Bill Text: VA HJR401 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending the New Hope Ruritan Club.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-03-07 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ401ER) [HJR401 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HJR401-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, the New Hope Ruritan Club, a noble and distinguished civic organization serving the community of New Hope and beyond through a number of programs and initiatives, celebrates its 85th anniversary in 2024; and
WHEREAS, the New Hope Ruritan Club was chartered on April 11, 1939, with 30 charter members, receiving charter #75 and becoming the second Ruritan club in the national organization's Woodrow Wilson District; and
WHEREAS, guided by the values of fellowship, goodwill, and community service, the New Hope Ruritan Club's earliest endeavors included helping to sponsor a local Bible school, providing a community Christmas tree, and purchasing a piano for the former New Hope School; and
WHEREAS, the New Hope Ruritan Club promoted health and public safety by supporting the installation of street lights in New Hope in 1949 and by purchasing the lot that would be used for a new medical center three years later; and
WHEREAS, the New Hope Ruritan Club has supported young people in the community by sponsoring troops of the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA, as well as a youth baseball team that was organized in 1960; the organization also operated a concession stand and made a number of improvements at the baseball field over the years; and
WHEREAS, with a steadfast concern for sustainability and the environment, the New Hope Ruritan Club has regularly carried out roadside litter pick-ups and operated the New Hope solid waste collection site for Augusta County from 1989 to 2022; and
WHEREAS, in response to the closing of the New Hope Elementary School, the New Hope Ruritan Club established a 50-year lease agreement with Augusta County to operate the facility as a community center in 1997, creating a meaningful site that improved the quality of life for citizens of New Hope; and
WHEREAS, the New Hope Ruritan Club has continually renovated and updated the buildings of the New Hope Community Center in recent decades to better serve its visitors, enabling the facility to host a variety of uplifting activities; and
WHEREAS, through visionary leadership and the indefatigable efforts of its volunteer members, the New Hope Ruritan Club has helped to make New Hope a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the New Hope Ruritan Club on the occasion of its 85th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the New Hope Ruritan Club as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the organization's history and its contributions to New Hope and the Commonwealth.
