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…

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

Thirsty Thursday: The February Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club meeting will take place on Thursday, Feb. 18, 6:30 p.m., at The Growler Garage, 1837 Pacific Ave. This will be purely a social event with Growler Garage with seating available both indoors and outdoors. No Zoom will be available for this event. Hope to see you there!

Scholarship Program: The application window is now open for the 2021 Rotary Club of Forest Grove Scholarships. The scholarship program is open to all graduating high school seniors residing in the Forest Grove, Banks and Gaston school district attendance areas.

This year, through the work of Sharon Olmstead and the Scholarship Committee, the entire application process will be done online. Applications must be submitted by midnight on Thursday, Apr. 1. Click Here For Full Scholarship Detail Information.

For additional questions, please contact Sharon Olmstead at sharon.olmstead8571@gmail.com.

FGHS Food Pantry Toiletry Distribution: On Feb. 1, our club participated in a first toiletry distribution session at the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry. Rotarians Tom Linkhart and Michael Yakos handed out Rotary-branded bags filled with toiletries and household cleaning items to needy families. Rotarians Gwen Hullinger and Laura Thompson-Aue coordinated the event. Thank you all for you your efforts!

While the FGHS Food Pantry receives regular food contributions from the Oregon Food Bank, they would like to regularly provide non-food items such as basic toiletries, feminine hygiene products, laundry detergent, dish soap and more that families continue to need. The hope is to have our club conduct a distribution event at least once per month.

Club Visioning Canceled: Due to technical issues as the district visioning team transitions to virtual presentation, our Club Visioning meeting for Saturday, Feb. 27, has been postponed. The session will be re-scheduled for a date in the future.

Steak Feed & Concours Update: We were informed last week by Pacific University that due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, our club will not be able to host its annual Steak Feed or the Concours d’Elegance on campus this year. Both committees will be meeting to discuss what this means for the club and will provide updates at a later date.

Troop 213 Update: Our Scouts BSA Troop 213 reported that its annual Christmas Tree stand netted proceeds of $5,161 for the troop. Most of that amount went to pay for the re-chartering fees for the club’s two troops.

The troop is also reporting that the current scoutmaster, Rocky Brown, would like to retire after years of dedicated service to the troop. The troop will need an interim scoutmaster to assist until a new permanent scoutmaster can be trained. If you are interested in filling that role, please contact Chuck Pritchard at b2c2m2@gmail.com.

Rotary Phone Tree: An updated version of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove phone tree was emailed out as part of last week’s Rototeller. If you have questions, or if your information on the Phone Tree is not correct, contact Paul Waterstreet at 503-888-7185 or h20st2@juno.com.

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. 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. There is a particular need for dish soap and laundry soap.

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. The pantry will remain open on Mondays over the Winter Break.

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.

Additionally, Rotarian Gwen Hullinger has put together an Amazon wish list of items that can be purchased and donated. Click Here To View That List.

Blood Drive Upcoming: St Anthony’s Catholic Church will be partnering with the Red Cross for a second blood drive on Wed., Feb. 24 in the church’s parish hall at 1660 Elm Street. Advance appointments are required and the Red Cross is adhering to strict COVID-19 safety protocols. To sign up for an appointment, please call 800-RED-CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org.

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
District 5100 Spring Training Event: Registration is now open for the District 5100 Spring Training Event (formerly District Training Assembly). The virtual training event will take place over two weekends on Saturday, Apr. 10 and Saturday, Apr. 17. Sessions on Apr. 10 are geared towards club officers, including membership chairs, treasurers, Rotary Foundation chairs and more. The second weekend is geared towards anyone interested in learning more about the inner-workings of Rotary.

Two keynote speakers will be appearing as part of the training event. On Apr. 10, the event will be joined Rotary Zone 26 & 27 Director Vicki Puliz. On Apr. 17, the speaker will be Mitty Chang, president and CEO of Candeavor, a digital marketing and web development agency, ad a very-involved Rotarian.

Check Out The Schedules: Apr. 10 | Apr. 17

Attending the Spring Training Event is free to Rotarians but advance registration is required. You can sign up for the event by logging into DacDB and completing the registration form.

District 5100 Conference: The District 5100 Conference, slated for Apr. 30 and May 1, will be online. This will make the event as accessible to all Rotarians more than ever.

When the District Conference Committee, chaired by our own Claudia Yakos, started planning, chose the theme of “Wandering Through New Doors.” Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping us physically distant, it’s more important than ever to focus on the strength and opportunity that comes with opening new doors of opportunities. The District 5100 Conference will educate, connect, inspire and offer virtual fellowship. More information to come.

Around Rotary International
Serve To Change Lives – 2021-22 RI Presidential Theme: Incoming Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta urged members to become more involved in service projects, saying that caring for and serving others is the best way to live because it changes not only other people’s lives, but also our own.

Mehta, a member of the Rotary Club of Calcutta-Mahanagar, West Bengal, India, revealed the 2021-22 presidential theme, Serve to Change Lives, to incoming district governors on 1 February during the Rotary International Assembly. The assembly, a yearly training event for district governors-elect, was originally set to take place in Orlando, Florida, USA, but was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mehta spoke about how participating in service projects through Rotary changed him as a person and made him empathize more with the needs of others. Soon after joining his club, he helped carry out projects that benefited rural communities in India.

Some of the poor conditions he saw in those communities strengthened his commitment to service. “I truly understood the plight of my brethren,” he said.

Mehta participated in initiatives that brought artificial limbs to children, clean water and sanitation to homes, and better health care facilities to communities.

“Rotary kindled the spark within me to look beyond myself and embrace humanity,” he said. “Service became a way of life for me and I, like many others, adopted the guiding philosophy that ‘Service is the rent I pay for the space I occupy on this earth, and I want to be a good tenant of this earth.’”

Mehta encouraged district governors-elect to lead by example during their term and inspire Rotary and Rotaract members to participate in projects that have measurable and sustainable impacts. He’s asking each club to conduct a Rotary Day of Service.

“At the end of your term as district governor, you should feel that because of your leadership, because of your inspiration to Rotarians and Rotaractors, the world has changed for the better because of the service done by them during the year,” he said. Read More

2021 Rotary Convention To Be Held Virtually: The Rotary International Convention, scheduled for 12-16 June 2021, in Taipei, Taiwan, will now be a virtual event in response to the ongoing threat of COVID-19.

We are sorry that we will not see you in Taipei this year, but this decision, made by the Rotary Board of Directors, is necessary to protect the health of everyone involved. We will share more details about the 2021 Rotary International Virtual Convention soon.

Last Week’s Program: Itzel Chavez, Centro Cultural

Click View To View The Complete Program

Centro Cultural has provided service to Washington County’s migrant population and Hispanic community for decades. Itzel Chavez, Centro Cultural’s development coordinator, joined us to tell us more about Centro’s mission and how it has kept its services going through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Centro Cultural is Oregon’s oldest non-profit, founded in 1972. Centro has served Latino and immigrant families with an ever growing range of programs designed to empower self-sufficient, engaged and active community members.

Centro Cultural’s core focus areas include civic engagement and leadership, community wellness, economic development (Prosperidad) and youth development/STEAM education. The core areas of focus are designed to provide “an inclusive community where equity thrives for all.” Over the last year, Centro Cultural has provided over 1,500 community engagement hours.

Over the last year, much of Centro’s programs have been focused around COVID-19 response and helping people be able to stay home and recover from the virus without having to worry about meeting expenses. During 2020, Centro helped 970 people pay rent in response to needs that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic. They also provided funds to help pay for basic needs and utilities.

Centro Cultural has also been focused on providing food security to its population. Over 17,000 people received food boxes from Centro in 2020. Food boxes are available five days per week through a partnership with Oregon Food Bank.

To learn more about Centro Cultural and its services and how you can support its mission, visit centrocultural.org.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted

Wed., Feb. 17: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Eva Guggemos, The Black History of Forest Grove

Thurs., Feb. 18: Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
The Growler Garage, 1837 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove

Wed., Feb. 24: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Ashley Mumm, Oregon Food Bank

Wed., Mar. 3: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Kevin Barton, Washington County DA