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

Back At Pacific University: After a couple of weeks away, we will be back in our regular meeting location in the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University. We will see you Wednesday at noon!

McDougall Garden – Public Sculpture Call For Artists: The City of Forest Grove Public Arts Commission is submitting artist submissions for a sculpture that will be installed at the McDougall Garden later this fall or winter. One piece of art will be selected from those presented with a project budget from the arts commission not to exceed $12,000. Applying artists should be qualified and able to demonstrate artistic excellence as well as complete and install the project with a specified timeline. Proposals will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Apr. 14.

For more information on the project, Visit The City Of Forest Grove Website.

Portland Swap Meet: Thank you to everyone who took time out to help promote the Concours d’Elegance at the Portland Swap Meet from Mar. 31-Apr. 2. Thank you Pete Van Dyke, Dave Parker, Natalia Colbert, Amy Tracewell, Dallas Roark, Greg Nemchick, Janet Peters (or her birthday no less), Rus Peters, Paul Waterstreet, Geoff & Alisa Johnston and Bruce Cummings. A special thank you to Jim Crisp for his efforts to coordinate this promotional opportunity for the club and the show year after year.

McDougall Garden Work Party: Thank you to the small but sturdy work party that came out on Saturday, Apr. 1 to help get our McDougall Garden ready for spring. Those who helped out included Geoff & Annette Faris, Melinda Fischer, John Minor, Jim Cain and Margie Davidson.

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, please contact Tim Pearson at 503-998-8616 or timpearsonpc@gmail.com.

Steak Feed: If you haven’t already marked your calendars, mark them for Friday, June 9 on the canpus of Pacific University. Our second-biggest fundraiser of the year (behind Concours d’Elegance), this is an “all hands on deck” event where we need as many Rotarians as possible to help make the event happen. Proceeds from the Steak Feed directly fund our involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program.

Rotarians will receive an envelope in the next two weeks with 10 Steak Feed tickets and a list of committee work assignments. Please do what you can to sell your Steak Feed tickets to friends, family, co-workers, enemies…anyone who wants to support the work of our club and enjoy a delicious steak dinner with all of the trimmings. Tickets are $25 each.

For any questions, please contact Steak Feed chair Geoff Faris.

Steak Packets Available: Speaking of steaks, we still have about 25 frozen packs of two steaks available for purchase. Packs are $20 each. If you are interested, please contact President Janet.

Crab Feed – Thank You!: Rotarians and honored guests enjoyed the annual Crab Feed at the Forest Grove Community and Senior Center on Wed., March 29.   It was so nice to hear the buzz in the room as members, non-members and guests caught up with each other!

The evening included a silent auction, dessert dash, music by Pamelajean Myers and Maggie Dickerson, photo booth and Paul Harris Awards. It was a full evening of good food, music and fellowship!

Our TRF Chair, Mike Yakos, announced 16 Paul Harris Fellow recipients, including seven first time honorees.

I want to thank our Crab Feed Committee for all of their planning and work to put this together. The committee included Julie Kollar, Jeff Duyck, Candace Evers, Andrea Stewart, Melinda Fischer, Claudia and Mike Yakos, Hector Mendez, John and Mary Welch, Jessica Lynch, Sharon Olmstead and Parri Van Dyke.  Thank you to members of Scouts BSA Troop 213 and Forest Grove FFA for serving and clean up.

A total of $4,640 was raised through the silent auction, dessert dash, steak sales and extra crab and wine sales. These funds will go The Rotary Foundation and Polio Plus. Thank you to everyone that came and supported our event!

President Janet Peters

Paul Harris Fellows: At the Crab Feed, the following individuals were recognized for earning Paul Harris Fellows over the course of the last year. Individuals become Paul Harris Fellows for $1,000 lifetime giving to The Rotary Foundation and for each subsequent $1,000 of giving. Rotarians may also continue funds to give a Paul Harris Fellow to other individuals.

Paul Harris Fellows: Bryce Baker, Cindy Yakos, Alexa Johnston, Alex Johnston, Rus Peters, Lucas Welliver, Melissa Hartneky, John Weglarz
Paul Harris +1: Pamelajean Myers
Paul Harris +2: Michael Yakos, Geoff Johnston
Paul Harris +3: Janet Peters, Chuck Pritchard
Paul Harris +4: Andrew Stewart
Paul Harris +6: Julia Kollar
Paul Harris +7: Jeannine Murrell

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.

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.

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 at the Eagles Nest Reserve Winery, 12995 SW Bishop Rd., Hillsboro. 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 at 971-404-7864 or ccarrieriv@gmail.com.

Youth Exchange Update: Back in January, we learned that our selected outbound Rotary Youth Exchange student had withdrawn from the program for personal reasons. 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.

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: The 2023 Spring Training Event (formerly District Training Assembly) is just around the corner! 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
Rotary Convention Speakers Envision A More Peaceful, Equitable World: The keynote speakers at the 2023 Rotary International Convention are transforming health care, rethinking cities, advancing the cause of peace, and working to protect our environment. They share a vision of a more sustainable, equitable world. When they take the stage in Melbourne, Australia, 27-31 May, they’ll tell how that vision can be realized – not just in the years to come, but right now.

Some of the convention speakers include:

Leymah Gbowee
She’s a 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate and champion of women’s rights. Gbowee led a nonviolent movement that helped end a 14-year-long civil war in Liberia. She has lived in a refugee camp, worked as a counselor for child soldiers and currently sits on the United Nations Secretary-General’s High Level Advisory Board on Mediation. She’s the founder and current president of the Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa and serves as the executive director of the Gender, Law and Transformative Peace Initiative of the City of New York (CUNY) School of Law, USA. She was a founding member and Liberia coordinator of the Women in Peacebuilding Network, a program of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

Kari Aina Eik
She makes cities smarter. She’s headed such initiatives as the United Smart Cities Program and the United Cities Organization and Funds. During more than 15 years at the United Nations and 10 years as Secretary General of the Organization for International Economic Relations, she led numerous programs to meet global environmental targets and shape the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Currently, she is working to reimagine effective philanthropy at the SDG Impact Fund.

Gregory Rockson
He’s revolutionizing health care in Africa through mPharma, the company he co-founded at age 22. mPharma uses data analytics and innovative inventory services to reduce the cost of pharmaceuticals while preserving quality. As CEO, Rockson has overseen the Ghana-based company’s expansion to eight other African countries. mPharma now owns leading pharmacy chains in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda, and has become the largest operator of community pharmacies in Sub-Saharan Africa. In partnership with over 1,000 hospitals and pharmacies, the company has helped more than 2 million people save on medications.

Nakeeyat Dramani Sam
She’s a 10-year-old climate change activist and poet. She’s the youth ambassador for the Climate Vulnerable Forum and spoke for Ghana at COP27 in Egypt. “Have a heart and do the math,” she told delegates there. “It’s an emergency.” Sam won the “Ghana Talented Kid” competition at the age of 7 and has been honored as a Young Peace Ambassador in her country. She’s the author of the book “Nakeeyat Trees for Life” and is currently working on her next project, “One Tree, One Child.”

Last Week’s Program: Matthew Tschabold, Governor Office For Housing & Homelessness Initiatives

Click Here To View The Complete Program

At our last meeting, we were joined by Matthew Tschabold, who is a senior advisor with Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s Housing & Homelessness Initiative. He joined us to provide an overview of the governor’s goals in addressing housing insecurity and homelessness and the initial steps being taken to address the issues in her first 100 days in office.

Prior to joining the governor’s staff, Tschabold was a policy advisor for the City of Portland’s Housing Bureau, focusing on equity and affordable housing policy. He was hand-picked to be a lead policy advisor for the governor’s initiative.

When she took office in January, Governor Kotek identified three core initiatives for her administration: housing and homelessness, education and behavorial health. For all three areas, the governor has appointed multi-member teams to work on those initiatives.

Tschabold laid out some of the facts surrounding homelessness in Oregon. Since 2017, there has been a 63% increase in homeless in our state. Homelessness is not just defined as not physically living in a dwelling, but is also defined by, among other things, living in one’s car, moving frequently from place to place and living in shelters. There is currently a housing shortage in Oregon of approximately 140,000 units.

In 2022, there were approximately 18,000 individuals in Oregon that were identified as homeless. Sixty-two percent of those individuals are unsheltered. Oregon has the fourth highest homelessness rate for families in the United States. Four of Oregon’s eight regions, plus the Portland Metro Area, experienced a 50% increase in homelessness between 2017 and 2022.

In terms of housing shortages, there is an anticipated need of 443,000 units over the next 20 years. That is rate of 36,000 units per year. Currently, the pace of housing construction in Oregon is 20,000 units per year. Half of that need is with people that are under 50% of the annual median income.

Gov. Kotek took immediate action on these initiatives upon becoming governor, putting forward a proposed budget and issuing executive orders to address her top priorities of housing & homelessness, education and behavioral health.

The governor has proposed a $130 million to reduce unsheltered homeless. The legislature recently passed HB 5019, which met and increased the $130 million request, including $85 million to rehouse individuals experiencing homeless, $33.6 million to prevent homelessness statewide, $27.4 million to expand shelter capability and $5 million that will go directly to federally recognized tribes.

Club Calendar
Wed., Apr. 12: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Karen Martinez, National Day of Prayer & Civic Engagement

Thurs., Apr. 13: Executive Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
via Zoom

Wed., Apr. 19: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Club Assembly

Thurs., Apr. 20: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

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