship with Commissioner Wayne Shackleford.
In 1989, Armuchee Club member John Dempsey was elected National President of Ruritan National. John has long been associated with the Ruritan National Foundation, and persuaded the Armuchee Club to participate in the Grow Your Dollars Scholarship program, where the Ruritan National Foundation supplements a local club’s contribution to provide a local high school student with funds for college. In 1999, the club established a second college scholarship fund in memory of Freeman Shelnutt, a long-time Armuchee educator. In 2015, the club voted to take over funding of the Justin Johnson Memorial Scholarship. Originally created in 2005 by the Armuchee-Glenwood Education Foundation, the scholarship honors the memory of Johnson, a 2000 graduate of Armuchee High School, who was killed on April 10, 2004 in Baghdad, Iraq while serving with the United States Army’s 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
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The club has also donated tens of thousands of dollars to education, needy families and to other charitable causes in our community. Traditionally, the club obtained much of its revenue from the annual auction and barbecue at the Tribefest celebration in the fall. In 2002, the club sponsored its first annual Classic Car Show to supplement the club’s fund raising efforts so we could continue to make an impact in our community. The club now conducts two car shows, one in the spring and another in the fall, to support our projects. In 2015, the club held its first smoked meat sale on Memorial Day weekend. This fund raiser has been very well received in the community and provides another revenue stream for the club.
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