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

Steak Sales: Today (May 1) is the last day to get your Steak Sale orders into President Julia! The packs of two sirloin steaks from Columbia Empire Meats are selling for $15 per pack. The proceeds from the Steak Sale will benefit the various outreaches for our club, including the Scholarship Program and our work with the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry.

Pickup for the steaks will take place this Thursday, May 6, from 4:30-6 p.m., at Jeff Duyck’s warehouse on 19th Avenue between Main and Ash. Please bring money to pay for steaks at that time. Checks should be payable to the Rotary Club of Forest Grove.

Wine Sale: In addition to the steaks, our club will once again have half and full cases of wine from A Blooming Hill vineyard available with proceeds directly benefitting the club. White wines will be available for $150 for a full case and $75 for a half case. Red wines are available for $200 for a full case or $100 for a half case.

Varieties available include the following…

2013 Pinot Noir – 20 cases available
Fruit forward, very smooth – two gold medals (formerly retailed at $372 per case)

2014 Pinot Noir Gemini – 25 cases available
Subtle cherries and lavender (formerly retailed at $360 per case)

2014 Pinot Noir Trouble – 25 cases available
Vibrant pepper and spice – Oregon Wine Press Cellar Select (formerly retailed at $360 per case)

2015 Pinot Noir Gemini – 30 cases available
Notes of berry and spice, very silky (formerly retailed at $348 per case)

2017 Pinot Noir Gemini – 25 cases available
Raspberry, cinnamon and chocolate – Gold Medal (formerly retailed at $300 per case)

2017 Pinot Noir Trouble – 25 cases available
Blackberry, dark cherry and spice (formerly retailed at $300 per case)

2017 Pinot Gris – 20 cases available
Notes of peach and plum, very smooth (formerly retailed at $216 per case)

McDougall Garden Update: The club is moving forward with getting ready the McDougall Garden, located by Safeway, ready for planting. Thank you to all of our volunteers who met on Saturday to help plant the garden for this year. Unlike past years, the garden will planted with perennials to help keep the garden beautiful for years to come.

A special thank you to those who came out for last week’s event to spread mulch and clean up the garden, including Howard Sullivan, Jeannine Murrell, Pamelajean Myers, Tim Pearson, Jim Crisp, Tom Linkhart and Lucas Welliver (and his daughter).

For more information on the garden, please contact Lucas Welliver.

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. Our club is currently contributing $1,000 per month of toiletry items, cleaning supplies and feminine hygiene products.

Our next distribution event for those items will take place this Monday, May 3, from 2-4 p.m. Please contact President Julia if you would like to participate in this month’s event.

The Food Pantry is 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.

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.

Club Visioning Rescheduled For June 5: The District 5100 Visioning Committee session for our club has been rescheduled for Saturday, June 5, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This visioning session will be done virtually through Zoom. If you are interested in taking part in this important part of our club’s future planning, please contact President Julia Kollar.

Club members should have received a survey via email asking questions about our club and its participation in the community and in Rotary. Please take the time to fill out this short survey.

Classics On Main Event: With the 2021 Concours d’Elegance unable to happen, the Concours Committee has decided a host a smaller event on Main Street on Sunday, July 18. The invitation-only even will feature up to 85 former class winners and judge. Requests for Rotarians to support the event with set-up, car-spotting, refreshments and more will be coming soon.

Due to logistical challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no Concours d’Elegance in 2021. Click Here To Read The Full Announcement.

Board of Directors Elections: Be watching your inbox soon for first-round balloting to name three new members to the club’s Board of Directors. The new members will replace Ryan Garcia, Michelle Thomas and Paul Waterstreet, all of who are completing their three-year terms.

Rotary Phone Tree: Keep up the work keeping our members in the loop with the Rotary Club of Forest Grove phone tree. 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.

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 Youth Exchange Update (By Dan Boldt, District 51000 Youth Exchange Chair): Let me tell you about a wild roller-coaster ride. Our 2019 Outbound Candidates have survived a pretty rough couple of years. As these 45 members of the class of 2019 were being selected by their clubs, the roller-coaster ride inched forward.

In the 2019-20 school year they were trained, placed in chosen countries, studied a new language, and were applying for travel documents as the roller-coaster ticked, ticked, ticked upward to the top. They were nearly ready for their 2020-21 exchanges. Then the coronavirus pandemic hit. Their roller coaster ride suddenly dropped toward the bottom as their exchanges were suspended until January 2021. Spirits fell, but this was just beginning.

As January approached, hopes for a renewed exchange rose, the ride turned upward again. Then the full 2021-22 school year was suspended and the roller coaster plummeted. Next, District 5100 allowed these students to defer their exchanges to the 2021-22 school year. The roller coaster rose and dipped and wound through a series of hard turns as hope was renewed bit by bit until the March 19, 2021, Rotary International announcement that all exchanges were suspended until June 30, 2022.

The ride plummeted to rock bottom as many of our original 2019 students learned they will age out before the 2022-23 school year. For them, the ride is over. For others, a new ride might begin as they apply for the 2022-23 exchange year through their clubs. Uncertainty lingers for all.

Yet these students are remarkably upbeat and grateful for what Rotary District 5100 has given them. At the conclusion of the 2021 Eastern Oregon Discovery Excursion, students wrote about what the experience has meant to them. Those Essays Can Be Read Here.

Around Rotary International
How To Talk To Someone Who Is Vaccine Hesitant: As COVID-19 vaccinations are administered around the globe, you’ve probably seen your social media feeds fill up with joyful vaccine selfies and excited appointment updates. Chances are, you also have someone in your life who’s skeptical. Most of us do — and that has public health officials concerned.

Vaccine hesitancy is often fuel for heated public debate, but conversations about vaccines don’t have to be contentious. In fact, being willing to have them is one of the most impactful ways we can influence global health. As with many emotionally-charged topics, knowing how to start the conversation can be the hardest part. These tips may help you open up a dialogue and get your loved ones thinking differently about being vaccinated. Read More

Rotary Responds To COVID-19: Rotary is taking action in response to the pandemic as ur clubs support COVID-19 vaccination and continued prevention efforts around the world.

Tapping into decades of experience in bringing polio to the brink of eradication, Rotary members worldwide are helping health authorities communicate lifesaving information about COVID-19 and vaccination, combatting misinformation, supporting fair and equal access to vaccines, and curbing the spread of the virus by donating protective gear and other supplies to clinics and hospitals that are under strain. Read About How Rotary Has Responding & Supporting

Last Week’s Program: Dr. Jim Moore, Pacific University, President Biden’s First 100 Days

Click View To View The Complete Program

This week, we welcomed back Dr. Jim Moore, associate professor of politics and government and the director of political outreach for the Tom McCall Center for Civic Engagement at Pacific University. As he did with our club four years ago after the first 100 days of President Trump’s term, Jim presented his analysis on President Biden’s first 100 days.

Jim began by addressing presidential leadership, which was a big issue four years ago. People want to put their stamp on their presidency. Mr. Biden talked significantly about bipartisanship on the campaign trail. We have not seen that in his work with Congress so far. He is not reaching across the aisle as much since there is a Democratic majority in Congress. Jim cited examples of Presidents Clinton and Obama trying to build bridges with mixed success. Mr. Biden seems to be taking the approach to push through and accept the slim majority.

Mr. Biden is being bipartisan in an approach more like President Reagan, Jim said, where he is aiming his bipartisanship at the American people as opposed to Congress. While partisanship is holding strong in Congress, the electorate is showing more support, especially in terms of the COVID-19 relief package. Will Biden be able to create pressure on Congress and be appealing to voters? Time will tell.

In terms of communications and policy, the past four administrations had a lot of leaks in terms of agenda, initiatives, etc. This is not so in the Biden administration, where the messaging seems to be consistent across the board.

The dominant issue so far in Biden presidency has been the COVID-19 pandemic. Jim believes that Mr. Biden has taken the approach of setting lower expectations and then exceeding them, such as 100 million doses of vaccine for a goal and then getting 200 million out. The unified messaging from the federal government on COVID-19 has been a major shift.

The third COVID relief bill will be a major factor over the next few months. There are predictions that the U.S. economy will grow faster than it has in decades thanks in part to money provided to the people in the three stimulus packages. All that money jump-starts the economy. Republicans argue that the cost is too high in terms of the national debt and future inflation fears.

Jim discussed the concept of the Washington Consensus, where policy calls for walking back subsidies and stimulus before aiding the economy. That has been blown apart in the last 6-12 months thanks to the COVID stimulus packages under both Presidents Trump and Biden. The question is whether this approach will truly jump-start the economy.

In terms of foreign policy, Mr. Biden has kept many of the tariffs against China that Mr. Trump put in place. Mr. Biden is talking with Iran about putting the nuclear deal in place where Trump had pulled the U.S. out completely. Mr. Trump was unable to pull troops out of Afghanistan where Biden drew a line and set a timeline for withdrawal.

Climate change will continue to be a big issue during Mr. Biden’s presidency and future presidencies. Within minutes of becoming president, Biden signed the authorization to bring the U.S. back into the Paris Climate Accord. When polling voters, polls show that the younger you are, the bigger climate change is. When you look at voters under 35, climate issues cuts across both parties.

Club Calendar
Wednesday, May 5: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: George Nakata, Japanese American Museum Of Oregon

Thurs., May 6: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.

Thurs., Mar 6: Steak Sale & Wine Pickup, 4:30-6 p.m.
Jeff Duyck’s Warehouse, 19th Avenue between Main and Ash.

Wednesday, May 12: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Rod Diridon, Rotary Climate Action Council

Thurs., May 13: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.