By Taylor Boyd
Kevin Smith, a member of the Ararat and Stuart Ruritan clubs, was elected as a Ruritan National Director in late January, a role he will hold for the next three years.
Smith currently serves as treasurer of both the Ararat Ruritan Club and the Stuart Ruritan Club. As a national director, he will help guide the organization and serve as a voting member on policies and issues brought before Ruritan National.
“There’s seven national directors that are elected each year. In Ruritan National, there’s a total of 21 national directors and you serve for a three year term. So, every year, seven get elected and seven come off,” Smith said.
As part of his responsibilities, Smith will work with two Virginia districts: the Appomattox District, which includes 30 clubs and 764 members, and the Peaks of Otter District, which has 20 clubs and 369 members.
“They don’t want to send you 10 hours away. They try to keep you within somewhere you can drive, attend the meetings and functions, and come back home that night,” he said.
Smith said the role also involves communication between the national organization and local districts.
“If anything happens at the national level, I will also take it back to my districts and inform and work with them,” he said. “Also, any issues that the districts may have I will work with that district to solve any of those issues.”
Smith said he decided to run for the position after attending the Ruritan National Convention last year in Greenville, South Carolina.
“There were some events that took place that I wasn’t overly happy with. Some members did not get their way so they kind of caused a little bit of embarrassment for our organization, and it didn’t sit well with me. So, I decided, ‘well, I’ll run,’” he said.
Citing Ruritan’s motto, “Fellowship, Goodwill, and Community Service,” Smith said he felt the organization needed to refocus on its core values.
To add some fun to his campaign and reflect his interest in NASCAR, Smith adopted the slogan “Rev with Kev.”
“Rev being excited about all the big things that Ruritan does and with and working with one another, and I was the Kev part,” he said with a chuckle.
During the campaign, Smith traveled extensively to meet members.
“I hit the core area of Ruritan during my campaign by going to West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and about six districts in Virginia,” he said. “We learned more about Ruritan going out and campaigning then I ever thought we would, and we had fun. That was the main thing- having fun doing something.”
Although he has just begun his term, Smith said he does not expect to seek reelection after it ends.
“I will probably look to get more involved with the Ruritan Foundation, the scholarship arm of Ruritan,” he said.
