If you didn’t make it to our last Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here’s what you missed…

Club Announcements
Online Meetings Continue: We will continue to meet virtually using the Zoom Meeting platform for the foreseeable future. Our meetings will begin at our normal meeting time, Noon on Wednesday. All Rotarians are welcome and participating will count towards meeting attendance. Here is the login details (will be the same for all of our online meetings moving forward)…

Direct Link: https://zoom.us/j/183084884

Meeting ID: 183 084 884

To join by phone, dial 669-900-6833 or 346-248-7799 and enter the meeting ID number when prompted.

Zoom App Downloads
Zoom Cloud Meeting App For Android
Zoom Cloud Meeting App For iPhone
Download Zoom Meeting App For Desktop

Upcoming Programs
Wed., Apr. 22: Allison Brown, Washington County Deputy DA, Scams & Swindlers
Wed., Apr. 29: Chelsea Peterson, Knight Cancer Institute

Concours Update: With the uncertainly on the COVID-19 situation, the Rotary Board of Directors, at the unanimous recommendation of the Concours Steering Committee, has canceled the 2020 Concours d’Elegance, scheduled for Sunday, July 19. The committee will refocus its efforts for the 2021 show. The club board will be talking in the coming weeks to find avenues that we can fundraise for our scholarship fund with the absence of our top fundraising event of the year. Click Here For The Complete Announcement From The Concours Committee

Steak Feed Update: It is unlikely that the Steak Feed will be able to take place as scheduled on Friday, June 12. The club will continue to look at the possibility of postponing this event to a date later in the summer or fall.

Rotary Phone Tree: Last week, our We Care Committee started a Rotary Phone Tree that will be utilized once per week. The goal of the phone tree is to reach out and check on every member of the club to make sure they are doing alright and to provide updates on club announcements and activities (Hint: You have a great list to draw from here). The plan is for the tree to be activated every Tuesday. For more information or questions, contact Paul Waterstreet at 503-888-7185 or h20st2@juno.com

Note that an updated phone tree went out to team captains this week. The idea is that for each person to call the next one on the list. The last person on the list should call the team captain to make sure the list is complete.

Youth Citizen of the Month: School has officially restarted and our Youth Citizen of the Month program continues. This week we honored Chris Simmons of Forest Grove High School. Among his accomplishments is that Chris worked to help start the food pantry at the high school that the club is actively involved with (more on that below). He joined our online meeting on Wednesday and will receive a certificate and a $50 gift card from Frye’s Action Athletics. Read More About Chris Simmons

Update On Jill Verboort: We continue to extend prayers and best wishes to Rotarian Jill Verboort, who continues to recover from COVID-19. Jill recently finished two weeks of self-isolation while battling the virus and, thankfully, is well on the road to recovery. Jill has been blogging about her battle for COVID-19 and invites Rotarians to check it out at https://spreadingsunshineblog.com/.

Quarterly Dues: You should have received by now your quarterly dues statement from the club. Please note that this statement will not include any prepaid meals expenses. This reflects the decision of the board in March to put all members on a “pay as you go” status for this quarter since we are currently unable to meet in person.

We understand that this is a challenging time for all of us and that some of our members are affected more significantly than others. If you are able, please pay your dues invoice as soon as possible so that we can continue to meet our RI and District obligations. If you believe that your situation will make it hard or impossible to make a payment, please contact President Tim Pearson. The club will consider and work with those hardships on a case-by-case basis.

Youth Exchange Changes: With the world turned upside down with the pandemic, the parents of our inbound Rotary Youth Exchange Student, Gabriella Cuadra from Chile, will be returning home on April 14. We are sorry that her experience is ending early but we are grateful for the time we spent with her!

We have also learned that our 2020-21 outbound student, Melanie Schneider, has had her experience to Denmark canceled. Read More On How District 5100 Is Handling Youth Exchange During Pandemic

FGHS Community Food Pantry: Even with schools closed, the need for resources at the Forest Grove High School Community Food Pantry continues. The pantry continues to be in need of the following items to serve the community that is depending on it…

Food: Pasta, Canned Sauces, Tortillas, Rice, Beans, Canned Fruit, Jelly, Peanut Butter, Boxed Milk, Canned Vegetables, Bread, Applesauce, Granola Bars, Fruit Snacks, Macaroni & Cheese, Tuna, Crackers, Maseca and Vegetable Oil.

Hygiene Items: Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Tampons/Pads, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Deodorant, Hair Brushes, Toilet Paper.

If you are able to donate any of the above items, please contact Brian Burke, bburke@fgsd.k12.or.us. If you wish make a cash donation to the pantry, Click Here.

Helping The Forest Grove School Community: At the request of Rotarian and Forest Grove School District Superintendent Dave Parker, our Youth Funding Committee donated $3,000 to the school district to help in making supplemental learning items available to students as supplemental and distance learning. In addition, our committees have banded together for a $2,000 donation to the Banks Community Food Bank to help with the purchase of food from the Oregon Food Bank.

Rotary Scholarships: With the COVID-19 outbreak, our scholarship committee has extended the application deadline for the Rotary Club of Forest Grove Scholarship program to Thursday, April 30. The following changes have also been put in effect to help make it easier for applicants during this time…

• Applications will be accepted via email. All required documents must be part of the email.
• If a student is unable to obtain an official transcript, a copy of their most recent transcript or grades report will be accepted.

The program is open to graduating seniors who live in the Forest Grove, Gaston and Banks school district attendance areas. The program is funded through the proceeds our club receives by putting on the annual Concours d’Elegance. Seniors who wish to apply can download the application from the Rotary Club of Forest Grove Website. Applications are due by Thurs., April 30.

Take Out Locally!: There are many local restaurants and coffee shops that are continuing to operate for take-out during the stay-at-home order. Those local businesses are seeing a significant drop in business and could use our support. Could you commit to patronizing one of these eateries at least once per week to help stimulate the local economy? Click Here For A List Of Places That Are Opened For Takeout, courtesy of Court Carrier.

Dental Emergencies?: With the COVID-19 outbreak, most dentists in Oregon have been forced to effectively close until at least June 15. Rotarian Vaughn Tidwell has been able to upgrade his office to medical grade and is offering to take care of dental emergencies for Rotarians and their immediate families free of charge. If you are in need of this service, please contact Vaughn at 503-816-9990.

Board of Directors Elections: Elections for three open board of directors positions were held at our March 11 meeting. Congratulations to Virginia Ohler, Howard Sullivan and Alma Lozano, who will serve from 2020 to 2023. We look forward to your greater service to the club!

RYLA: With the resignation of Kerri Willis from the club, Lazaro Villegas has agreed to help chair RYLA for our club! If you know of someone who would be a great candidate for RYLA this summer, please let Lazaro know.

District Announcements
District 5100 Conference: Due to gathering restrictions with the COVID-19 outbreak, the District 5100 Conference has been canceled.

Disaster Response Fund: Rotary International has a Disaster Response Fund that is drawn from to help club provide disaster recovery and support rebuilding efforts. This includes efforts related to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Contributions are combined into one fund and made available through Rotary Disaster Response Grants. To make a donation to the program, Click Here.

Club Calendar
Wed., April 22: Club Weekly Meeting, Noon, via Zoom
Wed., April 29: Club Weekly Meeting, Noon, via Zoom
Wed., May 6: Club Weekly Meeting, Noon, via Zoom