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

Special Joint Meeting With The Rotary Club of Camarillo: This Wednesday, our club will take part in a special joint meeting with the Rotary Club of Camarillo, California. The program for this meeting will be by Evan Hilgerman of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the Mars Rover.

Members were provided the Zoom link in this week’s edition of the Rototeller newsletter. Guests who would like to join the program should contact program chair Bryce Baker, baker.w.bryce@gmail.com, for the Zoom meeting information.

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

Rotary Citation Earned Again: Once again, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove the prestigious Rotary Citation for the club’s work during the 2019-20 Rotary year. The Rotary Citation is an award designed to recognize continued growth and engagement of Rotary clubs. Clubs must meet certain benchmarks related to membership growth Rotary Foundation giving, service and community engagement.

A total of 23 clubs in District 5100 earned the Rotary Citation. Our club earned the citation with gold distinction, one of 11 in the district to receive that level of distinction of higher. A sincere congratulations to Past President Tim Pearson and all club members for the work they did to earn the Rotary Citation once again!

Road Cleanup Scheduled: Our next semi-annual clean up of Gales Creek and Thatcher Roads is scheduled for Saturday, October 17, beginning at 8:30 a.m. We will meet at the Oregon Department of Forestry offices at 801 Gales Creek Road. If you plan on attending, please contact Andrea Stewart at 503-357-1427 or astewart@pacificu.edu.

For over 25 years, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove has participated in Washington County’s Adopt-A-Road Program. Our club has adopted Gales Creek Road from Thatcher Road to Forest Gale Drive and Thatcher Road from Gales Creek Road to David Hill Road.

Executive Board & Full Board Meetings: Please note that the club Executive Board and full board meetings are moving from their traditional scheduled times. Executive Board meetings will move to the first Thursday of month and full board meetings will take place on the second Thursday of each month, both at 7 a.m. Full board meetings are open for all members to attend. Please contact President Julia Kollar if you wish to attend via Zoom.

Dues Assistance Program: The Covid-19 Pandemic and related economic restrictions have affected everyone. Recognizing that some members have been more severely affected than others, the Club is offering assistance with quarterly Club Dues.  If you are interested in assistance with next quarter’s dues, please contact Julia Kollar or Lucas Welliver by October 15, 2020.  Initially, the help will be limited to two quarters of Club Dues. The assistance will be funded by donations from other Club members, so please contact Julia or Lucas if you are interested in contributing to this program. Any remaining funds raised for this purpose at the end of the Rotary Year (6/30/2021) will be paid to the Forest Grove Rotary Foundation for general charitable purposes.

Rotary Foundation Giving Update: Giving to The Rotary Foundation by members of the Rotary Club of Forest is at a total of $4,227 for the 2020-2021 Rotary year (as of September 30). For the foundation’s Annual Fund, we are currently at $3,557 our goal of $9,500. Meeting our annual fund goals is important as a club so we can receive our district matching grants, which help programs such as “Hope for the Holidays.” For Polio Plus, we’ve donated $669.53 vs. a goal of $3,000. Thank you all for your generous donations.

We would like to encourage every Rotarian to donate to The Rotary Foundation. Please see the Every Rotarian Every Year Brochure regarding ways to contribute. The brochure includes information on Rotary Direct, where you can make automatic donations on a fixed schedule. If you do not know your Rotary identification number you can find it on DacDB or contact Mike Yakos so you can receive your Paul Harris points when making a donation.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee: The newly-formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee held its second meeting in September. At the meeting, we discussed how to best develop and survey our club to better understand our own views around diversity, equity and inclusion. We developed a draft survey which we will send around to various stakeholders for input. You can watch a recording of the meeting on the club’s YouTube page.

Additionally, we discussed the work ahead of us which includes educational programs, a possible reading and resource list as we as further developing our committee’s mission statement. Our plan is to launch a survey by October 7. Email Howard Sullivan, Howard.Sullivan3@frontier.com or Amy Tracewell if you would like to be involved.

McDougall Garden: The McDougall Garden, near the big flagpole, is looking good. But just like any garden, weeds will pop up. Rotarians are welcomed and encouraged to stop by and pull a weed or two, even if it is just for a few minutes. Many hands make for light work.

Dick Johnston Memorial Fund: The family of our late friend, Dick Johnston, have established a memorial with the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove to go towards the club’s scholarship program. Donations by check can be sent to the club at PO Box 125, Forest Grove, OR 97116. Donations to the fund are also being online through the club’s Square Payment Page.

Daybreak Club Bicycle Project: Our friends at the Forest Grove Daybreak Club are looking for bikes to donate to WashcoBikes, a non-profit organization that refurbishes bikes and distributes them to residents in Washington County. If you have a bike to donate, please contact Mitch Taylor at 503-314-0766.

Rotary Phone Tree: Thank you to everyone who has made our Rotary Phone Tree such a success in caring for our members. The goal of the phone tree is to reach out and check on every member of the club to make sure they are doing all right 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. 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. For more information or questions, or if your information on the Phone Tree is not correct, contact Paul Waterstreet.

 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 need 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.

During the fall, the Food Pantry will be open on Mondays from 2- 4 p.m. Donations are accepted on-site on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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

Past Programs: Did you miss a meeting or want to go back and check out a program again? Most of our programs since May are archived on our club YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

Around District 5100
McMinnville Sunrise Rotary Wine Raffle: The Rotary Club of McMinnville Sunrise is holding its annual wine raffle. Five winners will be drawn and will receive some of 84 different bottles from Methven Family Vineyards, Durant Vineyards, Stoller Family Estate, Redhawk Winery, Bjornson Winery, Chehalem Wines, White Rose Estate and Laurel Ridge Winery.

Proceeds from the raffle benefit the club’s non-profit projects and scholarships for students attending Chemeketa Community College. Tickets are $5 each, five for $20 or 25 for $100. The drawing will be held on October 28. Purchase Tickets On The McMinnville Sunrise Rotary Website.

Save The Dates: The annual District 5100 Training Assembly is scheduled for the weekend of April 17 and 18. The exact date, location and delivery method is to be determined. The annual District 5100 Conference is scheduled for April 29 through May 2 at the Vancouver Hilton.

Around The Rotary international World
Rotarian Named One Of Time’s Most Influential People: Dr. Tunji Funsho, chair of Rotary’s Nigeria National PolioPlus Committee, joins 100 pioneers, artists, leaders, icons, and titans as one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People. TIME announced its 2020 honorees during a 22 September television broadcast on ABC, recognizing Funsho for his instrumental leadership and work with Rotary members and partners to achieve the eradication of wild polio in the African region.

He is the first Rotary member to receive this honor for work toward eradicating polio.

A Rotarian for 35 years, Funsho is a member of the Rotary Club of Lekki, Nigeria, past governor of District 9110, and serves on Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee. Funsho is a cardiologist and a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London. He lives in Lagos, Nigeria with his wife Aisha. They have four children; Habeeb, Kike, Abdullahi and Fatima; and five grandchildren.

TIME 100 comprises individuals whose leadership, talent, discoveries, and philanthropy have made a difference in the world. Past honorees include Bono, the Dalai Lama, Bill Gates, Nelson Mandela, Angela Merkel, Oprah Winfrey, and Malala Yousafzai. Read More

New Leadership Courses Online: As part of Rotary’s new partnership with Toastmasters International, six new leadership courses have been developed to expand leadership and communciation skills. These online modules, along with many others to expand your knowledge of Rotary, can be accessed for free by Rotary members at rotary.org/learn. (NOTE: You must login to the Rotary.org website to have access to the learning center.)

Last Week’s Program: George Rede, Media Literacy

Click Here To View The Entire Program
Additional Media Literacy Resources (PDF)

George Rede joined us this week to discuss the basics of media literacy. Rede enjoyed a 30-year career as a journalist and editor with The Oregonian and its sister publications, including the Forest Grove Leader and Hillsboro Argus. He retired from The Oregonian in 2015 and has also served as an adjunct instructor in media literacy at Portland State University.

Most of us within the expected Rotary demographic (over 40) would define the media as the news industry. Younger people include entertainment platforms as media. Most of us do not consider advertising as media, yet it is a critical part of the media industry. Media serves three different purposes: news to inform, advertising to persuade and entertainment to entertain. There is overlap at times. A documentary, for example, can work to inform but also to entertain.

For the context of the program, we focused on media literacy in the news. The news can include print, visual, audio and digital. Media literacy used to almost exclusively mean being able to digest the written word. Today, to be media literate means to be able to look at content, be able to look at it and digest it by audio, visual and other means.

Where do you get your news? Do you rely on one or two sources? Do you consume several sources from a single source or do you look at a single story and move on to another site? Do you get the news from newspaper, TV, radio, websites, social media, podcasts? These days there are almost an endless amount of sources for news.

Consider who is editing or curating your news. Who determines what is important and interesting? If you are getting new from mainstream media, you are relying on editors and professional journalists to make the judgment on the impact of events. If you rely on social media, you are relying on family, friends and non-trained journalists. Do you consume news widely from a variety of sources?

Who do you trust in news? According to Nieman Labs, a media research firm, in 1976 72 percent of people said they trusted the media. Back then we had local newspapers and the big three television networks (ABC, CBS and NBC). Today, trust in media organizations ranges from 57.7 percent for the Wall Street Journal and 50 percent or more from the big three networks down to 22.5 percent for the Daily Caller. Many of the lowest rated media outlets, in terms of trust, do not have a history before the Internet.

There are eight qualities one should evaluate in terms of media credibility: accuracy, clarity, expertise, reliability, timeliness, transparency, fairness and honesty. Rede encourages people to think about media news sources like you would local businesspeople. Why do you trust them?

There is a major difference between bias and perspective, both of which play a role in media literacy. Bias is the inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered unfair. Perspective is a particular attitude towards a way of regarding something, a point of view. Both can inform on influence your opinion. Either can be positive or negative.

There is also a difference between misinformation and disinformation. Both refer to false information. Misinformation is the result of a mistake, human error. Disinformation is driven by deceit. The intention is to mislead and confuse. This is the true definition of “fake news.”

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted
Wed., Oct. 7: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: NASA Mara Curiosity Rover (shared meeting with Rotary Club of Camarillo)
   See Special Zoom Link For This Week’s Meeting (Above)
Thurs., Oct. 8: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Wed., Oct. 14: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Official Visit – District Governor Jo Crenshaw
Wed., Oct. 21: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: To Be Announced