The Greene County Council of Ruritan Clubs celebrated 50 years of service to county residents during a dinner Tuesday evening at the Mt. Pleasant Community Building.

About 80 members of the 17 Greene County Ruritan clubs, guests and visiting Ruritan officials, including Ruritan National President Wayne Outlaw, attended the 7 p.m. pot luck dinner and the meeting that followed.

During the meeting, Outlaw, a Rocky Mount, N.C., resident, presented to Mary Ellen Lutz, president of the Greene County Council of Ruritan Clubs a certificate recognizing the council for five decades of service.

He also presented to Howard Whaley, a long-time member of the Mt. Pleasant Ruritan Club, a certificate recognizing him for 43 years of perfect attendance.

Whaley said he wished to "thank the good Lord" for giving him the "good health" to attend Ruritan meetings without an absence.

Whaley also led the audience in singing "America" during the program.

Outlaw congratulated the county Ruritan council on reaching its 50-year milestone. He said the council was like the little boy in the story about starfish.

In that story, Outlaw said, a man happened to see a small boy picking up starfish from a beach and throwing them back into the ocean.

The adult, he said, observed that there were hundreds of starfish lying on the beach and told the boy that because of the large number of stranded starfish, that the boy "couldn't make a difference."

After picking up another starfish and tossing it back into the ocean, Outlaw said, the boy said to the adult, "I did for that one."

"That's what you've been doing for 50 years, making a difference," Outlaw told the County Ruritan Council members.

Bob Bailey, an attorney and member of Baileyton Ruritan Club who was one of two former Ruritan National presidents from Greene County who attended Tuesday's dinner, spoke to the audience about the council's history.

The other former Ruritan National President who attended was Wayne Bettis, a member of the Camp Creek Ruritan Club.

Bailey noted that a history of the Greene County Council of Ruritan Clubs was included in the program for the Tuesday evening event.

Kim Carter, an Ottway Ruritan Club member who is the 2008 Davy Crockett District secretary, had prepared the program.

Bailey pointed out several highlights. "It (the council) got its beginning on Oct. 10, 50 years ago in a preliminary meeting," Bailey told the audience.

"Tonight, (Oct. 21) 50 years ago we adopted the bylaws and got started. Since then, we have been able to function and do some great things for Greene County."

The history in the dinner program said that over the years, the Greene County Council of Ruritan Clubs had, among other things, promoted the development of Kinser Park and a county's sanitary landfill and had sponsored a countywide promotion for construction of the current Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad building that raised $42,000.

The Council, the history notes, also has sponsored scholarships for graduating high school seniors for the last 47 years.

The history says that the Council had its beginnings as the result of a July 31, 1958, letter from the former Greeneville Ruritan Club to the various Greene County Ruritan clubs.

The letter, which was signed by James O. Cunningham, of the Greeneville Ruritan Club, summoned representatives of the all the clubs to an Aug. 5, 1958, meeting to "discuss organizing some type of countywide Ruritan organization," according to the history.

At the Aug. 5 meeting, interest was shown and a formal meeting was scheduled for Oct. 10, 1958. Eight of the then 10 Ruritan clubs in Greene County were represented at the Oct. 10, 1958, organizational meeting.

During the Oct. 10, 1958, meeting, David M. Love, of the Baileyton Ruritan Club was chosen temporary chairman and James O. Cunningham, of the Greeneville Ruritan Club, was named temporary secretary-treasurer.

At a meeting on Oct. 21, 1958, the new group adopted bylaws and accepted an invitation from Paul Metcalf to have a float in the Greeneville Christmas Parade, the history said.

The Council, also according to the history, elected its first officers on Nov. 11, 1958, with David M. Love, of Baileyton, chosen chairman and James O. Cunningham, of Greeneville, chosen secretary-treasurer.

On Tuesday evening, Bailey noted that Love is now a nursing home resident and urged Ruritan Club members to visit or send cards to him.

The Council's current officers are Mary Ellen Lutz, president; Orville Lutz, vice president; and Norma Hoyt, secretary-treasurer. All are members of the Ottway Ruritan Club.

Bailey also told the audience that "a lot of things have been accomplished through this council in Greene County that otherwise would not have been."

He also told the audience that The Greeneville Sun had included recently a special section about the "golden anniversary" of Greene County Council of Ruritan Clubs.

Bailey also thanked The Greeneville Sun for an editorial Tuesday about the Council's 50th anniversary.

In addition, he thanked the members of the Mt. Pleasant Ruritan Club for setting up the Mt. Pleasant Community building for the meeting.

The Ruritan Clubs that comprise the Greene County Council, according to the program, include those in: Baileyton, Camp Creek, Chuckey, Clear Springs, Glenwood, Greystone, Hardin's Chapel, Hardin's View, Horse Creek, Mohawk, Mosheim, Mt. Pleasant, Nolachuckey, Ottway, Romeo, South Greene and Willoughby.