Online Meetings: We will continue to meet virtually using the Zoom Meeting platform for the foreseeable future. Our meetings will begin at our normal meeting time, Noon on Wednesday. All Rotarians are welcome and participating will count towards meeting attendance. Here are the login details (will be the same for all of our online meetings moving forward)…

Direct Link: https://zoom.us/j/183084884
Meeting ID: 183 084 884

To join by phone, dial 669-900-6833 or 346-248-7799 and enter the meeting ID number when prompted.

Zoom App Downloads
Zoom Cloud Meeting App For Android
Zoom Cloud Meeting App For iPhone
Download Zoom Meeting App For Desktop

Scholarship Program: The application window is now open for the 2021 Rotary Club of Forest Grove Scholarships. The scholarship program is open to all graduating high school seniors residing in the Forest Grove, Banks and Gaston school district attendance areas.

This year, through the work of Sharon Olmstead and the Scholarship Committee, the entire application process will be done online. Applications must be submitted by midnight on Thursday, Apr. 1. Click Here For Full Scholarship Detail Information.

For additional questions, please contact Sharon Olmstead at sharon.olmstead8571@gmail.com.

Hope For The Holidays: Thank you to all of our club members who made our 2020 Hope For The Holidays event such as a success! In all, the club was able to serve a record 45 families, presenting each with a $250 Walmart gift card to use on the Dec. 21 shopping night. In addition to the families, $1,000 was provided to the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry to shop for food and other critical supplies. A special thank you to the 22 Rotarians and their family members who took part on shopping night and to the steering committee, chaired by Claudia Yakos.

A full recap of the event can be found on the Rotary Club of Forest Grove Website.

Photos from the event can be found by Clicking Here and Clicking Here.

Concours d’Elegance Update: The Concours Committee is busy making plans for July 18, 2021!

This year’s Concours will likely look different from the past, and the committee is busy preparing for many different scenarios. As of now, we are planning for an in-person show. However, we are making sure that a move online will be possible. We hope that by April we will know more about the likelihood of having a show. In the meantime, we have been busy with backend changes to class structure, website hosting, virtual car shows, and more! Registration for the 2021 Concours is scheduled to open on February 1. More details to come.

Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club Meeting: This month’s Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club is scheduled for this Thursday, Jan. 21, at Ridgewalker Brewing, 1921 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove. With the limited capacity on Ridgewalker’s outdoor deck due to the state’s COVID-19 regulations, it is requested that in-person attendance is limited to Satellite Club members only. The meeting will also be available via Zoom at the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88175827285
Meeting ID: 881 7582 7285

Club Visioning: The club visioning process allows Rotary clubs to look critically at their own clubs and create goals and direction for the next five years. It has been almost five years since our last club visioning process and it is time to do it again. Club members are invited to a virtual club-visioning event on Saturday, Feb. 27, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The District 5100 Club Visioning Committee will guide this exercise. If you are interested in participating, please contact President Julia Kollar.

Follow-Up – End Poverty Program: Our Jan. 6 program presenter, Peter Fry with Endpoverty, is in need of advisors to add to their network. Endpoverty is a nonprofit focusing on ending the cycle of poverty internationally by empowering local entrepreneurs and creating more jobs for their communities. Advisors would provide guidance in their areas of expertise to these entrepreneurs. Below are some of the types of advisors they are in need of:

• E-commerce (Jeilo): Online sales/marketing products consumables.

• Business Strategy (Health): Pathology Network & Aroha Center – logistics, business strategy (treatment or just diagnosis), health value chain.

• Animal Husbandry (GenePlus): Logistics.

• Franchising (Farmers Pride): Pricing strategy, distribution, logistics, procurement.

If you are interested, email Josh Shinoda at  joshshinoda.od@gmail.com.

Welcome Tom Linkhart: On Jan. 6, it was our pleasure to induct Tom Linkhart as our newest member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove. Tom and his wife, Sue, are residents are Gaston. Prior to moving to Oregon, Tom worked as a biochemistry professor at Loma Linda University in California, studying bone disease. They enjoy gardening, local theater, restaurants and wine tasting. Welcome Tom! Read Tom’s Full Membership Announcement

Troop 213 Update: The Christmas tree sale for our chartered Scouts BSA Troop 213 was a huge success. Over $10,000 was made from the sale, which is the troop’s major fundraiser. The proceeds will be used to help fund merit badge courses, the troop’s annual chartering and, most importantly, will help offset the cost of summer camp for many of the troop’s scouts

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, five Troop 213 members completed Eagle Scout projects in 2020. Four have been awarded their Eagle Scout ranks and two more are in process.

• Kyle Hoekstra completed his Eagle Scout project of refurbishing a ship at the Portland Shipyard in 2019. He was awarded his Eagle in February 2020.

• Josiah Brown completed his Eagle Scout project of cleaning up vegetation around the A.T. Smith house this fall. He was awarded his Eagle on January 4.

• Christopher Durrenberger completed his Eagle Scout project of creating decorative housing for public trashcans in downtown Hillsboro over the summer. He was awarded his Eagle on December 7.

• Austin Walker completed his Eagle Scout project in 2019 and was awarded his Eagle in 2020.

• Ethan Jones completed his Eagle Scout project of building garden boxes at Joseph Gale Elementary in December. His Eagle Board of Review will take place in the next two weeks.

• Hannah Powell is completing her Eagle Scout project working with park benches at Gales Creek Cemetery. She will be turning in her Eagle paperwork later this month. She is in line to become the first female member of the troop to earn the Eagle rank.

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: An updated version of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove phone is attached to last week’s emailed edition of the Rototeller. If you have questions, or if your information on the Phone Tree is not correct, contact Paul Waterstreet at 503-888-7185 or h20st2@juno.com.

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
January Message From District Governor Jo Crenshaw (From District 5100 Newsletter): 2021!! It is a new year. We made it through 2020, and while we are not literally “wandering,” we are seeking our paths for the next few months. This is the time to reassess and look for the unique possibilities of achieving our membership, foundation, training and leadership and public image goals.

Membership growth is one area that we need all your help with. Our chair, Dennis Long, has written a great article this month on securing members. Please take a read! How many new members can you recommend to your club?

Our Foundation has completed several grant projects over the past six months. A team of Foundation members and caring Rotarians worked extremely hard to get funds to our affected Rotary families to aid in the COVID-19 crisis. As soon as they were completed, they pivoted to assist our Rotary families and friends devastated by the summer wildfires. These were all completed by the end of the year 2020. We appreciate the team, led by our Foundation leads, past and present, PDG Tom Markos, Tom Crozier and Susan Winterbourne, along with our dedicated Assistant Governors, Cindy Jones and Suzanne and Nelson Holmberg.

We offer a special thank you to Assistant Governor, Mark Caillier of Salem, who worked tirelessly to ensure that we secured the best possible deals on our purchases for our Wildfire Relief grant recipients so we were able to assist as many worthy individuals as possible. Thank you all!

We are looking towards the future by establishing a District 5100 501(c) 3 Disaster Relief Fund to be ready to serve the district expeditiously the next time an unfortunate situation arises.

The Training and Leadership Committee is focused on preparing our incoming presidents for PETS and for their tenure. We are also in the middle of getting ready for our Spring Training Event (formerly DTA). We are asking all presidents to follow the lead of the assistant governors to make sure you are prepared and attend these sessions. The focus on training and leadership is a core value for the success of our future District Leadership, Jim Boyle, Steve Williams and Renee Brouse.

Our Public Image team, led by immediate past district governor Diane Noriega, has added new social media accounts to let members and non-Rotarians know that Rotary District 5100 is intent on making our communities a beacon of light for every new and potential member.

Our future is bright and I am hoping to continue the focus on making Rotary a force to reckon with. We should have a seat at the table to help improve Peace, Social Justice, Youth Involvement and any other initiatives that we can to help make us continue to be the best that we can be.

We are People of Action and we will continue to improve our present and future goals. Our teams and committee leads are doing a superb job focusing on getting it done.

My appreciation to all for keeping District 5100 ever present as we trek through 2021!

District 5100 Training Assembly: This year’s District 5100 District Training Event (formally District 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 coming soon.

District 5100 Conference: The District 5100 Conference, slated for Apr. 30 and May 1, will be online. This will make the event as accessible to all Rotarians more than ever.

When the District Conference Committee, chaired by our own Claudia Yakos, started planning, chose the theme of “Wandering Through New Doors.” Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping us physically distant, it’s more important than ever to focus on the strength and opportunity that comes with opening new doors of opportunities. The District 5100 Conference will educate, connect, inspire and offer virtual fellowship. More information to come.

Around Rotary International
Why Club Branding Matters (by Liz Thiam): As a Rotary brand specialist, I see Rotary signs everywhere. I guess you could say it’s an occupational hazard. Even my children spot Rotary signs wherever we go. So when I attended a local Rotary event in my hometown last year, I couldn’t help but notice how Rotary’s logo was being used.

At first, I was thrilled to see the club’s logo featured on a banner welcoming attendees. But then, I spotted another banner featuring the Rotary wheel as a pancake. Inside the tent, the club hung up a huge banner displaying the old, retired Rotary wheel. Club members who greeted us were all wearing polo shirts with the old wheel on them, but they were handing out brochures that included their newer club logo. Here were five different opportunities to promote the club, and each used different Rotary logos. It was bewildering. Read More

In Communities With No Services, Incremental Steps Can Go Along Way (by Diana Schoberg): In many remote places, toilets that are connected to sewers or septic tanks are the exception, not the rule. In those areas, toilets that operate without water seem like an ideal solution. So-called dry, or urine-diverting, toilets feature two or three holes: one for urinating, one for defecating, and, in some models, one for washing. They don’t cost much to operate, and they don’t smell. And both the urine and the solid waste can be treated and used as fertilizer. What’s not to like?

Clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education are basic necessities for a healthy environment and a productive life. Join Rotary in helping provide access to clean water.

But when a group of Rotary members tried to bring these toilets to a remote island in Indonesia, the community wasn’t ready for technology that the Rotarians thought of as no-frills, but the intended recipients saw as overly complicated. “The community didn’t want it, and in fact the project had to be redesigned. It cost the project a couple of years,” says Mark Balla, president of the Rotary Club of Box Hill Central, Australia, and vice chair of the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Rotary Action Group. “People thought it was a great idea but didn’t think about the cultural appropriateness. That’s so important when developing a project.” Read More

NOTE: Much of the material in this section comes from the member section of the Rotary website. We encourage you to log on and explore what the website has to offer at my.rotary.org.

Last Week’s Program: Eva Hawes, Washington County Public Health

Click Here To View The Entire Program

Last week, we were joined by Eva Hawes, a translational research and policy analyst for the Washington County Health & Human Services Department. She provided an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in the county and some information on the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Eva’s program opened with going over some of the basics of viral transmission. In general, viruses are transmitted five different ways: direct, vector-borne (other creatures to us), vehicle-borne (through food or water), droplet and airborne.

In droplet transmission, the primary transmission vehicle for COVID-19, the bigger the droplet is, the more virus is contained in it. Droplets can also be very small and can linger in the air for several minutes. Scientists have have learned that it is possible that COVID-19 can be transmitted through the air but it is not the primary transmission.

In general, the fewer people in a group, the better. The more distance, the better. The less hand and mouth contact, the better. The more covered mucous membranes, the better.

Eva went over the concept of expanding reproduction numbers with a virus (the average number that will get sick from one person). The infection rate quickly multiplies by a factor of two with each infected in person. COVID-19 has a reproductive number of 2 to 3, which is less than SARS (3 to 5) and measles (12 to 18).

The primary transmission method for measles is airborne, which lends to the higher reproduction number. If COVID’s primary transmission source were airborne, the reproduction number would be significantly higher.

Oregon currently has a much lower incident rate per 100,000 than most of the nation. It is currently between 2,502 to 4,483 cases per 100,000 since the start of the pandemic. Over the last seven days (as of Jan. 13), Oregon is experiencing 27-39 cases per 100,000.

Washington County was the first county in Oregon to report a COVID-19 case. Cases really surged in October and county is averaging anywhere from 150 to 300 cases per day. As we continue to see the vaccine curve goes up, the hope is that the case curve will go down.

Currently, millennials (ages 20-39) in Washington County are the most likely to become infected by COVID but the least likely to die or be hospitalized. Older adults account for 12 percent of case but account for 23 percent of deaths. 50 percent of COVID cases are coming from the Hispanic population, which only accounts for 17 percent of Washington County’s population. This is six times the incidence rate as non-Hispanic part of the population.

Vaccinations in Oregon are occurring with both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. There are some side affects to the vaccine, including fatigue, headache, chills and tenderness at the injection site. There is a mandatory 15-minute observation for all who receive it. As of Wednesday, 12,391 people in Washington County have been vaccinated.

You can get information about distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine in Washington County at http://www.co.washington.or.us/vaccine.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted

Wed., Jan. 20: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Karen Hill, Cornelius Library Update

Thurs., Jan. 21: Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Ridgewalker Brewing & Online Through Zoom

Wed., Jan. 27: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Peter Kass, Homeplate Youth Services

Wed., Feb. 3: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Barbara Peschiera & Elke Downer, Children’s Cancer Association