If you didn’t make it to this week’s Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here is what you missed.

Club Announcements
Holiday Light Parade: The Forest Grove Holiday Light Parade is this Saturday and once again our club will take part! This year’s theme for the Rotary float is the “Rotary Express” (think The Polar Express with a Rotary theme). Everyone is invited to not only march in the parade, but assist with putting the float together. Here are the details…

Float Construction Work Party: Friday at 4 p.m. at Jeff Duyck’s warehouse on 19th Avenue between Main and Ash Streets. A work party will also meet at 3 p.m. on Saturday to put finishing touches on the float before heading to the staging area.

Parade: The parade begins at 5 p.m. Anyone wanting to march should meet at the float in the parade’s staging area on Bonnie Lane at B Street by no later than 4:45 p.m. (earlier is encouraged). Our float will be in the first half of the parade order. If you are marching, wear either Polar Express theme clothing (think pajamas) or Rotary themed clothing. Also dress for warmth as it will be cold and potentially rainy. Anyone who can stay after and help disassemble the float is appreciated.

Candy: We will be handing out candy canes along the route and are in need of donations. If you can provide candy canes, please bring them to the work parties or drop by Ridgewalker Brewing.

Questions: Contact Tara Cirlincione. Thank you Tara for coordinating this fun activity once again this year!

Hope For The Holidays: Before you know it, it will be time for one of our club’s most anticipated service projects, Hope For The Holidays. We have been approved for a $2,500 matching grant from District 5100 for the project. Coupled with a $1,000 grant from Walmart, we are well on our way. Fundraising is now under way and we are behind on pledges. Please plan to bring your pledges to this great program to our Dec. 11 meeting.

For those who are new to the club, Hope For the Holidays is an annual project where we provide money, through a store gift card, to under-privledged families to help make the holiday season a bit brighter. We identify families with the help of local school districts, Habitat for Humanity and other local groups. On our shopping night (Thursday, Dec. 19), Rotarians assist families in making their purchases.

If you know of a family who might be a candidate for benefiting from the program, please provide them with the Family Nomination Form (click on link for PDF). All nominations must be received by Claudia Yakos by Sat., Dec. 14, to be considered.

Troop 213 Tree Stand: After a one-year hiatus, our Scouts BSA Troop 213 is once again in the Christmas tree business! The Scouts’ tree stand will open on Saturday, Dec. 7, with 300 trees available for purchase. Please consider supporting the stand, which is one of the primary fundraisers of the year for the troop that is chartered by our club.

Upcoming Meetings: We will have just more weekly Wednesday club meetings in 2019. Our Wed., Dec. 11, will feature an update by the Pacific University Rotaract Club, which has been very active this fall. On Wed., Dec. 18, we will have our annual joint meeting with the Daybreak Club. Our program that afternoon will be a performance by the Forest Grove High School music programs. Both meetings will be in the multi-purpose room at Pacific University.

The club will not meet on Wed., Dec. 25 (Christmas Day) or on Wed., Jan. 1 (New Year’s Day).

Satellite Club: The Satellite Club will not have its usual “Thirsty Thursday” meeting this month. Instead, members are encouraged to take part in our Hope For The Holidays project on the usual third Thursday (see information above).

People Of Action Award: Tara Cirlincione presented this week’s People of Action award to Court Carrier. Congratulations, Court!

 Have A Program Idea?: If you have an idea for a program or would like to present something yourself, let our incoming program chair, Bryce Baker, know. He will also have a program planning board at meetings so you can see what is on deck and what dates may be available.

Next Week’s Duty Roster: Make note of your assignment!
Greeters: Parri Van Dyke & Lazaro Villegas
Thought for the Day: Hannah Shinoda
Rototeller Article: Mary Welch
Raffle Prize: John Forsyth

Last Week’s Program: Club By-Laws
At last week’s meeting, we had a Club Assembly led by Lucas Welliver over proposed changes to the club’s by-laws. The proposed document, which was sent out to club members prior to Thanksgiving, is proposed to replace the last revision to the club’s by-laws, which was put into effect in 2006.

Lucas opened his presentation by explaining the differences between the Rotary Club of Forest Grove and the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove (which are governed by two separate sets of by-laws) and the difference between Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation in terms of tax structure and governance.

The proposed by-laws works to clean up the document and to make sure it reflects the current operation of the club. Among the major revisions are changes to attendance requirements (reflecting current RI practice), changes to the timeline and procedures for electing directors, the list of standing club committees and language officially codifying the Satellite Club.

A quorum of 50 percent of club members (46 with our current membership) is required to vote on the by-laws. With the club meeting in two places, the noon meeting on Wed., Jan. 15 and the Satellite Club meeting on Thurs., Jan. 16, will serve as the two meetings for voting consideration.

Questions or comments on the by-laws can be addressed to Lucas Welliver. Our thank you to the current by-laws sub-committee of Lucas, Blake Timm and Tom Raabe, along with all of the people who have worked on the current revision over the last four years.

Club Calendar
Fri., Dec. 6: Holiday Float Building, 4 p.m. Jeff Duyck’s Warehouse (19th Ave. between Main and Ash streets).
Sat., Dec. 7: Holiday Light Parade – See Schedule Above For Times & Details
Tues., Dec. 10: Concours d’Elegance Meeting, 7 p.m., FG Chamber Office
Wed., Dec. 11: Weekly Meeting, Noon, Pacific University
Program: Alesha Casayuran, Pacific University Rotaract
Thurs., Dec. 12: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m., Moore & Welliver Lawyers
Wed., Dec. 18: Weekly Meeting, Noon, Pacific University – Joint Meeting with Daybreak
Program: Forest Grove High School Music Programs
Thurs., Dec. 19: Board Meeting, 7 a.m., FG Chamber Office
Thurs., Dec. 19: Hope For The Holidays, 6:30 p.m., Walmart
Wed., Dec. 25: No Meeting – Merry Christmas!
Wed., Jan. 1: No Meeting – Happy New Year!