If you did not make it to our last Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here is what you missed…

Crab Feed Is Tomorrow!: A reminder that we will not have our usual noon meeting on Wednesday. Instead, plan on meeting us at the Forest Grove Senior & Community Center on Wednesday for our annual Crab Feed. The social hour begins at 5:30 p.m., with dinner served at 6:30 p.m. Join for a night of fellowship and fun as well as our annual recognition of our Paul Harris Fellows. If you have been awarded a Paul Harris Fellow, please wear your pins and/or medals.

Don’t forget that we will have both a silent auction and a dessert auction, so don’t forget your checkbooks and credit cards as proceeds from both will benefit The Rotary Foundation. Payment for both the silent auction & dessert auction must be laid for before leaving the venue on Wednesday night. Members will not be billed.

Next Noon Meeting – At FGSD Offices: Our next noon meeting will take place on Wednesday, Apr. 5, and will take place in the Grove Room at the Forest Grove School District office, 1728 Main Street. We need a head count by the end of the weekend for catering. If you plan on attending, please contact President Janet.

March Madness Fundraiser Update: Thanks to everyone who bought into our March Madness fundraiser, which has raised $260 for The Rotary Foundation. Through the first two rounds (prior to the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight), Michael Yakos held the lead followed by Pete Van Dyke and Janet Peters. With all of the upsets in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, we look forward to hearing how the standings have changed. Stay tuned! The Final Four is Saturday night with the Division I championships game taking place Monday night.

RYLA Applications Open: The application period is now open for the annual Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). Held annually, RYLA is week-long intensive leadership camp that is open to youth and young professionals ages 19 to 32. The program has been described as a life-changing professional experience for many participants, many of whom also become Rotarians.

Our club annually sponsors one to two RYLA participants, all of which attend on scholarships provided by District 5100 clubs. This year’s RYLA will take place July 8-14 at the Menucha Retreat Center in Corbett, just east of the Portland metro area.

If you know a youth who might benefit from attending RYLA, have them visit ryladistrict5100.org. The website includes a link to the online application form.

For questions, please contact our club’s RYLA chair, Andrea Stewart, at 503-357-1427 or astewart@pacificu.edu.

Rotary Scholarships: Applications are now open for the 2023 Rotary Club of Forest Grove Scholarship Program. The program provides one-time scholarships to graduating seniors that reside in the Forest Grove, Banks or Gaston school district attendance areas. The awards may be used towards tuition of any college or vocational school in the United States.

The Scholarship Program is made possible by proceeds from our annual Concours d’Elegance car show.

Applications are due by midnight on Apr. 6, 2023. For more details and a link to the application, Click Here. For questions, please contact Scholarship Committee chair Sharon Olmstead, sharon.olmstead8571@gmail.com.

Rotarians At Work Day – Save The Date: Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which will be our annual Rotarians at Work Day. The Community Service Committee is working on identifying two to three projects for Rotarians to be involved with that day. Watch for a sign-up sheet at our weekly meetings.

End of Zoom Meetings: With more people attending weekly meetings in person and with continual technical and audio quality problems in our meeting space at Pacific University, the decision has been made to end the Zoom option for weekly meetings. With changes to Pacific University’s COVID policies (vaccination is no longer required to be one campus), we hope to see more people attending in person.

Lunch Cost Increase: Since the start of 2023, Bon Appetit has increased the amount charged to the club for lunches. Effective immediately, the club charge for weekly lunches will be $9 per person. Please contact President Janet if you have any questions.

Concours Polo Shirts: For the first time in many years, the club is producing updated Concours d’Elegance polo shirts. Club members typically wear these shirts on Concours day and at our club promotional functions, such as the Steak Feed. The new polo shirts will be the navy blue that we have had in past years and feature the updated Concours d’Elegance logo and our club logo.

Orders are being taken now with both men’s and women’s sizes available. Men’s shirts will cost around $25 and women’s sizes will be around $35. If you are interested in purchasing a shirt (cost between $25 and $30), please contact Tim Pearson at 503-998-8616 or timpearsonpc@gmail.com.

Concours Concert Details: The Concours d’Elegance will once again feature a Friday night vineyard concert. The event will take place on Friday, July 14. Court Carrier is looking for assistance on identifying potential caterers and musical performers for the evening concert, which will be held at a local winery. If you have possible leads or want to be involved with the planning committee, contact Court.

Youth Exchange Update: Back in January, we learned that our selected outbound Rotary Youth Exchange student had withdrawn from the program for personal reason. Since then, our club has officially applied to host an African exchange student in a one-way exchange through the “Power of One” program.

The club should find out which student we are hosting in the next weeks. It is a high likelihood that our student will come from Algeria or Tanzania.

The “Power Of One” program has asked our club to participate in a level of funding called Enhanced Plus, where the host district pays for health insurance, clothing assistance, Rotary sponsored trips and provide a monthly stipend. Students and their families are responsible for airfare and visa and interview costs.

District 5100 is very supportive of the “Power of One” program and will support our club with additional funding should our club not be able to come up with the necessary funds.

This is an exciting opportunity for our club to continue its tradition of involvement with Rotary Youth Exchange for this year. Be watching for more details soon.

Rotaract/Interact Liaisons Needed: We are in need of club liaisons that would like to be involved with both the Rotaract Club at Pacific University and with the Interact Club at Forest Grove High School. Both clubs are connected to our Rotary club and aim to provide service opportunities to students. If you are interested, or would like more information on what the role entails, please contact President Janet.

Concours Sponsorship Opportunities: The Concours d’Elegance Committee is well underway with procuring sponsorships for our 2023 show, which will take place on Sunday, July 16. There is plenty of sponsorship opportunities for both businesses and individuals for starting as low as $350. How important is sponsorships? Most of the profit that comes from Concours, which helps pay for our service outreach and funds our Scholarship Program, comes from sponsorships.

Click Here To Download The Sponsorship Flyer, which describes a number of the show’s sponsor opportunities. For more information or to help secure a sponsorship, please contact Tim Pearson at 503-998-8616 or timpearsonpc@gmail.com or Andrea Stewart at 503-357-1427 or astewart@pacificu.edu.

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 (over 100 videos to date) are archived on our club’s YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Elks Backpack Program: The Elks Backpack Program, which provides food for youth in the Forest Grove School District experiencing food insecurity, is looking for 50 new or gently used backpacks for the program. If you have backpacks to donate, please bring those to a future meeting and we will get them to the appropriate people.

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.

The Food Pantry is open on Mondays from 4-6 p.m. The pantry is now open in its new site in the building along Nichols Lane between the football field and the Basinski Center.

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.

Around District 5100
Rotary Spring Training Event Registration Open: Registration is now open for the 2023 Rotary Spring Training Event (formerly District Training Assembly). This year’s event takes place at Sherwood High School at Sat., Apr. 22.

This year’s lineup will have some wonderful workshops and training opportunities as well as a new concept called “Birds of a Feather” for attendees to participate in.

There will also be post-training activities, so bring your family and plan on staying after the event. Langers Entertainment Center, the premier family entertainment center in Sherwood, has offered Rotary space to fellowship after the training, complete with snacks and a $25 game card for every attendee. You can bowl, climb the rock wall, play laser tag, do the rope challenge course and much more.

The Rotary Spring Training Event is more than a training. It is time to connect and enjoy fellowship with your fellow District 5100 Rotarians as, together, we create hope in the world.

A registration link was emailed out to all Rotarians and can also be accessed through DacDB. Click Here To View The Schedule Of Classes & Events.

If you want additional information, please contact DGE Renee Brouse at rbrouseymca@hotmail.com.

Rotary Direct Matching Points Available: District 5100 is offering three Jubitz Rotary Foundation (TRF) recognition point offers this year in conjunction with this year’s Spring Training Assembly.

The one-time offer provides for 250 TRF Recognition Points for joining Rotary Direct or for increasing giving through Rotary Direct or 500 TRF Recognition Points for joining the Paul Harris Society.

Rotarians can take advantage of this offer to complete their own Paul Harris Fellow or to recognize someone significant their life.

Here’s How It Works:

• Sign up for Rotary Direct, which required a minimum monthly contribution of $10 or more to the TRF Annual Fund – SHARE.
• Increase current Rotary Direct giving by increasing by a minimum of $100 per year to the Annual Fund – SHARE.
• Sign up for the Paul Harris Society (PHS) through Rotary Direct with a minimum monthly contribution of $85 or more to the Annual Fund – SHARE.

Spring Training registration will open on Mar. 1. Your completed Rotary Direct form must be submitted to the Foundation Table at Spring Training on Sat., Apr. 22 Click Here For The Rotary Direct Form.

This year, you do not have to attend Spring Training to turn in your Rotary Direct form. A member from your club can submit the form for you or you may also send it to the District 5100 Office, 6700 SW 105th Ave., Suite 313, Beaverton, OR 97008, or by email to office@district5100.org. Mailed applications must be received by Apr. 18, 2023.

Thank you to Rotarian Al Jubitz for his gracious support in allowing the use of his TRF points and thank you all donors who believe in Rotary’s work, both locally and globally.

District 5100 Newsletter: Click Here To View The Monthly District 5100 Newsletter

Around Rotary International
Small Rotary Club In Ecuador’s Andes Delivers Big On Water Project: High in the Andes, an indigenous community had been waiting more than a decade for clean drinking water.

They had worked with a regional water agency on a plan, but didn’t have the funding to put it into effect – until they met a new Rotary club willing to apply for their first global grant.

The village of Cochapamba lies in the shadow of Ecuador’s highest peak, Chimborazo, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Quito. Residents had to journey an hour to bathe or wash their clothes. They would draw a small weekly allotment of water for drinking from an irrigation basin meant for crops — and risk getting sick from the untreated water.

Villagers had formed a water board and worked with the regional water agency to design a system for pulling water down from a mountain catchment and treating it. But their plan couldn’t be implemented without more funding. Meanwhile, some of the residents who occasionally came into Guaranda, a town about 8 kilometers (5 miles) away, got to know members of the Rotary Club of Guaranda, Bolivar, which had just chartered in 2019.

“We have been dealing with this problem for many years. We had a project ready, but nobody could help us,” says Doroteo Santillan, a Cochapamba resident interviewed by the station GuarandaTV in a video made by the club. “But then we found the Rotary club … and they helped us access the water.”

“My wife saw how the women had to carry water on their backs and started thinking, ‘How could we help?'” says Alfonso Camacho, service chair for the Guaranda club.

The new club had never applied for a global grant from The Rotary Foundation. But its members got lots of advice from others in Rotary, found a partner, and worked with people in Cochapamba on the system that now provides safe drinking water to 133 families.

Camacho’s wife, Virginia Soto, is the club’s treasurer. She and officials from the regional water agency met with the Cochapamba water board and others from the community. They told her about the water system plan that had been made but not carried out. Because Cochapamba already had a water board, it could provide liaisons, create a financial system, and set up a fee to cover maintenance.

“We like to help people, so we said, ‘We can do it,'” Camacho recalls.

Under the new system, water from the mountain source is treated and channeled into a series of tanks before it’s distributed to homes. The club worked closely with the community and engineers from the water agency, and the system was completed in June 2022.

The club used its US$50,000 grant for equipment, supplies, and project management expenses. The water agency designed and oversaw the technical aspects and provided other expertise, topographical mapping, and equipment and supplies such as water meters and valves.

Participating families provided the physical labor through a collective arrangement that benefits the community. Residents worked in shifts to dig the many trenches for plastic PVC pipes and often had to bring rock, sand, and other materials up the mountainside by donkey.

The water source is the same one that feeds the irrigation reservoir. Water flows downhill through the pipes to a reinforced concrete tank, where it is chlorinated. Pipes then carry the water to two distribution stations on nearby hills, where more pipes branch out to individual homes.

The grant project is remarkable for a new club. “We are a young club. We didn’t know anything,” Camacho says. “We didn’t even know how to navigate My Rotary and the grant system.”

“But we asked a lot of questions, worked together with the community, and [Past District Governor Juan] Prinz made connections for us,” he adds. “When one is determined enough to do something, you can do it.”

Prinz, a past governor of District 4400 who died in 2021, had provided considerable help to the Guaranda club. He had urged Camacho and Soto to form the club, and his club, the Rotary Club of Quito-Valle Interoceánico, Pichincha, served as its sponsor. Later, Prinz and fellow club member Odd Hanssen connected the Guaranda club with its international partner, the Rotary Club of Velbert/Rhld., Germany. Prinz and Hanssen had met members of the German club during a 2020 project fair that was held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Juan Gregori y Ribes, a member of the German club, recalls how his club wanted to sponsor a global grant project in Ecuador but hadn’t found anything suitable. “Through Prinz, we got information to contact the Guaranda club. They had prepared the project very well,” he says. “We were able to join the application, and with very good Rotarian cooperation, it was implemented successfully.”

The project is sustainable as well. Cochapamba employs an engineer who works with the water agency, and every three weeks, Camacho and the engineer check on the system and visit families to discuss their health and hygiene and recommend ways to conserve water.

Cochapamba residents have reported fewer illnesses now that they have treated water. And with laundry no longer being washed in the river, the pollution from detergent has been eliminated.

The small Rotary Club of Guaranda is not done yet. It plans to build a similar water system in Kilitawa, Ecuador, that will help 180 families — using its second approved global grant.

Last Week’s Program: Dr. Brian Greenway, Pacific University School of Audiology

Click Here To Watch The Full Program

Dr. Brian Greenway, an assistant professor with the Pacific University School of Audiology, joined us last week and presented a program on audiology and other medical comorbidities.

Greenway opened his program by talking about what an audiologist does. Audiologists are clinical doctors that are interested in everything to do with the ear, hearing and balance. They are not surgeons and they do not prescribe medication but do just about everything else related to ears and hearing.

Primary role of audiology is identifying and treating hearing loss. There are three main types of hearing loss: conductive (sound can’t get to the cochlea), sensorineural (problems with the cochlea and beyond) and a mix of both. The majority of hearing loss in adults is sensorineural and often times cannot be reversed but only treated. Audiologists also focus on listening difficulties where the brain has trouble organizing or making sense of the sounds it receives.

Audiologists also take an interest in balance issues. There are sensors in each ear that work with the eyes, muscles and the brain to help know where we are in space and when we are moving. It is a multi-system job that must work properly to keep people in balance.

Hearing health can also affect other parts of the body, including issues with mental health, congnition, oxotoxic medications and diabetes.

Mental health and audiology: Hearing loss is strongly correlated with increased depression in older adults. This is due to reduced social interaction, more anxiety around social interactions and more stress when communicating with other. Studies have shown improved mental health within three months of regular hearing aid use.

Cognition and audiology: There is a lot of buzz around hearing health and cognition/dementia. In a 2020 Lancet report, hearing loss was identified as one of 12 modifiable risk factors for dementia and the one with the highest population attributable fraction. There is new research coming out constantly showing that hearing aids likely reduce the risk of cognitive impairment later in life. It is important to remember that hearing loss only accounts for a portion of modifiable factors contributing to cognitive impairment. Hearing aids should not be presented as a silver bullet for dementia.

Ototoxicity is damage to the auditory system (ears or nerves) caused by medications or environmental toxins. This can include very high doses of aspiring, Quirine in high doses, loop diuretics, strong antibiotics and chemotherapy drugs. Drugs can affect balance, hearing and cause tinnitus. Audiologists monitor hearing to inform prescribing doctors, help with hearing protection and work with patients on hearing and balance rehabilitation after ear damage occurs.

Diabetes is becoming more and more common in society. Microvascular changes can occur with diabetes, including the ear. Hearing loss is twice as likely in people with diabetes than in those who do not have the condition. People with prediabetes have a 30% greater likelihood of hearing loss. Audiologists can monitor patients to track how diabetes interventions are working for hearing and counsel on the results. They intervene when hearing requires treatment and when there are balance concerns.

The Pacific University School of Audiology started in 2012 and has sent over 200 audiologists into the world. It has large cohorts of 24 to 27 students for the three-year program, which included full-time clinical placements in the second and third years. Pacific Ear Clinics in Hillsboro and at Portland State provide treatment for ear disorders. Pacific University also has an interprofessional diabetes clinic, which brings a number of Pacific’s health professions programs together to help treat patients with diabetes. The clinic generally sees low-income and non-insured patients.

Club Calendar
Wed., Mar. 29: Crab Feed
Social Hour at 5:30 p.m., Dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Forest Grove Senior & Community Center, 2037 Douglas Ave.
No Noon Meeting On Mar. 29

Wed., Apr. 5: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Grove Room, Forest Grove School District Office, 1728 Main St.
Program: To Be Announced

Wed., Apr. 12: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: To Be Announced

Sat., May 6: Rotarians at Work Day, 9 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Locations To Be Announced

Fri., June 9: Steak Feed, 5-8 p.m.
Pacific University Campus

Sun., July 16: Concours d’Elegance
Pacific University Campus