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 Are Back: As we look ahead to another year without Concours, we are partnering with Columbia Empire Meats for another steak sale! As we have done in the last, we are offering packs of two choice sirloin steaks for $15 per pack. Proceeds will support the many outreaches of our club and specifically the club’s Scholarship Program.

Orders are due to President Julia Kollar by Saturday, May 1. Steak pick-up will be on Thursday, May 7, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

McDougall Garden Update: The club is moving forward with getting ready the McDougall Garden, located by Safeway, ready for planting. A small group of volunteers met on Friday to spread mulch.

The official garden part for planting flowers and spread more mulch will be on Saturday, May 1, at 9 a.m. We will need 16 to 24 volunteers to make for quick work on the project. Volunteers should bring the tools needed to plant flowers, including gloves, trowels and spades, along with shovels, wheelbarrows and rakes.

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Lucas Welliver.

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.

Concours Postponed For 2021: Due to events outside of our control, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove and the Concours d’Elegance steering committee has made the difficult decision to postpone the 2021 Forest Grove Concours d’ Elegance. Car owners who submitted an entry application will not be charged any fees and will be contacted soon. We are looking ahead to the next event on July 17, 2022. What follows is the announcement sent out to entrants and posted on the Concours website.

With heavy hearts, the Steering Committee of the Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance has made the difficult decision to postpone the 2021 field show to 2022. We are working to schedule a cars and coffee and tour on Sunday, July 18, 2021. More details to be communicated later.

This is a tough decision, but after consulting with advisors and long-time supporters, we felt it is the best decision at this time. The current uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic made securing a location extremely difficult for an event of our size. After a heroic effort by the Steering Committee to support large-show alternatives, we decided to refocus our energies toward the future.

The Concours is made possible by collector car owners, Rotary Club volunteers, and sponsors from the community. Many of these supporters and volunteers are focused on staying safe and navigating their businesses during these uncertain times. This includes Pacific University whose event support staff has undertaken the unprecedented task of running on-campus vaccination clinics with an unspecified end date.

Each year, the net proceeds from the Concours d’Elegance fund scholarships and community service projects. The Forest Grove Rotary Club has returned more than $1 million to the community, including direct support of various non-profit organizations, service projects, and scholarships to hundreds of Washington County high school students heading to Pacific University and other institutions of higher education. The local community still depends on this support.

We appreciate the Steering Committee’s hard work, volunteers who donate their time, the enthusiasm of the car owners, and the many sponsors that support our event.

We hope you are safe through these uncertain times, and we appreciate your continued support for 2022. We will see you on Sunday, July 17, 2022.

For more information on the Concours d’Elegance, visit forestgroveconcours.org.

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.

FGHS Community Food Pantry: Even with schools closed, the need for resources at the Forest Grove High School Community 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. There is a particular need for dish soap and laundry soap.

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.

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 Conference: The District 5100 Conference, “Wandering Through New Doors,” is next weekend! This year’s virtual event will take place on Saturday, May 1. This year’s event will include a number of inspirational speakers, headlined by New York Times bestselling author and motivational speaker Andy Andrews and Jordan Harrison, who will present on how the right words said to the right people at the right time can facilitate change.

A full schedule of events can be found here at the District 5100 Conference Website.

As the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping us physically distant, it’s more important than ever to focus on the strength and opportunity that comes with opening new doors of opportunities. The District 5100 Conference will educate, connect, inspire and offer virtual fellowship.

The event is free but pre-registration is required. Visit rotary5100.com to register and learn more.

Special Note: Many members of our club, led by Claudia Yakos, are putting lots of time and effort into making this a great event. Thank you for all who are adding a special Forest Grove touch to the district conference.

Around Rotary International
Rotary Webinar – DEI Series: Rotary International is offering a Zoom webinar on April 29 on Building Strong Intergenerational Relationships as part of an ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion series.

Generational diversity is one of Rotary’s competitive advantages. Few organizations span generations and build personal connections the way we do. Yet we also can find ourselves segmented by age groups and unable or unwilling to challenge our biases about people of other ages. According to a study by consulting network Deloitte, 70% of survey respondents from around the world say that leading multigenerational organizations is important or very important for their success over the next 12 to 18 months, but only 10% say they’re very ready to do so.

In this webinar, we will hear from a variety of Rotary Program participants who have built strong intergenerational relationships, and:

-Empower young leaders to act on issues they are passionate about

-Build awareness of the biases that create tension between the generations

-Recognize that everyone, no matter how old or young, has something to teach and something to learn

The webinar is free to attend but registration is required. Click Here To Register.

11 Eco-Friendly Service Projects From Around The World: Through the years, Rotary has carried out thousands of projects to protect the environment. In just the last five years, we’ve allocated $18 million to projects that help our planet. Members have even more opportunities to focus on issues that are important to them, now that the environment is one of the causes we focus on.

Read More about the ways Rotary members are already supporting the environment.

Last Week’s Program: Gale Castillo, Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber

Click View To View The Complete Program

On Wednesday, we were honored to be joined by Gale Castilo. Gale is the president and co-owner of Cascade Centers, Inc., a company that provides employee assistance services. Recognized as one of the more innovative companies. She also currently serves as the CEO of the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber. It is the largest Hispanic chamber in the Northwest and the fifth-largest chamber organization of any kind of the state.

Gale’s presentation focused on her upbringing as a Hispanic woman and what the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber does to help further the Latinx community both in terms of business and leadership.

Opened by sharing her background. She was raised by her mother along the Texas border. Her mother had a sixth-grade education, did not speak English and did not speak Spanish well. She picked cotton to make ends meet. They moved to Oakland, California at age four. Oakland is a very diverse city with many different ethnicities. Growing up, she enjoyed lots of great food, music and cultures.

As a senior, Gale attended Berkeley High School. She initially was not planning to attend college because did not have money to attend. Was encouraged to apply for colleges and financial aid by some Latino classmates and ended up attending Linfield.

The Portland area Latino community 26 years ago was characterized as all illegals and poor. Hispanic children were often characterized as all being gang-bangers. The reality is that members of the Hispanic community are productive members of the community that pay taxes, contribute in the workplace and are involved civically. The need to change this image provided for the start of the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber.

Since its founding, the chamber has helped thousands of students go to college by providing over $4 million in scholarships. The Leadership Development Program has helped many Latinos move into leadership positions in business and in the community.

Gale has learned that she cannot create change alone. It takes partnering with others to get things done. We need to listen and learn from others that are willing to share their knowledge and experience. We must reach out and find others that also want to see change. We must keep our word because integrity is what will attract others to your cause.

We must remember that we all have the same needs, despite our differences.

There are still people out that see people of color and women as liabilities. They don’t see the value that people of color and women contribute to not only the greater society but to the economy. Purchasing power for Latinos is worth $5.4 billion. Fifty percent of all Latinos are working age and the average age is 25 years old. Communities of color not only need to be in the workforce but represented in the leadership and board rooms.

Club Calendar
Wednesday, Apr. 28: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Dr. Jim Moore, President Biden’s First 100 Days

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

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

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

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