2002 District

Ruritans gathered in Myrtle Beach the weekend of December 6^th for the 2002 Columbia District Ruritan Convention. Over eighty Ruritans and guests joined together for a weekend of Fellowship, Goodwill, and Community Service. Sixteen of the twenty clubs in the Columbia District were represented. Members attending from the Sandy Run Ruritan Club were Marshall Stabler, Lena Stabler, Curtis Lake, Herbert Geiger, Betty Geiger, Gary Hardee, Dave Boney, Kathy Boney, Gerald Starnes, and Becky Starnes. Guests attending from the Sandy Run Ruritan Club were Faye Lake, Ginger Hardee, and Amber Hardee.

The Public Relations Committee from the Sandy Run Ruritan Club made a big hit with their display board depicting all the projects completed by the club for 2002. Special thanks to Gary Hardee who spearheaded this project and put in many long hours to make our display a success. Others working on this project were Kelly Strickland, Marshall Stabler, Lena Stabler, and Becky Starnes. Gary also put together an outstanding PowerPoint presentation featuring the activities of the Sandy Run Club for 2002. Both the display and presentation will be modified to reflect all of the Columbia District clubs for the Ruritan National Convention in Norfolk, Virginia in January 2003.

New Columbia District Cabinet Officers for 2003 were elected. The officers were installed at the convention banquet on Saturday evening. The Sandy Run Ruritan Club will be well represented on the district cabinet level. Herbert Geiger was elected Lieutenant Governor, Lena Stabler was elected District Secretary, and Gerald Starnes was elected District Two Zone Governor. Congratulations to each of you on being elected to these positions of leadership.

During the awards portion of the banquet the Sandy Run Ruritan Club received recognition from Ruritan National for participation in the Annual Foundation Birthday Program and was congratulated for being a recipient of the Double Your Dollar Scholarship from the Ruritan National Foundation. Dave Boney received a Certificate of Appreciation from Ruritan National for his work as chairman of the Youth Activities Committee for the Columbia District. Awards are given to clubs in gold, silver, and bronze categories. There are strict requirements to win these awards. The Sandy Run Ruritan Club received Silver Awards for Environmental, Public Service, and Social Development. They received a Gold Award for Citizenship and Patriotism. Congratulations to the Sandy Run Ruritan Club for their accomplishments.

The Sandy Run Ruritan Club joined other clubs in donating money for the Columbia District Ruritan Community Project. The money donated from all the clubs totaled $1,000.00 and will be used by the Habitat for Humanity office in Myrtle Beach to upgrade their computer system. A check was presented to Gail Olive, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity at the banquet on Saturday evening. She thanked all the Ruritans for their donation.

A raffle was held during the banquet to raise money for the Ruritan National Foundation. Gerald Starnes won the raffle and donated the money to the Foundation on behalf of the Sandy Run Ruritan Club.

Ruritans are looking forward to the 2003 National Convention in Norfolk, Virginia in January. Members will gather from all 1300 clubs to celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of Ruritan. The slogan for Ruritans in 2003 will be “We Care America”.

Sandy Run Ruritans attend 2002 District Convention.