If you did not make it to our last Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here is what you missed…

Welcome Tim Graham: We are proud to welcome Tim Graham its newest member! Sponsored for membership by David Parker, Tim was inducted during the club’s meeting on Feb. 2.

Tim currently serves as the principal of the Forest Grove School District’s Community Alternative Learning Center (CALC). He has spent 33 years in education. His experience includes eight years as a teacher and coach, 25 years as a principal and 14 years working in alternative education. His career has taken him to Newberg, Oregon City and now Forest Grove.

Tim earned his bachelor’s degree in education from George Fox University in 1990, earned a master’s degree in social studies education from George Fox in 1996 and completed his school administrator coursework at George Fox in 1998.

Tim and his wife have five children, ages 18 to 31.

Steak Sale Is Back: Get your grills ready because we are starting another steak sale! We are offering packs of two choice New York cut steaks from Columbia Empire Farms for $20 per pack. Buy some for your own freezer and sell them to friends as well.

Orders are due to Janet Peters by Friday, Feb. 24. Steaks can be picked up on Friday, Mar. 3.

Crab Feed – Save The Date! (NEW LINKS): This year’s Crab Feed will be on Wednesday, Mar. 29. This annual event allows us to come together as a club, enjoy fellowship and honor those members who have become Paul Harris Fellows or have reached their next Paul Harris Fellow level. We will not have a noon meeting on Mar. 29.

The crab dinner, which will include hot soup, salad, bread, a half-pound of crab and beverages, will be $45. A vegetarian option will be available for $25. Crab will also be available for purchase by the pound at market price.

Use the links below to pre-order your tickets (these are new links than what was previously published)!
Regular Crab Feed Ticket, $45
Crab Feed To-Go Meal, $42
Crab Feed Vegetarian Meal Ticket, $25

For questions, or if you want to be involved on the planning contact, please contact Julia Kollar.

In addition, Parri Van Dyke is once again putting together a silent auction with proceeds to benefit The Rotary Foundation. We are looking for specific items such as weekend getaways, wine and wine tastings, hosted dinner and themed gift baskets…or maybe you have an idea of something to donate! If you would like to donate, please contact Parri.

ShelterBox HERO Virtual Event – You Are Invited: Thanks to our club’s generous donation, families around the world have received essential aid and technical assistance needed to rebuild damaged homes and lives. This generosity is celebrated through our HERO program. The Rotary Club of Forest Grove has been a ShelterBox HERO for a number of years.

ShelterBox HERO Clubs are foundational to our ability to respond when disaster strikes. To show their gratitude for your generous support, ShelterBox is hosting an exclusive online Rotary Club HERO event on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 9 a.m. Pacific. Click Here To Register For The Online Event.

ShelterBox USA President Kerri Murray and other executives from ShelterBox will deliver reports on current response work, the impact we make in the lives of those we reach and how Rotarians make this work possible. There will also be an opportunity for you to submit questions.

ShelterBox is proud to be Rotary International’s official project partner in disaster relief. Together, we are putting the partnership into action.

Rotaract/Interact Liaisons Needed: We are in need of club liaisons that would like to be involved with both the Rotaract Club at Pacific University and with the Interact Club at Forest Grove High School. Both clubs are connected to our Rotary club and aim to provide service opportunities to students. If you are interested, or would like more information on what the role entails, please contact President Janet.

Concours Sponsorship Opportunities: The Concours d’Elegance Committee is well underway with procuring sponsorships for our 2023 show, which will take place on Sunday, July 16. There is plenty of sponsorship opportunities for both businesses and individuals for starting as low as $350. How important is sponsorships? Most of the profit that comes from Concours, which helps pay for our service outreach and funds our Scholarship Program, comes from sponsorships.

Click Here To Download The Sponsorship Flyer, which describes a number of the show’s sponsor opportunities. For more information or to help secure a sponsorship, please contact Tim Pearson at 503-998-8616 or timpearsonpc@gmail.com or Andrea Stewart at 503-357-1427 or astewart@pacificu.edu.

Youth Exchange Update: While we are looking forward to our continued involvement with the Rotary Youth Exchange program, the way our club will be involved during the 2023-24 Rotary year will be different.

We recently received word that the person that had been selected to be our outbound exchange student has withdrawn for personal reasons. Instead of not being able to participate in the program this year, our club is looking to be involved with the program through a program called “The Power Of One.”

“The Power Of One,” program, which is powered by Rotary Youth Exchange, helps to open to door to African students through one-way exchanges. In past years, District 5100 has been involved with this program through exchanges with clubs in The Dalles and Monmouth-Independence.

Be watching for more updates as we pursue being involved this year through this exciting program!

Concours Concert Event – Help Wanted: The Concours Committee has given the green light to go ahead with another concert event linked to the annual show. The concert is tentatively scheduled for Friday, July 14 with the Concours taking place on Sunday, July 16. If you are interested in helping plan and execute the concert event, please contact Court Carrier at 971-404-7864 or ccarrieriv@gmail.com.

Caterers For Future Meetings: President Janet is looking for one to two more members to serve with herself, Howard Sullivan and Court Carrier in identifying local caterers that could serve the club at future meetings. We will have a number of meetings coming up where we will meet at the Forest Grove School District offices and will need catering for those meetings. If you would like to assist, please let President Janet know.

Past Programs: Did you miss a meeting or want to go back and check out a program again? Most of our programs since May 2020 (over 100 videos to date) are archived on our club’s YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Elks Backpack Program: The Elks Backpack Program, which provides food for youth in the Forest Grove School District experiencing food insecurity, is looking for 50 new or gently used backpacks for the program. If you have backpacks to donate, please bring those to a future meeting and we will get them to the appropriate people.

FGHS Community Food Pantry: Our club’s support for the Forest Grove High School 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.

The Food Pantry is open on Mondays from 4-6 p.m. The pantry is now open in its new site in the building along Nichols Lane between the football field and the Basinski Center.

For information on the Food Pantry, 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.

Around District 5100
District 5130 Disaster Relief Fund: Our Rotary friends in District 5130 in Northern California are facing some significant challenges as the calendar turns from 2022 to 2023. A 6.4 magnitude earthquake on December 20^th caused significant damage to homes and businesses in Humboldt County.

A follow-up 5.4 magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day, followed by the winds and rains of the cyclone bomb have left the businesses and residents reeling.

The District has an established Disaster Relief Fund to help with recovery efforts. If you are able to and want to provide some financial assistance to our neighbors to the south, please visit their website at https://www.rotary5130.org/district-disaster-response-plan/.

District 5100 Newsletter: Click Here To View The Monthly District 5100 Newsletter

Around Rotary International
New Opportunities For Rotary To Support Communities In Need: As a global humanitarian organization, Rotary continually takes action to help communities in need. Because you are a dedicated leader in Rotary, we want you to be among the first to know that The Rotary Foundation has established two temporary funds to support immediate relief efforts in Pakistan and Ukraine. In Pakistan, a severe monsoon season has caused devastating floods and affected millions of people. In Ukraine, the ongoing war has led to a continued humanitarian crisis. We’ll begin fundraising efforts soon to finance disaster response grants from these funds.

The Pakistan Flood Response Fund will help communities recover from the disaster that displaced people and destroyed crops. It will accept contributions, including District Designated Funds, until 31 December 2023 and distribute grants until 30 June 2024 or until the funds are spent. Any unused money will be transferred to the general Disaster Response Fund.

The Ukraine Response Fund will also accept contributions, including District Designated Funds, to support grants for districts affected by the war. It will operate on the same schedule as the Pakistan fund, accepting donations until 31 December 2023 and awarding grants until 30 June 2024 or until the money is spent. Any unused funds will also be transferred to the Disaster Response Fund.

Districts affected by the flooding in Pakistan or the war in Ukraine can apply for grants from the relevant fund to provide items such as water, food, medicine, shelter, and clothing. To learn more and help these communities, you and your members can:

1. Donate to the Pakistan Flood Response Fund or the Ukraine Response Fund
2. Contribute your District Designated Funds
3. Learn more about both funds and how to apply for disaster response grants
4. Fundraise among your colleagues, friends, and family using Raise for Rotary

We appreciate your assistance in supporting Rotary member-led projects to help these communities recover.

Last Week’s Program: Seth Winkelhake, Fern Hill Wetlands

Click Here To Watch The Full Program

Seth Winkelhake is the Education and Volunteer Specialist with Clean Water Service. He coordinates Student Education including the cornerstone River Rangers program and the Volunteer Program at Fernhill, a Natural Treatment System wetlands in Forest Grove. Seth provided interesting information on the operation of the wetland as part of water treatment operations, the ongoing research and educational programs conducted at Fernhill and the recreational opportunities available there.

For folks interested in learning more and helping to improve the wetland, there is a volunteer event on Feb. 11 at Fernhill, with sign-ups available here:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fernhill-enhancement-day-tickets-513431787297.

Club Calendar
Wed., Feb. 8: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Andrew Saultz, Interim Dean, Pacific University College of Education

Thurs., Feb. 9: Executive Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
Via Zoom

Wed., Feb. 15: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Julie Titus, Virginia Garcia Memorial Medical Center

Thurs., Feb. 16: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Via Zoom

Wed., Feb. 22: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Howard Baker, Forest Grove Timber Beasts BB Gun Team