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

Online Meetings: 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 are 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

Wreath Sales: Thank you to all who participate in our Wreath Sale, which raised funds for our Hope For The Holidays project. Orders were due on Friday. A total 76 wreaths have been ordered which will provide over $1,000 to Hope For The Holidays.

Wreaths will be available for pickup and delivery on Saturday, Nov. 28. Pickup will be from 1-2:30 p.m. in the parking lot of Janet Peter’s Allstate Insurance office at 1951 Oak St., Forest Grove. For any questions, contact Janet Peters.

Troop 213 Christmas Tree Sales: It is officially the holiday season and Scouts BSA Troop 213’s Christmas Tree Stand is open for business! Tree sales begin Saturday, Nov. 28, in the parking lot of the Ballad Town Center near Safeway. This is the troop’s major fundraiser for the year, helping to finance different activities, camp experiences and trips. If you do not already know, Troop 213 has been chartered by the Rotary Club of Forest Grove for decades. Consider supporting the Scouts this year!

Optional Giving Invoice: Members have received an optional giving invoice by both regular mail and email. This provides members an opportunity to give donations to The Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus as well as our club’s two hallmark programs, Hope For The Holidays and the Scholarship Program. For more details or questions, please contact club treasurer Lucas Welliver.

If you plan to donate to Hope For The Holidays, please submit your donations as soon as possible! The committee will need to determine soon how much money there will to support local families and start planning shopping times.

Hope For The Holidays: Planning for our 2020 Hope For The Holidays project is well underway. We currently have $6,000 raised towards this year’s project, which includes a $2,500 District 5100 matching grant. The committee has a goal of raising another $4,000 from club members with a deadline of Friday, Dec. 11. Additionally, the committee is looking at reducing the shopping amount for families from $500 to $250 so that the project can help more families.

Applications will be emailed next week to club members and to partner organizations. Due to the pandemic, shopping will take place on three different nights: Dec. 16-18, 6:30 p.m., at the Cornelius Walmart. If you would like to participate in this year’s shopping nights or have questions about the program, please contact Claudia Yakos.

Steak Fundraiser: Thank you to all of our members who participated in our latest edition of the Rotary Club Steak Sale. This fourth round saw 182 packs of steaks sold, which will realize $1,092 for our scholarship program.

Holiday Light Parade: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and new restrictions on gatherings ordered by the state, the 2020 Forest Grove Holiday Light Parade has been canceled. We look forward to participating in this great community event again in 2021. A number of the other events associated with Holiday In The Grove are still happening. Please visit the City Club of Forest Grove’s website for details.

Support Local Business: The Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce would like to encourage all the area businesses or individuals to purchase gift cards from the local restaurants who are in desperate need right now and donate those cards to the Forest Grove Food Bank who could also use some extra help in this especially critical time.  Whether you mail them or drop those cards off at the Chamber, we will make sure they get to those in need before the holidays are over. For more information, please contact Juanita Lint at the chamber at 503-357-3006 or director@visitforestgrove.com.

Service To District 5100: We are excited to announce that two of our members will be in leadership roles within District 5100. After three years serving as an assistant district governor, Jeannine Murrell has been selected to be the district’s administrative district governor in 2021-22 for that year’s District Governor, Jim Boyle. Additionally, Tom Raabe has agreed to become the assistant district governor for the district’s Western Region, which includes Forest Grove, Hillsboro and Beaverton, beginning in July 2021. Congratulations Jeannine and Tom and thank you for your continued service to Rotary!

Rotary Phone Tree: The phone tree continues and has been re-shuffled to keep things fresh. The latest phone tree is attached to the email version of the Rototeller. If you have questions, or if your information on the Phone Tree is not correct, contact Paul Waterstreet.

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.

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
‘Grow Rotary’ District Committee: District 5100 is facing a challenge and we would like to share it with all of you. We have reviewed the last 15 years of membership and discovered the District has lost one Rotary club per year over that time frame. This phenomenon has been a consistent fact dating back to the early 2000s and is primarily the reason why the membership within District 5100 has declined. Basically, we have dropped from 4,000 members 15 years ago to approximately 3,300 members today.

So, this year, the District decided to launch a new initiative focusing on growth opportunities within our geographic area of District 5100 and we created a ‘Grow Rotary’ Committee. The ‘Grow Rotary’ Committee has eight members including Immediate Past District Governor Diane Noriega and Past District Governor Kristi Halvorson, current governor line representatives Steve Williams and Jim Boyle. The committee also includes District Membership Committee representatives in Dennis Long and Raven Russell and a couple of Assistant Governors, Susanne Holmberg and Dennis Curtis, who have been instrumental in starting different types of Rotary clubs in the past.

The primary objective is to start new Rotary clubs where no Rotary clubs exist.  We currently have interest in starting clubs in Sandy and Happy Valley. If you have friends, family or know former Rotarians who might be interested in joining these clubs as charter members, please contact iPDG Diane Noriega for Sandy, Dennis Curtis for Happy Valley and Jim Boyle for all other opportunities.

Kruse Way Rotary Sounds Virtual Concert: The Kruse Way Rotary Club will be presenting its annual Rotary Sounds Virtual Concert virtually. This year’s concert will be available online from now until Dec. 2 and will feature performances by Patrick Lamb, Turnstiles (a Billy Joel tribute band) and the Grammy-award nominated WannaBeatles. Benefits from the concert will support three specific club projects: Candlelighters (cancer support for children and their families), Patrick’s Children (feminine hygiene and sustainable farming in Uganda) and transitional youth programs (housing and jobs for at-risk youth on Portland streets). Click Here To Take Part In The Virtual Concert

District 5100 Training Assembly: This year’s District 5100 Training Assembly, which is typically an in-person, will be delivered online once again this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sessions that are specific to club and district positions are scheduled to be delivered on Saturday, Apr. 10. Sessions providing general topics to the entire Rotary membership are scheduled to be delivered on Saturday, Apr. 17. More details will be made available in the coming months.

Around Rotary International
Rotary’s Newest Object Of Focus – Protecting The Environment: Rotary shares an interest in protecting our common legacy: the environment. We are committed to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources, advance ecological sustainability, and foster harmony between communities and the environment. We empower communities to access grants and other resources, embrace local solutions, and spur innovation in an effort to address the causes and reduce the effects of climate change and environmental degradation. Read More

Rotary & Giving Tuesday (by K.R. Ravindran, Chair, The Rotary Foundation): Giving Tuesday has grown into a global movement of generosity. It is a giving day recognized around the world that empowers us all to give back to our communities through service, kindness and financial support – all beliefs that Rotary values deeply.

Every act of kindness makes a difference, and no gift is too small. This Giving Tuesday, I ask that we all find opportunities to help communities both close to home and around the globe. One easy way to take action is to make a gift to The Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund SHARE, Rotary’s primary way of making sustainable projects possible both on a local and global level. Read More

Last Week’s Thirsty Thursday Program: Juanita Lint & Gwen Hullinger

Click Here To View The Entire Program

Juanita Lint – Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce
At last week’s Thirsty Thursday meeting, Rotarian Juanita Lint spoke to the club about the current COVID-19 restrictions on businesses imposed on the state and the impacts that it is causing with local establishments. Juanita spoke not only from her perspective as the executive director of the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, but also in her role as co-owner of Plum Hill Vineyards.

The shutdowns and restrictions from the pandemic, both past and now, have had a negative impact on business. Many Forest Grove restaurants are still facing limited capacity, which reduces the amount of business they can bring in. When Plum Hill re-opened in June, Juanita said that the winery had to hire an almost entirely new staff. Last week, they had to lay off all but one person due to the shutdown.

Juanita told the group that the best thing that people can do is to patronize local businesses whenever possible. Forest Grove has great restaurants and great shopping to provide residents. Even an extra 10 percent towards these businesses can help out.

During the current shutdown, fitness centers, bowling alleys and outdoor event centers have had to close. Juanita said that she is looking to find ways to help these establishments to re-open. The chamber has written a great to try and purchase tents and heaters to help downtown businesses and restaurants remain open with seating during the winter. They hope to hear back on that grant soon.

Since the pandemic began, the Chamber is aware of three restaurants and one food cart in Forest Grove that have permanently closed.

Gwen Hullinger – Forest Grove HS Food Pantry
Rotarian Gwen Hullinger talked about ways that the public can support the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry.

Back in October, the Food Pantry partnered with the Oregon Food Bank to provide a steady source of food. What the Oregon Food Bank does not provide, however, is toiletries and hygiene products that there is a demand for. She is proposing that club members help in purchasing items one per month on Amazon that can then be taken to the high school and made available.

If you are interested in helping, you can view Gwen’s lists of needs for the Food Pantry on This Amazon List.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted
Sat., Nov. 28: Wreath Sale Pickups, 1-2:30 p.m.
Janet Peters Allstate, 1951 Oak St., Forest Grove
Wed., Dec. 2: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Bob Sharkey, Rotary Foundation
Thurs., Dec. 3; Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Wed., Dec. 9: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Ryan Wells, Cornelius Community Development
Thurs., Dec. 10: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.