The Richlands Ruritan Club met on Oct. 8, to hear a presentation from Paige Glover Rohlf from Aviagen Turkeys Inc. based in Lewisburg. Aviagen Turkeys is a global supplier, with pedigree breeding programs in the USA and Europe. Multiple breeding programs and production centers provide a more secure, global supply source and the opportunity to maximize product improvement. A subsidiary of EW Group, Aviagen has 22 farms in Greenbrier and two surrounding counties. The company employs 200 workers in West Virginia. Poultry is unique in that it has the smallest carbon footprint of all meat products. The company has five major pedigree lines and ships eggs and day-old poultry to customers worldwide each day. In order to minimize any threat of disease in their product lines, all facilities maintain a high level of security to prevent accidental contamination. Aviagen Turkeys uses innovative technologies and maintains diverse genetic lines to enable selection of turkeys that give the best performance in a wide range of environments. Also in attendance at the Richlands meeting was Neil Holliday, the Lower West Virginia District Governor. Holliday gave a preview of the District Convention to be held in Lewisburg on Nov. 8, and the National Ruritan Convention to be held in Greensboro, NC in January 2015. The Richlands Ruritan club meets on the second Wednesday of each month for a dinner meeting at the Calvary Methodist Church on Route 60W. The Ruritan Civic organization is a national network of clubs working together for a stronger America. The Ruritan focus is to support community services in small towns and rural communities across America. The Ruritans were founded in 1928 in Holland, VA and celebrate their 86th year this May.
