The Ohio District of Ruritans celebrated their 60th anniversary as an organization with more than 200 in attendance at the spring banquet held at the Amish Door Banquet Center in Wilmot.
Two of the five Ruritan Clubs in Jefferson County were in attendance: Buckeye and East Springfield. The others are Bergholz, Jefferson and Stanton.
Stanton members achieving perfect attendance over the years are Phyllis Kuhns and Joe Smith, six years; Dolores and Richard Hazlip, Chad Less and John Ray, three years; Jim and Linda Excell and Karen Smith, two years; and Jean Tice, two years. The Stanton Ruritan started a Ruri-teen Club at Edison High School in 2011 as well.
Officers for the Jefferson Club are Donald Clarke, president; Matthew Lewis, vice president; Fred Ramsey, secretary; Glen McLain, treasurer; Warner Sanders, three-year director; Robert Meyer, two-year director; Lester Grimes, one-year director; Charles Campbell, past president director; and Lee Crawford, special director.
In Harrison County, there are the Scio Dining Fork Ruritans and the Jewett Ruritans.
Officers for the Jewett Club are Mike Horn, president; Herb Kellar, vice president; Sheila Tipton, secretary; and Claren Blackburn, treasurer.
Officers for the Dining Fork Club are Jeannie Horn, president; Danny Horn, vice president; Jeanne Atavilla, treasurer; and Jim Altavilla, secretary.
The Canton Hall of Fame Barber Shop Chorus sang many Frank Sinatra tunes, including "All the Way" and "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning."
Phyllis Lewter, national president, spoke about Ruritan members having a positive attitude and being optimistic. Ruritans share, give back and are the leading community organization in America, it was noted. They supply food for the hungry, supply scholarships, work with and for fire departments and honor the military and veterans.
"May is Ruritan Awareness Month. We are working for a stronger America," Lewter said, noting if 70 clubs each brought in one new member, that would be 70 additional members in the organization.
"We might not be able to make a difference for everybody, but one person makes a difference. Along with Ohio, we have members here from Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia," she said.
There are 12 zones in Ohio, with the possibility of a number 13.
