You never know what rules will be in place during our annual golf tournament.

If you did not make it to our last Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here is what you missed…

This Week – Golf Tournament: This week’s meeting will be our annual Golf Tournament at Sunset Grove Golf Course, 41615 NW Osterman Road, Forest Grove. We will have our regular meeting at noon with the tournament commencing around 1 p.m. There will be, as always, some new and unusual rules to make this event fun for all. Rotarians and guests are invited to attend.

To increase your chances to win, be sure to purchase string at the event to shorten those putts and chips. All money raised from the purchase of string will benefit The Rotary Foundation.

This year’s lunch will be catered by Jenna Bush, who has catered a number of our summer meeting meals. If you plan to attend and eat lunch and/or play golf, please RSVP to Claire Anger via email by no later than Sunday, Aug. 11 by 1 p.m.

Upcoming Meetings: Our weekly meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 21 will take place in the Grove Room at the Forest Grove School District office, 1728 Main Street. On Wednesday, Aug. 28, we will make our return to the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University.

Satellite Club/Thirsty Thursday Potluck: The August Satellite Club meeting/Thirsty Thursday gathering will take place on Thursday, Aug. 22, 6 p.m., and will be a potluck at the home of Pete & Parri Van Dyke. More details about the event will be forthcoming. All Rotarians are welcome to attend. If you plan on attending, please RSVP with what you will be bringing to Hector Mendez-Colberg via email.

McDougall Garden Art Installation – Dedication Friday: The community is invited to join in the grand unveiling of a new public art installation at the club’s McDougall Garden. The event takes place this Friday, Aug. 16, 3 p.m., at the garden located between Pacific and 19th Avenues near the big flagpole at the east end of Forest Grove. The ceremony will include remarks from Forest Grove Mayor Malynda Wenzl, the artist, Joshua Blewett, and members of the Forest Grove Public Arts Commission.

We would like to have as many Rotarians as possible come out to join this celebration and to show support for the Public Arts Commission.

Rotary Club of Forest Grove 100th Anniversary Celebration: Mark your calendars for Saturday, Sept. 7, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our club and 100 years of Service Above Self! Join us at the Carpenter Creek Winery, 47266 SW Carpenter Creek Road, Forest Grove, for an evening of fellowship and celebration.

The celebration will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and will include a barbeque dinner and non-alcoholic drinks by Blues BBQ. Wine, beer and cider will also be available for purchase.

Tickets are $45 per person and are limited to 200 tickets sold. Click Here To Purchase Tickets.

For questions about the celebration, please contact Julia Kollar.

Concours T-Shirts Available: There are a number of 2024 Concours d’Elegance t-shirts in varying sizes still available. The t-shirt back pictures the 2024 poster image, the Best In Show 1929 Mercedes Benz 680 S Barker Tourer, in front of Pacific University’s Marsh Hall. Shirts are $25 and can be purchased at future weekly meetings.

Greeters Returning: President Lucas is bringing back the role of having greeters at our weekly meetings. This role will not be pre-assigned. Instead, the ninth and 10th Rotarians showing up a meeting each week will serve as greeters. Please be prepared to take on that responsibility and let President Lucas know if you have any questions.

Youth Exchange – Laurin Arrives Soon: We have confirmation on our 2024-25 inbound Rotary Youth Exchange Student! We will welcome Laurin Van Orelli from Switzerland around August 17.

The Youth Exchange Committee has one host family already lined up for Laurin but we are still in need of two more families. If you are interested in being a host family and would like more information, please contact youth exchange chair Melinda Fischer.

Friends of Historic Forest Grove Displays: As part of celebrating the 50th Concours d’Elegance and the 100th anniversary of our club, Friends of Historic Forest Grove is looking for items to use for a lobby display to celebrate both milestones. The display will be located in the Old Train Station Museum at the corner of Main Street and 19th Avenue. A Concours display was presented in July. A display in September will highlight our club.

If you have items that you would be willing to loan to FHFG to promote the history of Concours and/or the club, you can also bring items to the museum during its open hours, Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Mentorship Program With Rotary: Since joining our club, Rotarians Cole Thursam and Javin Frelin have been exploring how to connect younger professionals to our club and to Rotary as a whole. The two are in the preliminary stages of developing a mentorship program for young professionals in the local community that would be tied to Rotary. If you would like to learn more or are interested in taking part in this effort, please contact Cole or Javin.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Do You Know Of Service Opportunities?: Are you aware of service opportunities in our area that our members might be interested in? We can advertise those here! This space is not limited to club-sponsored activities but to any service opportunity in the community. To promote the service activity, please send a detailed description of the project, the date and time, contact information and a link to register to Rototeller editor Blake Timm, blakertimm@gmail.com.

FGHS Community Food Pantry: Our club’s support for the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry continues.  Thanks to its partnership with the Oregon Food Bank, food donations are still welcome but are of less need at this time. Of need, however, are toiletries and hygiene products as well as household cleaning materials.

The Food Pantry is open Mondays from 4-5:30 p.m. The pantry is located along Nichols Lane between the football field and the Basinski Center. Click Here for more information on the FGHS Food Pantry and on other resources for those experiencing food insecurity.

For information on the Food Pantry, please contact Brian Burke, bburke@fgsd.k12.or.us. If you wish to make a cash donation to the pantry, Click Here.

Bloodworks Northwest Blood Drives: In an effort to build blood supplies in the Pacific Northwest, Bloodworks Northwest is sponsoring a number of blood drives in 2024 at the Forest Grove City Library. Upcoming blood drives will be held on Friday, Sept. 27 and Friday, Dec. 6. To sign up to give and set an appointment, please visit the Bloodworks Northwest website.

Around District 5100
District Leadership Opportunities: Running a successful organization requires that we plan for succession, and then continue to invest in future leaders. District 5100 is always looking for those Rotarians who would like to advance in Rotary leadership. Some positions require some past leadership experience. For more information please contact the District Office.

District Bookkeeper: This person would have a background in bookkeeping. This is a flexible paid position in the district. If you are interested, please contact the District Office.

District Award Committee. This person would work with the District Governor Team to identify Rotarians who qualify for recognition, and clubs for awards of excellence. If you are interested in this committee, please contact Jeannine Murrell.

District Governor: The next level of Rotary leadership. It is a 3.5-year commitment in learning and leadership of the district. You would be working with the Governor Team every step of the way. Your training in leadership will be carried out at Zone and International Assembly There is a modest expense account to help offset costs. IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE EMPLOYED AND SERVE AS DISTRICT GOVERNOR.

APPLICATIONS FOR DISTRICT GOVERNOR FOR ROTARY YEAR 2027-2028 are available through the District Office and iPDG Renee Brouse. Interviews for this position will be held on October 12, 2024.

District 5100 Mental Health Committee: The District 5100 Mental Health Committee is developing Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training for members and clubs. Most of us know that if we saw someone bleeding or having medical distress, what to do. We would attend to wounds, call 911 or start CPR. Few of us know how to respond if we saw someone having a panic attack, or if we are concerned about a friend or coworker in emotional distress.

Mental Health First Aid is a day-long training that helps equip people with tools to start a conversation, be present to support them and help people get the help they need. MHFA provides an action plan that teaches people to safely and responsibly identify and assist people with mental health challenges.

If you are interested in this training, contact Nancy Boyle via email.

District 5100 Newsletter: Click Here To View The Monthly District 5100 Newsletter

Last Week’s Program: Dr. Jim Moore, Political Update
At last week’s meeting, we received a presentation by one our favorite speakers, Jim Moore, professor of political science at Pacific University. Jim provided his analysis on races in the state of Oregon and the national presidential race.

Moore opened with a discussion of Oregon’s state races. This year’s Oregon House races have been made interesting by the 10 legislators who can’t run due to unexcused absences accrued during the 2022 sessions. Republicans will win all of those districts except for one. There is a district in and around Bend that is becoming more Democratic. Moore does not expect any change in power in the Oregon Senate, with Democrats retaining control.

There has been lots of money raised in Oregon’s statewide races, but Democrats are raising much more than Republicans. In the secretary of state race, Democrat Tobias Read has raised $1.03 million while is Republican challenger, Dennis Lithicum, has raised just $300,000. In the race for treasurer, Democrat Elizabeth Steiner has raised $600,000 while Republican Brian Boquist has raised just $13,000.

The race for attorney general is more interesting, Moore said, because of how active state’s attorneys general have been in national-profile lawsuits. Dan Rayfield has raised $1 million in this race while Will Lathrup has raised $900,000 in what should be a competitive race.

In Oregon’s Congressional races, Moore expects that the first and second races to be won by the incumbents and the third district to stay in Democratic hands. The fourth, fifth and sixth districts, he said, could have interesting races. In Congressional District 4, incumbent Democrat Val Hoyle had to fight hard to emerge from her primary race and will be challenged by Republican Monique DeSpain. The fifth and sixth districts saw their 2022 races decided less than a 2% margin of victory. Moore expects that to happen again, with those seats playing key roles in which party will control the House.

Moore also provided perspective on the national race. He finds watching the debates tedious because the reporters ask questions that they already know the answer to. They aren’t really debates. June 27, Moore said, became one of the most interesting days in U.S. political history because President Joe Biden showed up looking aged. Biden has been a successful politician for 50 years but when he was asked direct questions by George Stephanopoulos, he couldn’t directly answer the questions and acknowledged that didn’t even watch his debate performance.

We don’t know what eventually led Biden to drop out, Moore said, but when he did the election change. At almost the same time came the assassination attempt on former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump. This was a major inflection point for the race and a chance to Trump to show voters something different. It had to potential to change the message.

Has change happened with Biden dropping out, Kamala Harris gaining the Democratic nomination and the Trump assassination attempt? Moore doesn’t believe as much as you think. The odds of either candidate’s chances to win in battleground states has not changed much, but Biden leaving the race has breathed life into the Democratic party. When Biden pulled out, fundraising has seemed to go up in many Democratic campaigns.

Club Calendar
Wed., July 14: Weekly Meeting & Golf Tournament
Sunset Grove Golf Course, 41615 NW Osterman Road, Forest Grove
Meeting at Noon; Golf at 1 p.m.

Thurs., Aug. 15: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Fri., Aug. 16: McDougall Garden Public Art Installation Dedication, 3 p.m.
McDougall Garden, Between 19th & Pacific Avenues Near Big Flagpole

Wed., July 21: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Grove Room, Forest Grove School District Offices, 1728 Main St.
Program: Dr. Suzanne West, FGSD Superintendent

Thursday, Aug. 22: Satellite Club/Thirsty Thursday Potluck
Home of Pete & Parri Van Dyke, 1336 Rose Arden Dr.

Wed., July 28: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Javlin Frelin, RYLA

Sat., Sept. 7: Rotary Club of Forest Grove 100th Anniversary, 5:30 p.m.
Carpenter Creek Winery, 47266 SW Carpenter Creek Rd., Forest Grove