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

Happy Holidays: All of us at the Rotary Club of Forest Grove wish you a very happy and safe holiday. In observance of Christmas Day, our club will not have its regular weekly meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 23.

Hope For The Holidays: Thank you to all of our club members who have donated toward our annual Hope For The Holidays project. Over $12,000 has been raised to once again assist local families to make the holidays a little brighter.

Due to the pandemic, there are some changes to the program for this year. The amount provided is being reduced from $500 to $250, which will allow the club to help more families. Additionally, some funds will be set aside once again to help the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry.

This year’s shopping event will take place on Monday, Dec. 21, 6:30 p.m. at the Cornelius Walmart (note that this is a change from what was listed in last week’s Rototeller). If you would like to participate in this year’s shopping night or have questions about the program, please contact Claudia Yakos.

Wine Fundraiser: Joel Simon of Alluvial Beverage Company and Holly & Jim Witte, the former owners A Blooming Hill Vineyard, are liquidating 200 cases of wine. They have made this wine available to our club as a significant price break, with the proceeds benefiting the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove.

Varietals being offered include their 2013 Pinot Noir, 2014 Pinot Noir Gemini, 2014 Pinot Noir Trouble, 2015 Pinot Noir Gemini, 2017 Pinot Noir Gemini, 2017 Pinot Noir Trouble, 2017 Pinot Gris and a 2018 Pinot Gris.

The wines will be sold by the case or half-case only. Case prices are $200 for any single varietal of red $150 for any single varietal of white. Half-cases are available for $100 for any single varietal of red and $75 for any single varietal of white.

The sale will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 23 and Wednesday, Dec. 30, from 4-6 p.m. at Jeff Duyck’s warehouse on 19th Avenue between Main and Ash Streets. Please bring cash, check or credit card at the time of purchase. Wine purchases cannot be billed to your account by the club. No preorders.

Welcome Araceli Cruz: It was our pleasure to welcome back Araceli Cruz as a member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove! A member of the club when she was employed by Adelante Mujeres, Araceli currently works as the associate director of financial aid at Linfield University. We are so glad to have you back as a member of the club! Read More About Araceli

Thank You Janet Peters & Allstate: Our sincere thanks to Rotarian Janet Peters, who has secured a $1,500 worth of grants from The Allstate Foundation to assist in two club projects. A portion will go to benefit Hope For The Holidays, while another portion will go towards the project to refurbish the barbeque built by the club at Rogers Park. Thank you Janet & Allstate! Read Full Story

Support Local Business: The Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce would like to encourage all the area businesses or individuals to purchase gift cards from the local restaurants who are in desperate need right now and donate those cards to the Forest Grove Food Bank who could also use some extra help in this especially critical time.  Whether you mail them or drop those cards off at the Chamber, we will make sure they get to those in need before the holidays are over. For more information, please contact Juanita Lint at the chamber at 503-357-3006 or director@visitforestgrove.com.

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.

During the fall, the Food Pantry will be open on Mondays from 2- 4 p.m. Donations are accepted on-site on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The pantry will remain open on Mondays over the Winter Break.

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.

Rotary Phone Tree: The phone tree continues and has been re-shuffled to keep things fresh. 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.

Blood Drive Upcoming: St Anthony’s Catholic Church will be partnering with the Red Cross for a blood drive on Tuesday, Jan. 26, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the church’s parish hall at1660 Elm Street. Advance appointments are required and the Red Cross is adhering to strict COVID-19 safety protocols. To sign up for an appointment, please call 800-RED-CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org.

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
A Message From District Governor Jo Crenshaw (From December District Newsletter): Wishing you all a Safe Holiday Season!

My wandering continues; we are almost halfway through the journey and settling in for the long haul. As initial club visits are completed and the joy of joining in special projects continues, I want to take time to assess how far we have come and how much more we still would like to do as Rotarians.

• Efforts to support and strengthen our clubs are well underway through our active membership team.
• Increasing humanitarian service through the focus of our Foundation. Funds are over 50 percent achieved, but our PolioPlus fund requires additional focus. Polio is out of Africa with only two countries left with active cases. I am asking each of you to support our continued efforts to eradicate Polio worldwide.
• Enhancing our public image is a priority and will bring more awareness of Rotary, through improved signage, website and social media outlets.

I am so grateful for our teams, who have focused on assisting our fellow Rotarians through COVID, wildfires and social unrest. These Rotarians stepped up to assist and give of their time and expertise to show that Rotary truly believes there is good in the world.

I am truly grateful to all for the work that we have completed during this pandemic. Leadership, clubs, committees and the many volunteers who have stepped up to accomplish so much, to be real Rotarians in the midst of these unprecedented times.

Training and supporting the next leaders is one of our new priorities. We will continue to see what we can do to join other viable organizations to ensure Rotary’s place in this world remains relevant.

BLESSINGS!

Jo
DG 2020-21

District 5100 Training Assembly: This year’s District 5100 Training Assembly, which is typically an in-person event, will be delivered online once again this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sessions that are specific to club and district positions are scheduled to be delivered on Saturday, Apr. 10. Sessions providing general topics to the entire Rotary membership are scheduled to be delivered on Saturday, Apr. 17. More details will be made available in the coming months.

Around Rotary International
Rotary’s 2019-20 Annual Report Is Now Available: Rotarians and Rotaractors worldwide unite in service to improve communities near and far. Together, we promote peace; provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene; support education; fight disease; save mothers and children; grow local economies; protect the environment; provide disaster relief; and eradicate polio. This work takes commitment, knowledge, leadership, and above all, determination to take action. Read more about the accomplishments of Rotary International over the last Rotary Year in the Annual Report at Rotary.org.

Guatemalan and U.S. Clubs Use Relationship With Engineers Without Borders To Meet COVID-19 Crisis: Shoulder-to-shoulder work on years of infrastructure projects by Rotary clubs in Guatemala and the U.S. built a foundation that supported a swift and informed response when COVID-19 brought new challenges.

The clubs and some partners formed an emergency committee in March that raised money to buy protective equipment for medical workers, found Guatemalan manufacturers that could produce other needed items, and leveraged members’ connections to make sure technicians could travel to repair faulty ventilators. Their longer-term plans include major infrastructure improvements at a hospital.

Their well-coordinated response is now seen as a model for others.

“This is a worldwide emergency, and we have a lot of support from national clubs, even [as] they have their issues there,” says Julio Grazioso, of the Rotary Club of Guatemala Vista Hermosa, Guatemala. “Because of the close and strong relationship between Rotary clubs in this case, we were able to react very fast.” Read More

Last Week’s Program: Megan Van de Mark, Certified Backyard Habitat Program

Click Here To View The Entire Program

This week we were pleased to welcome Megan Van de Mark of the Portland Audubon Society, who presented a program on the Certified Backyard Habitat Program that is administered jointly by the Audubon Society and Columbia Land Trust.

The program started as a grassroots program in the mid-2000s by a neighborhood group that was working to remove evasive species from a Portland park. The program launched in Portland in 2009 since then has expanded into the four-county area (Clark, Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington). The program just recently expanded into the Western Washington County communities of FG, Cornelius, Hillsboro and Sherwood.

How does the program work? There is a one-time cost to sign up for the program. That is followed by a site visit by one of the program’s habitat technicians to evaluate the site and develop goals. At that time, the program provides a resource packet that includes coupons for native plants at local nurseries. After the visit, the technician sends a detailed report customized to the site.

When all is ready, a volunteer does a certification visit to determine if the site meets all of the requirements for the program. When approved, certifications are good for three years. Certifications can be upgraded to silver, gold and platinum status.

The five major elements of the program include removing noxious plants, planting locally native plants, reducing pesticide use, supporting wildlife and managing stormwater on the site.

The program focuses on sites that are one acre or smaller unless it is a larger community site. Sites can be private yards, multi-family housing complexes, places of worship and private business.

Why is building habitat important? Approximately 367 species of animals call our region home and 219 bird species that migrate through. Approximately 30 species of bees in our area are labeled as possibly extinct or critically imperiled. There has also been a 25 percent decline in common bird species. Common Oregon bird species have seen a 50 percent decline over the past 40 years. Causes of declines include fewer trees and wild areas, climate change, introduced species of plant and aminals and other human hazards.

Currently, there are over 6,800 sites enrolled in the program in the four-county area, which includes over 1,600 total acres and 300 community sites.

How can you make your backyard more habitat friendly? Remove priority weeds, plant native plants (native to our Willamette Valley eco-region and the Portland Plant List), planting different canopy layers that promote wildlife diversity, reduce pesticides, support wildlife with different actions in your yard and manage stormwater.

For more information on the program, visit backyardhabitats.org. You can also contact Megan at mailto:mvandemark@audubonportland.org.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted
Mon., Dec. 21: Hope For The Holidays, 6:30 p.m.
Cornelius Walmart, 220 N. Adair St.
Contact Claudia Yakos to participate.

Wed., Dec. 23: No Meeting. Merry Christmas!

Wed. Dec. 23: Wine Sale, 4-6 p.m.
Jeff Duyck’s Warehouse, 19th Avenue between Main and Ash

Wed., Dec. 30: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Maria Reyes, Oregon Zoo

Wed. Dec. 30: Wine Sale, 4-6 p.m.
Jeff Duyck’s Warehouse, 19th Avenue between Main and Ash

Wed., Jan. 6: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Peter Fry, End Poverty

Thurs., Jan. 7: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.