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

Online Meetings: Our club continues to meet virtually using the Zoom Meeting platform. Our weekly 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.

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Happy Rotary New Year!: We have arrived at a new Rotary year! We are truly grateful for the leadership of our club during the 2020-21 Rotary year, led by president Julia Kollar. They guided our club through this challenging and unusual year, kept the club pointed in a positive direction and provided avenues to continue to serve the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We also look ahead to what the future holds in the 2021-22 Rotary year as we emerge from the pandemic. There is no doubt that good things are ahead under president Bryce Baker. Here are our 2021-22 club officers:

President: Bryce Baker
President-Elect/Program Chair: Janet Peters
Vice President: Amy Tracewell
Secretary: Claudia Yakos
Treasurer: Lucas Welliver
Immediate Past President: Julia Kollar
Membership Chair: Michelle Thomas
Rotary Foundation Chair: Michael Yakos
Fund Raising Chair: Jim Crisp
Community Service Chair: Janet Peters
International Service Chair: Claudia Yakos
Satellite Club Director: Michael Yakos

Board of Directors Members: Court Carrier, Michael Doherty, Melinda Fischer, Alma Lozano, Virginia Ohler, Andrea Stewart, Howard Sullivan, Michelle Thomas, Laura Thompson-Aue

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 event will feature up to 85 former class winners and judges. Following the event, a group of 50 cars will take an invitation-only tour that will end at the Brothers Museum in Salem.

The Concours Committee will need help from club members with set-up, car-spotting, a Rotary information booth and more. If you are able and interested in volunteering for the event, sign up at the following link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0448a9aa22a5f94-july.

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.

Golf Tournament: Mark your calendars for Wednesday, August 11, for the club’s annual golf tournament at Sunset Grove Golf Course. This is currently scheduled to be the club’s first in-person meeting back following the COVID pandemic and we are looking forward to seeing everyone face to face.

The day will begin with a barbeque lunch, which all members are invited to regardless of if you are playing in the tournament or not. Golf will tee off around 1 p.m. Additional details on the day are coming soon.

Blake Timm Named Four-Way Test Award Winner: During the June 30 meeting, the Four-Way Test Committee announced that Blake Timm was this year’s recipient of the Four-Way Test Award.

The award is presented annually by the Four-Way Test Committee to a member of the club who typifies the ideals of the Four-Way Test. Recent past recipients have included Joe Post, Greg Nemchick and Mark Nakajima.

Blake has been a member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove since 2010. He was the club’s president during the 2018-19 Rotary year and has served in the past as the club’s membership chair. This year, Blake was instrumental in keeping members informed about what is happening within the club and Rotary International through the Rototeller and maintaining the club’s website and social media channels.

Blake is also involved in the community outside of the club. He is moderator-elect of the Forest Grove United Church of Christ and was the emcee (along with fellow Rotarian Jill Verboort) of this year’s West Tuality Habitat for Humanity virtual gala.

Wine Fundraiser: As the club continues to look for ways to make up for the fund that we usually realize from the Concours d’Elegance, we will be having another wine sale fundraiser coming up in July. These are bottles of wine made available by the former owners of A Blooming Hill Vineyard with approximately 200 cases available for sale. Bottles of red wine will be available for $12 and bottles of white available for $10. The club will realize a return of approximately $45 per case. Watch for additional details coming soon.

Club Budget: As the club looks ahead to the coming years, the board of directors has been taking a critical look at the club and foundation budgets. The board has been looking ahead to the next two years for the club, knowing that we will have missed two years of both the Steak Feed and the Concours d’Elegance. It is likely that a number of committees will have to reduce spending in order to keep withdrawals from the foundation’s rainy day fund to a minimum.

The board is looking to put together a couple of fundraisers that will help bring money in to fund our club’s outreaches, including the Scholarship Program. If you have potential ideas, please let any member of the club know.

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.

Distribution events for these items take place on the first Monday of each month. If you are interested in assisting with the next distribution event, please contact President Julia or Michael Yakos.

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.

For information on the Food Pantry, 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.

Rotary Phone Tree: A revised version of the Rotary Phone Tree was sent out last week. Tree toppers will utilize the new list starting this week. 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 2020 are archived on our club’s YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

Around District 5100
Welcome To The 2021-22 Rotary Year! (By District 5100 Governor Jim Boyle): I am excited to serve as the District Governor for District 5100 in the Rotary Year 2021-2022.  Some clubs are convening in person now and others are planning on doing so in the near future.

We have a tremendous opportunity to continue our quest to make a positive change in our communities and the world. Let’s commit to making a difference and SERVE TO CHANGE LIVES.  Please Watch This Video sharing some new and exciting programs for the upcoming year. Looking forward to a great year together.

District 5100 Rotary Foundation Update: The Annual Fund is the primary source of funds that support The Rotary Foundation’s programs and Areas of Focus. The Annual Programs Fund makes it possible for Rotary clubs to transform lives at home and around the globe, supporting worldwide humanitarian, educational and cultural exchange programs.

Half of Rotarian contributions from District 5100 come back to the District after three years to support our District Grants and Global Grant projects. In spite of the difficulties we have encountered this year with COVID restrictions, TRF giving has remained close to giving in previous years.

All District Grant funds were distributed this past year, funding 113 District Grants with $145,607 in District Designated Funds (DDF) supporting projects with a total project value of $364,650. Many thanks to our District Grant team of reviewers.

New District Grant applications for 2020- 2021 can be submitted after June 1 for up to $2,500 and will be reviewed and approved beginning July 1. In order to be certified to apply for a District Grant, clubs:

• Must be current on existing District Grant reporting requirements.
• Must be caught up on RI and District dues and fees.
• Must have a memorandum of understanding on file in the District Office, signed by your incoming president.
• Must have had at least one club member attend both sections of the District Grant training at the Spring Training Event; training is available online through the District website if your club has not yet satisfied this requirement.
• Must have entered a Rotary Foundation giving goal into Rotary Club Central for the 2021-2022 Rotary year.
• Strongly suggested to check on your club’s donations and to meet the average 100% per capita over the last two years to receive a 1:1 match.

Wheelchairs in Guatemala
Thanks to dedicated Rotarians, excellent coaching, and some new clubs stepping forward, our Global Grants programs also had an outstanding year. We carried over $193,000 from the 2019-2020 Rotary year plus this year’s DDF, bringing the total funds available to $324,194. These funds were used to support 10 new Global Grant projects, with two still in process. This new level of activity will basically exhaust our Global Grant district budget.

New Global Grant projects will require similar documentation and training as District Grants and, in order to be certified as the lead club for a Global Grant, clubs:

• Must be current on Global Grant reporting requirements.
• Must be current on RI and District dues and fees.
• Must have a memorandum of understanding on file in the District Office, signed by the incoming president, and the club President for 2022-23 Rotary year.
• Must have had at least one club member attend the Global Grant training at the Spring Training Event; training is available online through the District Website and in Grants Management Training at the Learning Center of Rotary.org, if your club has not yet satisfied this requirement.
• Must have entered a Rotary Foundation giving goal into Rotary Club Central for the 2021-2022 Rotary year.

Around Rotary International
Meet Rotary’s New President (by John Rezek, Rotary Magazine Editor-In-Chief): Over the years, I caught glimpses of Shekhar Mehta when he came to One Rotary Center in Evanston, Illinois, for Board of Directors meetings. I met him formally during one of the days of back-to-back meetings with various staff members that every incoming Rotary president participates in. During the session I attended, he was the most relaxed person in the room, despite being the only one suffering from jet lag. He was alert, patient, and asked perceptive questions — not surprising for someone as successful as he is in his professional and philanthropic life. I kept thinking that he was assessing each of us to see how we could be recruited to help him achieve his dreams for Rotary.

I was lucky to have met Shekhar in person back when we could meet in person. We are now well into the second year of the global COVID-19 pandemic, and as I write this, India is in the depths of a tragic outbreak. Rotary has had to make adjustments, but the business of Rotary goes on.

In a normal year, one of the Rotary editors would have traveled to Kolkata, where Shekhar lives with his wife, Rashi. We would have spent time with him, his family members, and his friends and fellow Rotarians, exploring how his upbringing and adulthood in India have shaped his perspective on life and on Rotary. This year, of course, no one was able to travel — so instead, we asked the people who know Shekhar best to tell us about him in their own words. Read More

Rotary Responds To COVID-19: Rotary is taking action in response to the pandemic as our 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 Been Responding & Supporting

Last Week’s Program: Jeannine Murrell & Pamelajean Myers, ShelterBox

Click Here To Watch The Complete Program

The Rotary Club of Forest Grove has been a longtime supporter of ShelterBox and is a ShelterBox HERO, having committed to a $1,000 annual commitment to the organization.

Our own ShelterBox ambassadors, Rotarians Jeannine Murrell and Pamelajean Myers, provided an overview of the organization and an update on ShelterBox’s work in 2021.

No one that is involved in a disaster, whether natural or civil, should be without shelter. ShelterBox is a cutting-edge international organization that delivers shelter to families devastated by disaster. ShelterBox works with a number of international organizations to deliver shelter, including Rotary International, the Red Cross, the Red Crescent and Doctors Without Borders.

The No. 1 international partner of ShelterBox is Rotary International. The organization actually began as a Rotary Centennial project by the Rotary Club of Cornwall, England, and is now its own independent non-profit organization. Volunteers run the vast majority of the organization. In the United States, ShelterBox has seven paid staff members in its headquarters in Santa Barbara, California.

As of 2020, over 104 million have been displaced by a natural of civil disaster. By 2050, experts estimate over 200 million people will be displaced by either natural disaster on conflict.

The typical ShelterBox kit includes a custom-designed family tent, a tool kit, thermal fleece blankets, waterproof ground mats, a water filtration system, cooking equipment, water containers, mosquito nets, a Luminaid solar light and a children’s activity pack. The kit is packed in a teal green heavy plastic box.

The make-up of the box continues to change based on what items are actually being used. For example, the box no longer includes a cookstove because ShelterBox that more people were using open fires to cook and not utilizing the stoves. The composition of the box also changes based on where the disaster is located.

ShelterBox has also made smaller “ShelterKits” available that more adaptable to use in urban areas. The ShelterKits include a shovel, pickaxe, saw, hammer and other tools that can be utilized to build shelter where more building materials are available.

As of June 14, 2021, ShelterBox is currently deployed in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Honduras, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Syria. Deployments are currently being assessed or planned for Yemen, Mozambique, Congo, and Nigeria.

ShelterBox is conscious to the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage in many parts of the world. To that end, ShelterBox makes sure that its volunteers that are delivering aid are staying safe and following health and safety protocols set out by the World Health Organization.

In addition to the support that ShelterBox receives from Rotary International, ShelterBox does accept contributions from individuals. The ShelterBox Builder recognizes individual contributors that enter into a sustaining member of at least $20 per month. If you are interested in becoming a ShelterBox Builder, please contact Jeannine or Pamelajean.

Our club wishes to say thank you to both Jeannine and Pamelajean for their years of service to ShelterBox and for their continued passionate support of its mission.

Club Calendar
All Meetings Are On Zoom Unless Noted

Wed., July 7: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Daniel Kittleson, Washington County Parks, Hagg Lake Summer Activities

Thurs., July 8: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.

Wed., July 14: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Ryan Garcia, Concours “Cars & Coffee” Event

Sun., July 18: Concours “Cars & Coffee” event in downtown Forest Grove

Wed., July 21: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Keith Horman, Forest Grove Light & Power