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

From The Editor: Because of a busy work and family schedule, the editor was unable to put an edition of the Rototeller last week. My apologies for the inconvenience and we return to our regular weekly schedule this week. – Blake Timm, Rototeller Editor

Congratulations Howard Sullivan: We would like to congratulate Rotarian Howard Sullivan, who was recently recognized as the Forest Grove Parks & Recreation Commission’s Volunteer of the Year in honor of his volunteer efforts supporting the different groups of people that make up Forest Grove. Congratulations, Howard, for being another example of Service Above Self!

Board of Directors Elections: Congratulations to our three newest members of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove Board of Directors! Evelyn Orr, Jonathan Skeele and Pamelajean Myers were all elected to the board by members and will begin their three-year terms on July 1. Thank you all for your service to the club!

Rotarians At Work Day – May 6: Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., which will be our annual Rotarians at Work Day. Our projects will help the City of Cornelius with distributing door hangers promoting library resources and painting the exteriors of restrooms at the city’s parks.

A sign-up sheet has been distributed in weekly meetings. If you want to add yourself to the list, please contact Michael Cook. An email with additional details is expected to be out soon.

This is a great opportunity to not only serve the community but to also promote Rotary’s presence in the community.

Road Cleanup Project Scheduled: Our semi-annual road clean-up service project is scheduled for Saturday, May 13 at 8:30 a.m. We will meet at the Oregon Department of Forestry Office at 801 Gales Creek Road, and will do our cleanup of Gales Creek Road between Thatcher Road and Forest Gale Drive and Thatcher Road between Gales Creek Road and David Hill Road.

This is a longtime club service project that helps beautify the community. Many hands make quick work, so please come out and join us! For more information, contact Paul Waterstreet.

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 should have already received an envelope 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.

Concours Polo Shirts – Order Now: 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 on the front and our club logo on the sleeve.

Orders are being taken now with both men’s and women’s sizes available. Both men’s and women’s shirts will cost $29.50 each. If you are interested in purchasing a shirt, please contact Tim Pearson at 503-998-8616 or timpearsonpc@gmail.com.

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.

Concours Entertainment Sponsorship: Tim Pearson has announced a new entertaimment sponsorship that is available for the Concours d’Elegance. The sponsorships, sold for $250 each, include four tickets to the show, inclusion in the Concours program as an entertainment sponsor and on signage at the entertainment stage, recognition by the emcee, and a 35% discount on any advertisement that they would like to purchase in the program. There are multiple sponsorships available. For more details, or to purchase, please contact Tim.

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.

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 has recently learned that we were approved for a “Power On One” exchange. We will be hosting a female student named Fareeha from Uganda. We are not waiting on guarantee forms in order to move forward with approval from Forest Grove High School. As part of our club’s commitment to the program, the club will cover airfare, a clothing allowance, health insurance and some other expenses.

The Youth Exchange Committee is looking for host families that are willing to host Fareeha for a three-month period. If you are interested, please contact Youth Exchange Chair Melinda Fischer.

The Youth Exchange Committee, meanwhile, is make applications available for the 2024-25 outbound program at Forest Grove High School on May 1. Applications will be due on June 2 with interviews taking place in early June.  Applicants should be freshmen at Forest Grove High School.

For more information on the District 5100 Youth Exchange Program, visit https://www.youthexchange5100.org/. For information at the club level, please contact Melinda Fischer.

March Madness Fundraiser: It seems so long ago that March Madness ended, doesn’t it? Thank you to everyone who took part in our March Madness bracket fundraiser, which raised $260 for the Rotary Foundation’s Annual Fund. Congratulations to our three top finishers:

First Place: Michael Cook, who received 130 Paul Harris Points
Second Place: Dallas Roark, who received 78 Paul Harris Points
Third Place: Paul Waterstreet, who received 52 Paul Harris Points

It is worth noting that none of our top-three placers had any Final Four teams, which makes their picks about as good as the rest of the country.

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

Around Rotary International
Preserving Paul Harris Mementos From Trip To Central, South America: Rotary members past and present hold Paul Harris in high regard for his role as the founder of Rotary and his vision for fostering friendship and international understanding. Rotary’s archives include letters and gifts from members to Harris during his lifetime that reflect this admiration.

Rotary International is committed to preserving Rotary’s legacy and honoring key figures in our history. We achieve this through building and maintaining an archive that accurately and effectively documents the history of Rotary. As part of this effort, archivists at Rotary’s World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, USA, worked with a professional paper conservator to treat four hand-crafted gifts to Paul Harris.

All four documents were spot cleaned using a dry process that reduces superficial dirt. Before being placed in custom storage mats as a preservation measure, the three items made of vellum underwent additional conservation work to stretch and flatten them after being rolled for an unknown number of years. Conservation of one document made of paper included mending tears with Japanese tissue paper and wheat starch paste.

Harris’ visit to the port city of Guayaquil, Ecuador was commemorated by the Rotary Clubs of Cuenca and Riobamba with beautifully illustrated messages featuring hand-painted national and cultural symbols.

In January 1936, Harris and his wife Jean embarked on a three-month journey to Panama and several South American countries, where they met with numerous clubs. Several members joined Harris, introducing them to local customs and people, and providing language assistance.

District Governor Cesar Andrade, of the Rotary Club of Guayaquil, Ecuador, joined them in Colombia and again in his home country. Jaime Linares of the Rotary Club of Lima, joined the Harris’ as they visited clubs in Peru and Chile, explaining that it would be an opportunity to practice his English. Rotarian Armando Pereira, who would later serve as RI President, accompanied them for most of their time in Brazil.

The conservation work was possible because of generous support from the Paul Harris 711 Club. Read More.

Last Week’s Programs:
Apr. 19: Amy Tracewell, Looking Ahead To The 2023-24 Rotary Year
At our April 19 meeting, club president elect Amy Tracewell looked ahead to her year as club president. She presented a PowerPoint that went over the structure of the club, its officers, board of directors and the committees that serve the club. She also presented a basic calendar of the year, including the Rotary theme months and some of our annual social events and service projects. Click Here To View The Full PowerPoint Presentation (PDF).

Apr. 26: Jenny Woodman, Oregon Zoo Foundation

Click Here To Watch Last Week’s Program

At our April 26 meeting, we were joined by Jenny Woodman of the Oregon Zoo Foundation. Jenny provided a number of updates on zoo projects as well as details on some of the wildlife conservation and rehabilitation programs that the zoo is part of.

The Oregon Zoo Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit that is the philantronpic arm of the Oregon Zoo. Her job is to tell stories to inspire connection with the zoo. Sometimes, zoos are the first and only connection point with nature for people, which makes it more important to tell the zoo’s story.

Jenny told a number of stories about some of her favorite animals that reside at the zoo. The Oregon Zoo provides second chances for wildlife that has been rescued that might not otherwise survive in the wild. She also pointed out that the Oregon Zoo has the No. 1 social media following of all accredited zoos in the world. She showed a few videos that the social media team had produced, both cute videos of animals in action and informative videos on rehabilitation efforts.

Club Calendar
Wed., May 3: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Tom Hartz, Friends of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge

Sat., May 6: Rotarians at Work Day, 9 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Cornelius. Final details to come soon.

Wed., May 10: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Kristy Reddick, Community Action

Thurs., May 11: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Sat., May 13: Road Cleanup Service Project, 8:30 a.m.
Oregon Department of Forestry Office, 801 Gales Creek Rd.

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

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