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

Club Announcements
We Are Back At Pacific: After two weeks away from campus, our meeting on Wed., Mar. 11 will be back in the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University. A reminder that we are now taking our meals through the main dining commons, so please allow yourself time to select your lunch before the meeting begins.

Thirsty Thursday: The February 19 Satellite Club/Thirsty Thursday meeting at Dauntless Wine was a great success. Thank you to Claudia Yakos for helping organize the event and to Ben Martin of Dauntless for providing a fun program and food and wine. A special thanks to Parri Van Dyke for providing the wonderful food!

Welcome Ruben!: At the Satellite Club Meeting, we welcomed our newest member of the club, Ruben Acevedo! Ruben is a chiropractor who has recently opened a practice in Cornelius and is excited to get involved in our community. Ruben is a native of Puerto Rico and is a graduate of Universidad de Puerto Rico, Cal State LA and the University of Western States where he earned his Doctor of Chiropractic degree.

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.

RYLA: With the resignation of Kerri Willis from the club, Lazaro Villegas has agreed to help chair RYLA for our club! If you know of someone who would be a great candidate for RYLA this summer, please let Lazaro know.

People of Action Award: Congratulations to the recipients of our People of Action awards from the last two weeks. On Feb. 26, Ray Giansante presented his award to Pamelajean Myers. On March 4, Pamelajean presented the award to Richard Kidd. Congratulations, Pamelajean and Richard!

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.

Rogers Park Service Opportunity: Our club has applied for, and received, a $2,000 District 5100 matching grant to go towards a project in Rogers Park that will be tied into the renovations that will take place with the construction of Anna & Abby’s Yard. More details on what this project will entail will be forthcoming.

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.

As part of the Crab Feed, we will do our annual recognition of Paul Harris Fellows. If you think you are close to receiving your first or next Paul Harris Fellow recognition, or want to know how close you might be, place contact our Rotary Foundation chair, Tom Raabe.

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.

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.

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

Speaking Of The Food Pantry: A thank you to Sharon Olmstead for asking her Edward Jones clients for donations to the Food Pantry. She had a great response and was able to take a carload of food to support the cause!

Creating Friendships Through Peace: Rotarian Michael Colvin is again working with Creating Friendships Through Peace to bring teenagers from Cyprus to spend three weeks this summer in the United States. If you are interested in learning more about the program or are interesting in helping host, please contact Michael.

Board of Directors Elections: We will be holding elections for three expiring Board of Directors positions at our Wednesday, March 11 meeting. Members of the board serve three-year terms. Individuals elected this year would serve until June 2023 and will replace expiring terms for Doug Thompson, Mackenzie Johnston Carey and Josh Shinoda.

Next Week’s Duty Roster for Mar. 11: Make note of your assignment!
Greeters: Michael Doherty & Jeff Duyck
Thought for the Day: Jeff Hoyt
Rototeller Article: Tom Raabe
Raffle Prize: Geoff Johnston

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. Sign-ups will be circulated at weekly Wednesday meetings. A full rundown of available sessions is on DacDB.

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.

Rotary And Toastermasters Partnering: Members of Toastmasters and Rotary will enhance their skills, broaden their networks and increase their positive impact in communities through a new collaboration. The ongoing relationship between the two organizations will begin at the grassroots level with local club members learning and working together. Additionally, Toastmasters will create a set of eight structured communication and leadership development courses for Rotary with a phased rollout that will be available in English in 2020, and in more languages in 2021.

“The strategic alliance with Rotary is exciting and allows both organizations to leverage our unique and similar strengths,” says Deepak Menon, Toastmasters’ 2019-20 International President. “We look forward to providing our current and prospective members with ongoing additional offerings that meet their evolving needs.” Read More At Rotary.org.

Programs From The Last Two Weeks:
Feb. 26: Richard Thompson, Streetcars of Forest Grove
At our February 26 meeting, we received an interesting presentation by Richard Thompson on the history of streetcars in Forest Grove. The city was one of 12 in Oregon that, at one point, had a streetcar line. The line ran from the Pacific University campus, made a loop through downtown along Pacific Avenue and then ran down Elm Street to the locale of Carnation (where Pro Build is now), where the Carnation company had a condensed milk plant.

A gentleman by the name of Edward Hayes developed and funded the streetcar system in Forest Grove. A legislator and banker, Hayes built a dam and powerhouse on Gales Creek to help power the streetcars. After the line was discontinued, Hayes sold the dam and powerhouse to the City of Forest Grove. This was part of the birth of the city-owned utility.

Streetcar service in Forest Grove lasted from 1906 to 1911. When the Oregon Electric and Southern Pacific railroads reached Forest Grove, the streetcar line was considered redundant.

Richard also presented some information on the Willamette Valley and Coast Railroad, a short-lived short line that ran from the Oregon Electric line near Gaston to Cherry Creek. Ironically, this railroad never reached the Willamette Valley or the coast.

Mar. 4: Melissa Erickson, Adelante Mujeres
The March 4 meeting featured Melissa Erickson, Corporate Engagement Officer from Adelante Mujeres. Erickson provided the club with an overview of the building remodel on Main Street.

The staff has spent the last 18 months in their temporary space and everyone was very excited to move into the newly-remodeled space. The overall remodeling project required their staff of eight development officers and the 72 staff members to collectively raise 3.25 million dollars. To date, the organization has raised 3.1 million dollars against that goal. As a direct result of the remodel and increased space, Adelante now hosts adult education classes starting in the fall, a commercial kitchen open and available to the community with cultural-specific modifications, six early childhood education classrooms and a preschool opening in the fall. There is also a maker space with a lounge, a space for micro-enterprises offices upstairs as well as a community space that can hold up to fifty people.

Adelante Mujeres is expanding their programming as well. They increased their footprint out in communities – they recently expanded adult education sites in Beaverton. And, their Chicas program is at twenty-six sites across Oregon, serving seven hundred students. That represents quite a bit of growth considering that the Chicas program started in 2008 here in Forest Grove with fifty-five students! They are starting a new support program for first-year college students and continue hosting the successful farmer’s market, which sees four thousand weekly visitors. The organization continues to support entrepreneurs with several participants opening businesses right here in Forest Grove. Click here to see the video about the new bakery.

For more information, click here to visit their blog.

Club Calendar
Wed., Mar. 11: Weekly Meeting, Noon, Pacific University
Program: Women Of Forest Grove History
Thurs., Mar. 12: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m., Moore & Welliver Lawyers
Wed., Mar. 18: Crab Feed, 5:30 p.m., Forest Grove Senior & Community Center
NOTE: There will be no noon meeting this day.
Thurs., Mar. 19: Board Meeting, 7 a.m., Forest Grove Chamber Office
Sat., Apr. 4: District Training Assembly, Oregon City High School