If you didn’t make it to our last Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here’s what you missed…

 Online Meetings Continue: 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 (will be the same for all of our online meetings moving forward)…

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

In Memoriam – Dick Johnston: It is sadness that we announce that Richard W. “Dick” Johnston passed away on Wednesday. Dick was a member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove since 1963 and served as club president in 2003-04. Dick had a longtime track record of community service and he will be sorely missed. Our sympathies go out to the entire Johnston family. Arrangements are pending and will be communicated with the club when available.

 Steak Fundraiser: Round three of our steak fundraiser is well under way. As of Friday, 212 packs of steaks have been sold and there is much more time to sell more!

The proceeds from this round of sales will benefit the many outreaches of our club during the year. This is an important fundraiser with the cancellation of both the Steak Feed and the Concours d’Elegance.

As with past sales, we will be selling packs with two sirloin steaks per package for $15 per pack. Orders will be due by Thursday, August 27 with the steaks arriving the following week in time for grilling over Labor Day Weekend.

We have posts advertising the sale on our club’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media channels. Please feel free to share those posts to help drive sales.

With the first two steak fundraisers, we sold over 2,000 total steaks with a final net proceed of $6,145 to benefit the Youth Exchange Program. To put it in perspective, last year’s Steak Feed netted $5,300 for the club.

A big thank you to Jeff Duyck for coordinating this effort with Columbia Empire Meats.

Golf Tournament Update: Even with social distancing guidelines, we will be able to have our annual golf tournament. The tournament will take place on Wednesday, August 26, at 1 p.m., at Sunset Grove Golf Course. If you are interested in playing, or have a foursome already put together, please let President Julia Kollar know. Note that we will not have our regular weekly Zoom meeting that day.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee: In an effort to make our club even more diverse, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove is establishing a diversity, equity and inclusion committee. This committee is part of an effort in District 5100 to address the issues around diversity, equity and inclusion that have been in the forefront over the last weeks and, really, years. If you are interested in serving as part of the committee, contact President Julia Kollar. Thank you to Amy Tracewell and Howard Sullivan, who have agreed to be co-chairs of the committee.

Satellite Club/Thirsty Thursday Meeting: Our next Satellite Club/Thirsty Thursday meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 20 at 6:30 p.m., at Plum Hill Vineyard, 6505 SW Old Highway 47, Gaston. This will be an in-person meeting and social distancing will be practiced.

Daybreak Club Bicycle Project: Our friends at the Forest Grove Daybreak Club are looking for bikes to donate to WashcoBikes, a non-profit organization that refurbishes bikes and distributes them to residents in Washington County. If you have a bike to donate, please contact Mitch Taylor at 503-314-0766.

Corn Roast: Despite the pandemic, the annual Forest Grove Corn Roast is going to go on! This year’s event will be an eat-in-your-car event at the Cornelius 9 Cinemas on Sunday, September 20, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. There will be entertainment on site throughout the day. For more information, or if you are interested in helping sponsor this year’s event, please contact Juanita Lint at the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce.

Miss A Program?: 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.

 Quarterly Dues: By now, club members should have received the July quarterly club dues billing in your mailbox or inbox. At the June Board of Directors meeting, it was agreed to extend pay-as-you-go for meals for all members through the end of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, this dues billing reflects only quarterly club dues, district dues and Rotary International dues.

Please do your part and make sure that invoices are paid in a timely fashion.

We understand that this is a challenging time for all of us and that some of our members are affected more significantly than others. If you are able, please pay your dues invoice as soon as possible so that we can continue to meet our RI and District obligations. If you believe that your situation will make it hard or impossible to make a payment, please contact President Julia Kollar. The club will consider and work with those hardships on a case-by-case basis.

Attendance Makeups: If you participate in a Rotary function outside of our regular club meetings, please send that information club secretary Claudia Yakos. Attendance at an official Rotary function, in-person or online, or a club service project can count as a make-up for a missed meeting.

McDougall Garden: The McDougall Garden, near the big flagpole, is looking good. But just like any garden, weeds will pop up. Rotarians are welcomed and encouraged to stop by and pull a weed or two, even if it is just for a few minutes. Many hands make for light work. Once again, thank you to our garden committee and especially Rob Foster, Geoff Faris and Lucas Welliver for their work in this visible community project.

 Rotary Phone Tree: Thank you to everyone who has made our Rotary Phone Tree such a success in caring for our members. Paul Waterstreet shuffled the list and was sent out as part of last week’s Rotary Rewind.

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. For more information or questions, or if your information on the Phone Tree is not correct, contact Paul Waterstreet.

 FGHS Community Food Pantry: Even with schools closed, the need for resources at the Forest Grove High School Community Food Pantry continues. The pantry continues to need the following items to serve the community that is depending on it…

Food: Pasta, Canned Sauces, Tortillas, Rice, Beans, Canned Fruit, Jelly, Peanut Butter, Boxed Milk, Canned Vegetables, Bread, Applesauce, Granola Bars, Fruit Snacks, Macaroni & Cheese, Tuna, Crackers, Maseca and Vegetable Oil.

Hygiene Items: Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Tampons/Pads, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Deodorant, Hair Brushes, Toilet Paper.

Over the summer, the Food Pantry will be open on Monday and Thursday from 2-4 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.

Food Pantry Need: The Food Pantry is looking for a 20-square-foot freezer that could be donated to help with keeping more perishable foods. If you know of one that might be available, please contact wither Brian Burke (contact information above) or Bryce Baker.

Take Out Locally!: There are many local restaurants and coffee shops that are continuing to operate for take-out during the stay-at-home order. Those local businesses are seeing a significant drop in business and could use our support. Could you commit to patronizing one of these eateries at least once per week to help stimulate the local economy? Click Here For A List Of Places That Are Opened For Takeout (updated on May 18), courtesy of Court Carrier and Jeff King at the City of Forest Grove.

Around District 5100
District 5100 Racial Justice Discussion: Last month, leaders within our District Rotaract Team hosted a Racial Justice Discussion, which invited members of District 5100 Rotary & Rotaract clubs to an open forum style call. Participants discussed matters pertaining to racial justice and diversity, equity & inclusion within their clubs, our district and Rotary International.

The majority consensus from last month’s call was that these discussions should continue. The next Racial Justice discussion is set for this Monday, August 17 at 6:30 p.m. All Rotarians and Rotaractors are welcome to join the discussion.

Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/92824257251
Meeting ID: 928 2425 7271
Facebook Event Link

Rotary International and District 5100 support and encourage us all to approach conversations and action in regards to diversity, equity and inclusion in our clubs head on. We see this call as an opportunity to show up in ways we have not before. Rotary International has made diversity, equity & inclusion a top priority and has created a platform for training on the MyRotary website. Diversity is also one of the five core values of our organization. As Rotarians and Rotaractors, we have a call and responsibility to think critically about how we are upholding Rotary’s core Diversity value within ourselves and our clubs.

Save The Dates: The annual District 5100 Training Assembly is scheduled for the weekend of April 17 and 18. The exact date, location and delivery method is to be determined. The annual District 5100 Conference is scheduled for April 29 through May 2 at the Vancouver Hilton.

Around The Rotary international World
Jennifer Jones Nominated To Be First Female RI President: Jennifer E. Jones, a member of the Rotary Club of Windsor-Roseland, Ontario, Canada, has been nominated to become Rotary International’s president for 2022-23, a groundbreaking selection that will make her the first woman to hold that office in the organization’s 115-year history.

Jones will officially become president-nominee on 1 October if no other candidates challenge her.

Jones says she sees Rotary’s Action Plan as a catalyst for increasing Rotary’s impact.

“As we reflect upon our new strategic priorities, we could have never envisioned that our ability to adapt would become our North Star during what is inarguably the most profound time in recent history,” Jones said in her vision statement. “Silver linings rise out of the most challenging circumstances. Using metric-driven goals, I will harness this historic landscape to innovate, educate, and communicate opportunities that reflect today’s reality.”

As the first woman to be nominated to be president, Jones understands how important it is to follow through on Rotary’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement. “I believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion … begins at the top and for us to realize growth in female membership and members under the age of forty — these demographics need to see their own reflection in leadership,” Jones said. “I will champion double-digit growth in both categories while never losing sight of our entire family.” Read More

ShelterBox Celebrates 20 Years: One of the most successful homegrown projects within the Rotary world, ShelterBox is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2020. In its two decades of service, ShelterBox has grown from a Rotary club service project to an international humanitarian organization providing emergency shelter, essential items and support to over 1.5 million people.

ShelterBox was started by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The initial hope was to help eight to 10 families a year with a box containing a family-sized tent, sleeping bags, water purifying tablets, trenching tool and pots and pans.

ShelterBox became its own registered charity in 2003 and in 2012 ShelterBox was recognized as an official Rotary partner organization.

The Rotary Club of Forest Grove has long supported the mission of ShelterBox and was proud to be named a bronze-level ShelterBox HERO club in 2018-19. Read More

Last Week’s Program: Gwen Hullinger, Forest Grove High School Food Pantry

Click Here To Watch The Full Program

An art teacher at Forest Grove High School, Gwen has been one of the driving faculty forces behind the start and operation of the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry.

While much of the work at the Food Pantry was done by students prior to the pandemic, much of the work is currently being done by classified staff at the high school. The details of operation in the fall, especially considering the continued pandemic, is still to be determined. The intent is to return to this operation once in-person school begins in.

Prior to the pandemic, the Food Pantry was receiving much of its food from another local food pantry. Since that time, the pantry has partnered with the Oregon Food Bank to have food delivered directly to the high school twice a week. The food is redistributed to families in food boxes on Monday and Thursday mornings. The pantry itself is open to the public on Mondays and Thursdays from 2-4 p.m.

The big food boxes mainly have dry goods but there is the opportunity to also get dairy, eggs, produce and meat products.

Towards the end of September, the Food Pantry is expecting to receive less non-perishables due to an anticipated food storage.

For now, the pantry is able to store perishable foods in the coolers and freezers in the cafeteria. Once in-person school begins in, they will need to find another solution for perishables.

In June, served anywhere from 71 to 131 families in a given week. Boxes provided to those families served up to 613 people. In July, the Food Pantry served 121 families and 557 people and gave out 161 boxes per week. Last week, 123 families were served by the Food Pantry. On Tuesday, 97 boxes were given out and 65 families were served.

One of the great challenges is increasing the awareness of the Food Pantry. She would like to let more of the community know that this resource exists at the high school.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted
Wed., Aug. 19: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Dave Parker, Forest Grove School District Update
Thurs., Aug. 20: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Thurs., Aug. 20: Satellite Club/Thirsty Thursday Meeting
6:30 p.m., Plum Hill Vineyards
Wed., Aug. 26: Golf Tournament, 1 p.m., Sunset Grove Golf Course
NOTE: No Zoom meeting this day.
Wed., Sept. 2: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: To Be Determined