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

This Week’s Meeting: We hope you will join us on Wednesday at noon for our weekly meeting in the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University. This week we will be joined by City of Forest Grove Economic Development Coordinator Miles Glowacki, who will provide an update on the city’s community vision planning.

Upcoming Meetings: The remainder of our meetings in the months of October and November will be held in the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University. As per our usual Thanksgiving week tradition, we will not hold a meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

In Memoriam – Richard Kidd: It is with great sadness that we share the news that Rotarian Richard Kidd passed away on Sunday, Oct. 6, after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Richard was a Rotarian for as long as he and his wife, Christine, lived in Forest Grove. Originally a member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove, he was a charter member of the Forest Grove Daybreak Rotary Club when it was chartered in 1991. He returned to our club as a member of 2003.

Richard’s record for service in our community is unsurpassed. He spent quarter-century in city government as a Planning Commission member, a city councilor and a four-term mayor of the City of Forest Grove. He was an active member of the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce for much of that time. At the time of his death, he was a member of the chamber’s executive board and worked as a chamber ambassador.

Richard volunteered West Tuality Habitat for Humanity for 15 years and spent five years as the organization’s construction manager. He was board chair in 2006 and founded the organization’s home repair program. Habitat’s recently completed project at the end of 22nd Place was named Kidd’s Corner in his honor.

A veteran of the United States Army, Richard retired with the rank of colonel. He has received many honors for his service above self. He was a two-time Chamber Citizen of the Year and received the Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award last spring.

Our hearts are with Richard’s wife, Christine, and his whole family. He was a valued member of our Rotary family and our Forest Grove community and he will be sorely missed.

A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2 p.m., at the Forest Grove Senior & Community Center. Full military honors will be rendered at Fort Stevens National Cemetery on Friday, Nov. 8.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to West Tuality Habitat for Humanity.

In addition to his full obituary, remembrances of Richard’s life and legacy can be found on the City of Forest Grove website, the West Tuality Habitat for Humanity website and in the Forest Grove News-Times.

Habitat For Humanity Service Project: Thank you to all of our members who participated in Saturday’s service project with West Tuality Habitat for Humanity. Members helped with a painting and priming project in Cornelius as part of Habitat’s home repair program. We hope to have the names of participants and photos in next week’s Rototeller.

McDougall Garden Fall Cleanup Service Project: Our Garden Committee will hold its fall garden cleanup on Saturday, Oct. 26, 9 a.m., at the garden located by the big flagpole in Forest Grove, between 19th and Pacific avenues. Please bring rakes and gloves and dress for the weather. Many hands will make quick work, so please plan on attending. For more information, contact Geoff Faris.

Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club Meeting: This month’s Satellite Club meeting and Thirsty Thursday social will take place this Thursday, Oct. 17, 6:30 p.m., at Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove. All Rotarians are welcome to enjoy an evening of fellowship.

Wreath Sales – Order Yours Now!: Help support our Hope For The Holidays service project with our annual holiday wreath sale! You can order 20-inch wreaths for $30 and 28-inch wreaths for $40. All wreaths are made locally by Rotarian Melinda Fischer.

All proceeds from the wreath sale will benefit our Hope For The Holidays service project, which provides holiday meals to families experiencing food insecurity in partnership with Forest Grove High School’s Food Pantry.

Orders will be accepted through Wednesday, Nov. 6 with wreaths available for delivery on Friday, Nov. 29. Rotarians can turn orders in to Janet Peters.

City Council Candidate Forum – Oct. 15: The Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce invites all Rotarians to its City Council Candidate Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 6:30-8 p.m., in the Forest Grove City Auditorium. The forum will provide candidates for the council’s three open seats a chance to speak about themselves and the issues they see facing Forest Grove. The event will be moderated by Dr. Jim Moore, political science professor at Pacific University.

Hurricane Helene & Milton Relief Efforts: If you are interested in supporting relief efforts for those affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, you can support relief efforts by direct donation to Rotary Zones 33 and 34.  Zones 33 and 34 include the Southeast coast (Florida up to Delaware) and the Caribbean.

Message from Zones 33 & 34 Rotary Director Patrick Eakes:
I appreciate your concern and prayers as communities across zones 33 and 34 try to survive the next few days before starting the long recovery following Hurricane Helene.

We have established a fund where those who would like to assist recovery efforts by making a donation can do so via online payment, mailed check, or wire transfer. Information to make a donation is at https://www.rizones33-34.org/disaster-relief/. Our zones’ organization is a 501(c)(3), so donations are generally tax-deductible. Donors should check with their tax advisors. 

We are collecting these funds at a zone level. I will ask district leaders, in cooperation with club leaders, in the most affected areas to submit requests for funding to a group of seasoned leaders (many with significant disaster relief experience) who I will appoint. This group will make recommendations to me to approve grants that will support the efforts of volunteers by providing equipment, tools, storage, mobile storage, etc. Our hope is that our donations can amplify the efforts of volunteers, which seems like a solid Rotary type of approach. When we can, we will leverage district grants and RI disaster relief grants (if/when they become funded again) to further maximize our impact.

Road Cleanup: Many hands made for fast work! Thank you to our members and friends who joined us for the semi-annual road cleanup project on Saturday, Oct. 3. Thanks to everyone’s help, we were done in just over an hour.

Thank you to the following participants: Laurin Von Orelli, Fareeha Nayebare, Court Carrier, Janet Peters, Rus Peters, Jeannine Murrell, Pamelajean Myers, Claire Agner, Michael Yakos, Duncan Stewart, Amy Tracewell, Jim Crisp and Blake Timm. A big thank you to Paul Watersteet and Andrea Stewart for coordinating this long-standing club project.

Pickleball Evenings – Presented By Rotary: The Rotary Club of Forest Grove is helping to sponsor indoor pickleball evenings at the Forest Grove Armory, 2950 Taylor Way. Coordinated by Rotarian Steven Barnard, the evenings start on Monday, Oct. 14, and run from 5:30 to 8 p.m. There is a $5 fee to help cover facility rental. Players of all ages and ability levels are welcome with reserved courts for beginners and intermediate-level players. For more information on the pickleball evenings, please contact Steven.

Greeters Returning: President Lucas is bringing back the role of having greeters at our weekly meetings. This role will not be pre-assigned. Instead, the ninth and 10th Rotarians showing up a meeting each week will serve as greeters. Please be prepared to take on that responsibility and let President Lucas know if you have any questions.

Mentorship Program With Rotary: Since joining our club, Rotarians Cole Thursam and Javin Frelin have been exploring how to connect younger professionals to our club and to Rotary as a whole. The two are in the preliminary stages of developing a mentorship program for young professionals in the local community that would be tied to Rotary. If you would like to learn more or are interested in taking part in this effort, please contact Cole or Javin.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Do You Know Of Service Opportunities?: Are you aware of service opportunities in our area that our members might be interested in? We can advertise those here! This space is not limited to club-sponsored activities but to any service opportunity in the community. To promote the service activity, please send a detailed description of the project, the date and time, contact information and a link to register to Rototeller editor Blake Timm, blakertimm@gmail.com.

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 Mondays from 4-5:30 p.m. The pantry is located along Nichols Lane between the football field and the Basinski Center. Click Here for more information on the FGHS Food Pantry and on other resources for those experiencing food insecurity.

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.

Bloodworks Northwest Blood Drives: In an effort to build blood supplies in the Pacific Northwest, Bloodworks Northwest is sponsoring a number of blood drives in 2024 in Forest Grove. The next local blood drive will be held on Friday, Dec. 6 at the Forest Grove City Library. To sign up to give and set an appointment, please visit the Bloodworks Northwest website.

Around District 5100
Important Changes To Presidential Theme Messaging: As part of Rotary’s ongoing commitment to adaptability and increasing our impact, the annual presidential theme is evolving into a strategic presidential message tied directly to our Action Plan. This change will take effect 1 July 2025. The RI president will still promote an annual message.

What will be different:

• A presidential message aligned with the Action Plan
• New approval process with a broader group of stakeholders, led by the Executive Committee of the Board
• No separate presidential logo
• Message of future president-nominees previously determined by the Board

What will stay the same:

• The big annual reveal at the International Assembly by the president-elect
• Presidential materials: year colors, scarves, ties, and more
• The president’s inspirational message for Rotary members each year

The Board of Directors unanimously approved three years’ worth of messaging at their May 2024 meeting. President-elect Mário César Martins de Camargo will unveil the first of these messages at the 2025 International Assembly. If you have any questions, please write to ri.comms@rotary.org.

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

Last Week’s Program: Juliet Prosser, Forest Grove High School Theatre

At last week’s meeting, we were delighted to be joined by Juliet Prosser, an English teacher at Forest Grove High School that coordinates the FGHS drama program. She presented to the club on the drama program and the school’s Thespians chapter.

Juliet first thanked the club for its financial support of the Thespians program, which went towards sending members of the troop to last year’s state competition. Part of the Oregon chapter of the International Thespian Society, the program provides opportunities for students to hone their theatre crafts. This year’s regional competitions take place on Saturday, Feb. 1 at Grant High School in Portland while the state competition is April 3-5 in Salem. 

Members of Thespians must pay for their entry fees for regional and state competitions as well as travel costs. The troop will need to also pay for district transportation, which costs approximately $350 per day. If you are interested in helping support the cause, please contact Juliet via email, jprosser@fgsd.k12.or.us.

This fall, the 2024-25 FGHS theatre season will open with Spongebob the Musical, which runs November 15, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24 at the FGHS Ellen Stevens Auditorium. The production will feature actors from both FGHS and Neil Armstrong Middle School. Forest Grove is one of just 10 high schools nationwide to win the rights to produce the musical through the “Sing Like A Sponge,” contest, making this production special to our community.

The cast of 27 will include staff members Colene Lord and Monica Banks in a tap-dancing routine and teacher Dom Giansante as the French narrator.

To order tickets, visit the FGHS Theatre ticketing website.

Club Calendar
Wed., Oct. 16: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Miles Glowacki, City of Forest Grove, Community Vision Plan

Thurs., Oct. 17: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Thurs., Oct. 17: Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St.

Wed., Oct. 23: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Strong Harvest International

Wed., Oct. 30: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: TBD