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Download the speech as a word document here 2008 Ruritan National President’s Vice President Donald, It is a great honor, and a humbling experience, for me to stand before you this evening, in our 80th year, as your National President. Thank you for the confidence you have placed in me! There are three very important priorities in my life -- my faith, my family and friends, and the privilege I have to serve my community and the community at large as a Ruritan member. Such was the case with my family and me in February of 2004 when Dr. John Foreman, Chief of Pediatric Nephrology at Duke University Children’s Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, told us that our grandson, Bayden, was going to need a kidney transplant. The transplant occurred 11 months later, in January of 2005. At the time, Bayden was 2 ½ years old, weighed approximately 20 pounds, was very weak and had less than 5% kidney function. He was literally slipping away from us before our very eyes. Bayden’s dad, Bard, gave him this gift of life; and Bard, with our daughter, Mindi, have been nurturing him in maintaining this gift ever since that eventful day. I have said many times, if not for the grace and mercy of God, and the diligence in care and attention by Mindi and Bard, Bayden would not be with us today. I especially remember the Friday evening following the transplant. Bayden had been moved to “step-down,” which is one level below pediatric ICU, when through an allergic reaction to one of the drugs, he coughed violently and tore a hole in his esophagus, which led to profuse bleeding. After returning to the hospital and seeing the urgency of the situation, Dr. Palma rushed Bayden back to pediatric ICU, and he personally pushed three units of blood into Bayden’s system through an already available port in his neck. I believe, as sure as I’m standing here this evening, that Dr. Palma, with mind and hands led by God, saved Bayden from bleeding to death on that Friday evening. Today, Bayden is 5 ½ years old, will be three years out from his kidney transplant at the end of this month, weighs over 60 pounds, started pre-kindergarten this past August, and is full of energy and life. He often holds up his open hand to Sharon and says, “Ma-Ma, I’m this many now,” to which she replies, “And how many is that Bayden?” “That’s a handful, Ma-Ma,” he says, and we thank God everyday that he is a handful. For those of you who were aware of Bayden’s medical condition, we thank you for your on-going concern and prayers for “our little man.” For others, we ask that you add him to your prayer list, as this medical challenge will be a lifelong journey for him. So, this evening, first and foremost, I want to thank God; for with Him, and through faith, I know that “All Things Are Possible.” I also want to thank my family and my many friends, including my church and Ruritan families, for their love, support and encouragement, especially over the past few years. Finally, I want to thank the love of my life. Sharon, I couldn’t have made this journey without you! After all these years, you’re still the one! May God bless us with many more years together. ACTION PEOPLE Action people are people who through their actions have made a positive difference! Who comes to mind when you think about people like this? Let me give you some examples of people that I believe you would agree fall into this category. The Berlin Wall was completed by communists in August of 1961 to keep Germans from escaping Communist East Berlin into Democratic West Berlin. The 12-foot concrete wall extended for a hundred miles, and stood as a symbol of the “Cold War” between the United States and the Soviet Union, stopping just short of actual warfare. In June of l987, President Ronald Reagan visited Berlin, and in a historic speech made the following comments: “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” A little over two years later, in November of 1989, and due in large part to President Reagan’s words and action, the Berlin Wall was opened. In 1990, the wall was torn down, and Germany was once again reunited. President Reagan was a man of action -- a man who said what he meant, meant what he said, and had the courage to stand by his convictions. Two other men -- Tom Downing and Jack Gwaltney, the co-founders of our great organization, were also men of action. They were men who had a vision, but more importantly, they “put legs to their vision.” The vision was to create an organization that through fellowship, goodwill, and community service would make their community, our country, a better place to live, work and play. From the vision, and their subsequent action, the Holland Ruritan Club was organized in May of 1928. From a humble beginning of 35 members in the “Mother Club,” Ruritan National has grown to approximately 32,000 members in over 1,100 clubs. Tom Downing and Jack Gwaltney, like many other great Ruritan leaders who have followed them, will always be remembered as people of action. Under former President Jimmy’s leadership last year, and, I believe, following momentum from “The Future of Ruritan Committee Report” issued to the National Board in 2005, we had a very good year, with latest annual statistics showing us positive in membership for the first time since December 2000. So, where do we go from here? What are you expecting from me this year as your National President? If I could, I would wave a magic wand and all of our opportunities would be realized. The fact is, I am not a magician. But, I do know what we need to do to continue to meet our greatest challenge, which is membership. I also know that the key to the membership challenge is good leadership -- at all levels. I’m looking out at many of our best leaders -- many people of action; people who also know what we must do to meet the membership challenge. We must continue to aggressively recruit new members, including our spouses and other family members. We must identify, contact and try to reclaim former members. We must do the “important things” in our clubs to retain current members. This is one of the greatest opportunities we face today. We must ensure that “no club or district is left behind”-- that each is “healthy.” This is also one of our greatest opportunities which we started addressing last year through the District Growth and Development Task Forces. We must further develop and utilize these Task Forces this year and in future years. We must reach out to the youth in our communities, including our own children and grandchildren. Youth 19 and under are approximately 30% of the population of the United States today, but I tell you they are 100% of the future! We must fully implement the Youth Task Force concept this year, which, through the National Youth Committee, will give our youth members a stronger voice in the organization. We must identify future leaders, ensuring they are trained, as a minimum, in the basics of Ruritan. To ensure that our leaders have access to this training, we will start implementing consistent and standardized training programs this year. And while we are doing all of these things, and as resources allow, we must continue working to “spread the goodness” of Ruritan, through organization of new clubs, within and outside of our current boundaries. Again, utilizing the Growth and Development Task Force concept will serve us well in this effort. Now that I have reminded you of what we must do, what incentives do we have for doing it? I also ask that each of you take one of the 80th Anniversary commemorative coins on your table and “Share to Show You Care” with the first new member you recruit this year. After you recruit your first new member and share the coin, submit the coin request form in the packet to Ruritan National, and we will send you another coin for your next new member. After you recruit your second new member, you will be eligible for the President’s Golden Key, with an attachable bar for every five members recruited. Make it a priority this year to get a key if you don’t already have one. If you do have one, make it a priority to get the next level attachable bar. The packet also includes information on the following new growth incentive programs:
for this program and a picture of the pin in the packet. The 80th Anniversary commemorative coins should also be shared with any family members recruited.
In addition to these incentives, there is information in the packet on a new program -- The Ruritan Hall of Fame. This program recognizes and honors those Ruritans who have made lasting and significant contributions to our great organization. These incentives for meeting the membership challenge are in addition to our on-going growth incentive programs and awards. Incentives are nice, and I believe we should have them, but is that why we do what we do? No! WE CARE about our communities; WE CARE about our country; WE CARE about each other! We have a great story to tell! Will you join with me in telling the story? Will you join with me in taking this growth challenge back to your clubs, as well as your districts if you serve on a district cabinet? Will you join with me in “spreading the goodness” of Ruritan? If so, I’m asking you to take one of the green dots from the sheet on your table and attach it to the center of your watch or cell phone face. If you are not wearing a watch, or you do not have a cell phone, I ask that you take it with you and attach it to the center of a clock face in your home, or some other conspicuous location. Let this green dot serve as a constant reminder to you, and to others, that you are an action person committed to “Go-n-Grow the Family of Ruritan.” Let it always be said, and let history always record, that Ruritans are “Action People” -- people who through their caring, sharing and serving, are leaving our communities a little better than they found them. In closing, let me leave you with these action words from John Wesley, Founder of Methodism. Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can! Thank you, and may God continue to bless our great organization.
Wayne Outlaw See you in Myrtle Beach for the 2009 National Convention!
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