Our bi-monthly blood drive was held at Bonsack Baptist Church on March 22. A total of 20 units were collected from 25 presenters. Twenty volunteers from the Bonsack/Blue Ridge Ruritan club worked to make this a successful drive.
Bonsack / Blue Ridge Ruritan Club sponsored blood drives collected a total of 168 units (21 gallons) in 2010.
The next blood drive will be held at Bonsack Baptist Church on
May 24, 2011 from 2:00 - 7:00 PM.
Tess Seibel and Michael John Imondo were received into membership .
Membership Chair Lou Rader welcomed them into the club
At the April meeting, the club received new member Bill Wheeler. Bill is a Science teacher at Jefferson Forest High School . In an earlier life, Bill was a member of the Pembroke Ruritan Club in Giles County. Bill's wife, Karen, is the daughter of club members Bob and Susan Kilpatrick. Bill and Karen have two daughters, Emily and Katie.
Zone Governor Joe Nieves spoke to the club about an upcoming Zone 2 project to prepare and serve a lunch to the veterans at the Veterans Center in Salem. The meal will be roast beef hoagies, beans and cole slaw. The meal will be served on May 21.
The guest speaker at the April meeting was Alaina Gelbert, volunteer coordinator of the Roanoke Area Ministries. RAM House was founded in the 1970's to provide a safe and secure environment for the homeless through operation of a day shelter. The facility provides a place to relax, watch TV, read the paper and do laundry. Guests are provided a nutritous meal every day. As many as 130 people are served every day. RAM House operates from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM every day. Other services provided by RAM House include emergency financial aid and intercession on behalf of the needy. Their goal is to keep people in their homes whenever possible. RAM House has 6 full time and 5 part time staffers and utilizes 300 volunteers to operate the facility. Much of the financial support and volunteer assistance is provided by area churches. No funds are received from the State or Federal government. Additional information about RAM House can be found at www.roanokeareaministries.org.
Bill Wheeler receives his Ruritan pin from Susan Kilpatrick as Lou Rader looks on.
February 2011 Meeting
At the February meeting our guest speaker was Brent Watts, Channel 7 Meteorologist. He spoke about how weather data is collected using weather balloons, radar and National Weather Service data and how forecasts are made. He explained why we have weather and why forecasting in southwest VA is so difficult. He also gave us a look behind the scenes at the WDBJ weather team and how they work together to provide us the best forecast possible. Many questions were asked by club members and all left with a better understanding of what it takes to forecast the weather for the Roanoke valley.
Brent Watts spoke to the club
September 2010 Meeting
At the September meeting the guest speaker was Jamie Plunkett of the Springtree Health and Rehabilitation Center. Many members of the club have been patients there. Jamie spoke about chenges being made to assure patients needs are being met and good communication exists between Springtree staff, patients and their families. The September meeting was our annual Senior dinner. We had 40 senior guests with us and enjoyed a great meal and even better fellowship.
The Ruritan Unrestricted Library Loan for Young Kids (RULLY Kids) program.
Under the leadership of Jim Ruhland, the club has developed this unique program to loan books, unrestricted, at the Blue Ridge Public Library. The books will be loaned to pre-K children ages 3-5. No library card is required to check out these books. These books will not be inventoried in the library system; loaning of the books will be on the honor system. The objective of the program is to provide easy access to books for all pre-K children. The program is designed to generate interest in books and reading in children prior to entry into kindergarten. RULLYK has been operational for 4 months and all reports say it is a great success.
RULLYK Chair Jim Ruhland, National PTA President Chuck Saylors, Club President Bob Kilpatrick, and Ruritan National President Jerome Rodes at the RULLYK dedication
Alaina Gelbert of RAM House addresses the club at the April meeting.
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Dictionaries Presented at Bonsack Elementary School
Dictionaries were presented to third grade students at Bonsack Elementary School by club members Bob Kilpatrick, Susan Kilpatrick, Larry Perdue, Phyllis Perdue, and Betty Leonard.
President Bob Kilpatrick presents Ruritan of the Year Award to Esther Wray
President Bob Kilpatrick presents Rudy Youth of the Year Award to Chris Mays
December 2010 Christmas Dinner
The December meeting was held in the Bonsack United Methodist Church
Family Life Center on December 4. Once again the club was treated to a concert by the William Byrd Jazz Band.
This same group performed at last year's December meeting. The music was lively and the performance was exceptional.
The 2010 Ruritan of the Year and Rudy Youth of the Year awards were presented. Esther Wray was presented the Ruritan of the Year award and Chris Mays was presented the Rudy Youth of the Year award. Chris also won this award for the Natural Bridge District.
The 2011 club officers were installed. Jim Lewis was installed as President, Jim Frazier was installed as Vice President, Mary Lou Lewis was installed as Treasurer and Linda Smelser was installed as Secretary.
Outgoing District Governor, John Murphy spoke to the club as well.
2010 Natural Bridge District Convention
The 2010 Natural Bridge District Convention was held at Bonsack United Methodist Church on November 7. Our club played a major role in making this event happen. 2011 club officers from the Natural Bridge District were trained and new District leaders were elected and installed, The 2011 officers include Johnnie Mize, District Governor, Phyllis Perdue, Lt Governor, Charlie Wiley, District treasurer, and Tommy Hunter, District Secretary. National President Jerome Rodes and National Secretary JoAnn Wenger addressed the convention and we were entertained by Robert McCray and by Jim Connor, composer of "Grandma's Feather Bed", made famous by John Denver.
Linda Smelser and Mary Lou Lewis have a good time at the refreshment table enjoying apple cider and cookies
Janet Frazier serves the hot apple cider and cookies
National President Jerome Rodes addresses the convention
Phyllis Perdue, Zone 2 Governor, briefs the convention on Zone 2 accomplishments for 2010
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AARP/Ruritan Community Food Drive
The AARP/Ruritan Community Food Drive was held on September 11, 2010. A total of 1848.5 pounds of food was collected as well as $200 in cash. All items collected were placed in the Bonsack Baptist Food Bank for distribution.
RURITAN NATIONAL CONVENTION
The 2011 Ruritan National Convention was held January 27 - 30, 2011 in Knoxville, TN. 751 Ruritans met to elect new officers and celebrate a successful year of community service in 2010. Seven members of the Bonsack/Blue Ridge club attended, Jim Lewis (delegate), Mary Lou Lewis, Bob Kilpatrick (delegate), Susan Kilpatrick, Lou Rader, Larry Perdue (delegate) and Phyllis Perdue who is the newly elected 2011 District Lt Governor for the Natural Bridge District. Jayson Duncan of the Pine Hall, NC club was elected National President and Phyllis Lewter of the Great Bridge (VA) Ruritan club was elected National Vice President. Our club manned three displays for our club projects, the Book Barn, RULLYK, and the D-Day memorial. Our displays drew a lot of interest and we enthusiastically shared information on these projects. With your donations we provided 10 boxes of diapers and 7 pairs of children's shoes. Overall the convention donated 18,000 diapers 20,000 wipes and 1,000 pairs of children's shoes to the Knox County Child Protective Services. Next year's convention will be held in Raleigh, NC January 19 - 22 .
