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

Club Announcements
In The Boxer Pause Next Week: Next week’s Wednesday meeting will be held in the Boxer Pause room on the main level of the University Center at Pacific University. As we did this last Wednesday, we will be taking our lunch through the dining commons. Our meeting will start at approximately 12:15 p.m., so please allow yourself plenty of time to move through and select your lunch.

The club is working with Pacific University to make the Boxer Pause our permanent meeting location and to make going through the commons our regular lunch option, both of which will save the club money. Pacific has committed to making improvements to the Boxer Pause room, including better presentation screens and a wireless microphone, to better serve our club needs. If you have questions or concerns, please let President Tim Pearson know.

Dues Adjustments: With the move from having meals catered to taking them from the commons, our club’s meal price has been reduced to $7.70 per member. The club will be adjusting quarterly billings to $10 per meal starting with the March billing. The difference between $7.70 and $10 will help cover the cost of prospective guest meals, special guest meals and dates that we meet off-campus (where meal costs are higher).

Feb. 26 & Mar. 4 Meetings: Our Wed., Feb. 24 and Wed., Mar. 4 meetings will take place at Prime Time.

Satellite Club Meeting/Thirsty Thursday: Our monthly Satellite Club Meeting/Thirsty Thursday social will take place on Thursday, Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m., at the Dauntless Wine Co. tasting room, 2003 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove. Ben Martin, the owner of Dauntless, will be providing guidance on wine tasting as part of our meeting!

Rotary Scholarships: Applications for the 2020 Rotary Club of Forest Grove Scholarship Program are now available! The program is open to graduating seniors who live in the Forest Grove, Gaston and Banks school district attendance areas. The program is funded through the proceeds our club receives by putting on the annual Concours d’Elegance. Seniors who wish to apply can get an application from their school guidance counselor or download the form from the Rotary Club of Forest Grove Website. Applications are due by Thurs., April 9.

Shower Trailer Update: In the fall, our club provided a donation to Community Connection West to complete the construction of a shower trailer for use by the homeless in western Washington County. Since the end of November, the trailer has been utilized over 525 times. The trailer is primarily in use right now as part of the Temporary Emergency Shelter program at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ and Emanuel Lutheran Church in Cornelius.

Jazz & Dinner Event: As part of the effort to bring more people to Forest Grove in conjunction with the Concours d’Elegance, Court Carrier (through his role as city tourism director) is developing a wine and jazz event that will take place on Friday, July 17, 4:30 p.m., at the Tualatin Estate Vineyard. The event is designed to be a community event featuring a number of local wineries. If you are interested in more information, or are interested in being part of the steering committee, please contact Court at ccarrieriv@gmail.com.

Crab Feed: Our annual crab feed has been scheduled for Wednesday, March 18, at the Forest Grove Senior & Community Center. This will be an evening meeting and no noon meeting will be held that day. Keep watching this space for more details soon!

Steak Feed: Save the date! Our annual Steak Feed, which raises funds for our involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program, is scheduled for Friday, June 12, on the Pacific University campus. More details will be available soon.

People of Action Award: Last week’s People of Action Award was presented by Howard Sullivan to honorary Rotarian Ray Giansante. Congratulations, Ray!

Welcome Laura Thompson-Aue: On Wednesday, we inducted our newest member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove. Laura Thompson-Aue has spent the last two-and-a-half years with an office of Thrivent Financial in Forest Grove. She and her husband, Dan, have been Forest Grove residents for the last seven years. Welcome, Laura, and we look forward to you joining us in serving the community!

Club President For 2022-23: We are happy to announce that Josh Shinoda has agreed to follow Bryce Baker in our club’s officer rotation! We look forward to Josh’s year as club president in 2022-23!

FGHS Community Food Pantry: The Community Service Committee is looking to develop a partnership with the new Community Food Pantry that has opened at Forest Grove High School. Club leaders have met with the high school to not only discuss volunteer opportunities but also possible donations of food, money and equipment.

The pantry is currently looking for donations of refrigerators, food and clothing racks (think the rolling Gorilla Rack style) and clear storage bins. If you can help in procuring some of those items for the pantry, please contact Bryce Baker, baker.w.bryce@gmail.com.

The Community Food Pantry is currently open Wednesday through Friday after school and on Mondays and Tuesdays by appointment.

My360Project: The club presented a $2,000 check from the International Service Committee to the My360Project for their continued mission for providing shoes to people in poverty-stricken areas around the world and providing employment to women who have been victims of trafficking or unemployable due to a lack of opportunities or education. Rotarian Claudia Yakos and her family joined My360Project for a service trip last year.

Darryl Carnley, founder of My360Project, was on hand to accept the check and to thank our club for its support of the project and its mission. Earlier in the day, Darryl and Claudia talked with students at Forest Grove High School about the program and their experiences in service.

Next Week’s Duty Roster for Feb. 19: Make note of your assignment!
Greeters: Tara Cirlincione & Scott Coffey
Thought for the Day: Johnathan Hausinger
Rototeller Article: Lucas Welliver
Raffle Prize: Jeff Hoyt

District Announcements
Save The Date – District Training Assembly: The 2020 District 5100 Training Assembly will take place on Sat., Apr. 4, at Oregon City High School. Anyone interested in learning more about Rotary and our district and anyone who is involved or wishes to be involved in the leadership of the club is strongly encouraged to attend. More information will be available soon.

Save The Date – District 5100 Conference: The Annual District 5100 Conference will take place May 14-17 at the Mt. Hood Oregon Resort (formerly The Resort At The Mountain) in Welches. This conference is a celebration of the Rotary year and the good work our Rotarians do in District 5100. There is a block of rooms set aside for the District at $129 per night. Mention “Rotary District 5100 Conference” for that rate. Reservations can be made by calling 503-622-2220 or online at mthood-resort.com.

Last Week’s Program: Dr. Lesley Hallick, Pacific University
We were honored to have Rotarian Dr. Lesley Hallick join us to give us an update on the state of things at Pacific University. As part of the program, our club presented its annual scholarship donation check for the amount of $12,962, raised by our work with the Concours d’Elegance. The proceeds will be used both for students applying to Pacific as part of our Rotary Scholarship Program and for our endowed scholarship at the university.

In light of the recent announcement that Concordia University-Portland would close at the end of the spring semester, Lesley assured everyone that the financial state of Pacific University is sound. Standard & Poor’s recently rated Pacific well in terms of both lending potential and financial footing. The university has been careful to grow modestly and not over-extend itself in adding new programs or investing in capital resources.

Currently, Pacific University boasts an enrollment of 3,900 students. Of those, 2,300 attend classes on the Forest Grove campus as part of the undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences and graduate schools in optometry, education and business.

Approximately 41 percent of the 2019-20 freshman class is from Oregon. Approximately 16 percent of the freshman class is Hispanic, reflecting the changing ethnic balance in the area. In addition, 25 percent of the freshman class is first-generation college students.

In addition to its educational mission, Pacific University provides outreach to the greater community in a number of areas. In 2018-19, Pacific hosted 48 conferences and events last year that came from outside of the university (including Concours). Each event brings people to the area and provides economic impact. In addition, the university had 17 medical health clinics in the Portland Metro Area (including the eye clinic in Forest Grove).

Lesley singled out the community outreach performed by students, faculty and staff throughout the university. In 2018-19, students performed 407,000 of community service.

The university continues to look towards and plan for the future. Work on Vision 2030 is already beginning with areas of cross-college investment identified in research, international programs and engineering.

Club Calendar
Wed., Feb. 19, Weekly Meeting, Noon, Pacific University Boxer Pause
Program: Greg Nokes, Black History In Oregon
Thurs., Feb. 20: Board of Directors Meeting, 7 a.m., Forest Grove Chamber Office
Thurs., Feb. 20: Satellite Club Meeting/Thirsty Thursday, 6:30 p.m., Dauntless Wine Co., 2003 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove
Wed., Feb. 26: Weekly Meeting, Noon, Prime Time, 4450 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove
Program: Richard Thompson, The Trolleys of Forest Grove