Her parents’ commitment to helping others has inspired Union City Council member Orangelow M. Ruff throughout her life.

The first black woman to serve on city council, Mrs. Ruff said her parents raised her to believe that she should do everything she could to help the needy and improve the community. She said her parents didn’t just preach helping others, they set an example through their generosity to those in need.

“I’m a dedicated, compassionate person; I started that early in my life because of what my mother and father did for the community,” she said. “We had a farm and my father would take his vegetables to market. Every time he did he’d come back and tell us how he’d seen some hungry children on the way and gave them and their families a lot of his vegetables. He was always giving away a lot of his vegetables to hungry people.”

Mrs. Ruff said this fit in with her parents philosophy of helping others. She said her mother told her “you have to help people who are in need.”

This commitment carried over into Mrs. Ruff’s teaching career. A teacher for 35 years, Mrs. Ruff said that in addition to the academic subjects she taught she always tried to instill in her students the lesson that they should always help others and work to better their community. She said she still has former students tell her how much that philosophy has positively impacted their lives.

After retiring, Mrs. Ruff said she was approached by some people in her district about running for council. She thought it over for a few months and then was convinced by family members to run. Mrs. Ruff said she didn’t experience any racism during her campaign and didn’t even think about race. She said she instead focused on her lifelong belief in working to help others.

“Once I entered the race people of both colors said they’d support me,” she said. “When I campaigned I showed my love and concern for people and just didn’t think about race. I just thought about helping our city and our county, helping people.”

Mrs. Ruff said her work on council is shaped by the philosophy imparted to her by her parents.

“I like to help people have pride in their community, in their families and in their homes,” she said. “Showing love and compassion for others makes society a better place.”