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.

Rotary Sports Action: Thank you to everyone who participated in the 2019-20 Forest Grove Rotary College Football Fundraiser! The combined efforts of the club raised $360 of donations to The Rotary Foundation. Congratulations to our big, big super big winners…

National Champions: LSU – Jim Crisp & Rob Foster
SEC: LSU – Jim Crisp & Rob Foster
Pac-12: Oregon – Mike Hundley & Court Carrier
ACC: Clemson – Jeannine Murrell, Josh Shinoda & David Noyes (Hillsboro club)
Big 10: Ohio State – Jeannine Murrell
Big 12: Oklahoma – Jim Crisp & Jeannine Murrell

Congratulations to our big money winners, Jim Crisp & Jeannine Murrell. Both will have $70 donated in their name to The Rotary Foundation to go towards their next Paul Harris awards.

Road Cleanup: Our first road cleanup service project of 2020 is scheduled for this Saturday, Feb. 1, 8:30 a.m. We will meet at the Oregon Department of Forestry offices at 801 Gales Creek Road. All who participate in the cleanup will receive a ticket to the Pacific University basketball doubleheader on Sat., Feb. 8. For questions, please contact Andrea Stewart.

Bylaws Approved: At our Jan. 15 Wednesday meeting and our Jan. 16 Satellite Club meeting, members voted to improve the new Rotary Club of Forest Grove bylaws. The final vote was 42 for, nine against, which meets the two-third majority needed to approve. Thank you to the many members who have worked on this document over the last few years, including Lucas Welliver, Tom Raabe, Blake Timm and Jeannine Murrell.

Concours Update: Thanks to the work of Michelle Thomas, the entertainment for this year’s Concours d’Elegance will be none other than Michael Allen Harrison, who has agreed to perform free of charge! Thank you, Michelle, for your work to make this happen for our upcoming show. Remember, this year’s Concours d’Elegance will take place on Sunday, July 19.

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 Fri., April 9.

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!

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.

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

Next Week’s Duty Roster for Feb. 5: Make note of your assignment!
Greeters: Chris Barron & Ron Brandt
Thought for the Day: Vaughn Tidwell
Rototeller Article: Rob Foster
Raffle Prize: Carl Heisler

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: Terry Ross, Oregon Hemp Production
As part of our Farmer’s Day celebration, we received a presentation by Terry Ross. The executive director of the Hazelnut Growers Bargaining Association, Terry is also associated with the hemp growing industry in Oregon and presented to the club about the hemp farming and the challenges in that industry.

What is hemp used for? Most of the hemp that is grown now is now used production in making CBD products for use by both humans and animals. By 2020, hemp production is expected to be legal in all 50 states.

There was 511,000 acres of hemp being farmed nationwide in 2019. That marked an increase of three to five times the amount of acres farmed the year before. In any given year, only half of that acreage is actually planted each year and a quarter will be harvested.

The cost of farming hemp is, on average, usually four times higher than that of other common crops. The typical production cost for hemp farming is $20,000 to $30,000 per acre. For the crop to be dried for extraction, driers usually ask a cost of $4 to $8 per pound (cash only).

The rules for hemp farming are tightly controlled not by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, but also the FDA. If hemp is found to have too high of a level of THC at harvest, it must be destroyed immediately. It can be the difference of days or hours as the THC level can go up rapidly at harvest time.

There is a problem with hemp overproduction nationwide. There are many layoffs with businesses that specialize in extraction. Because of a glut in supply, most of the 2019 harvest will be left to rot.

 Club Calendar
Sat., Feb. 1: Road Cleanup, 8:30 a.m., Oregon Department of Forestry, 801 Gale Creek Rd.
Wed., Feb. 5: Weekly Meeting, Noon, Pacific University Boxer Pause
Program: TBA
Tues., Feb. 11: Concours d’Elegance Committee Meeting, 7 p.m., Forest Grove Chamber Office
Wed., Feb. 12: Weekly Meeting, Noon, Pacific University Boxer Pause
Program: Dr. Lesley Hallick, Pacific University
Thurs., Feb. 13: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m., Moore & Welliver Lawyers