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

In-Person Meetings: We are back to having in-person meetings on Wednesdays at noon in the Boxer Pause room in the University Center (towards the back of the dining commons). As in the past, lunch will be available in the dining commons for a nominal fee.

For the safety of everyone involved, Pacific University is asking that anyone attending in-person meetings follow the following safety protocols:

• All persons who attend in-person meetings on campus are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

• Masks are required at all times while you are on the Pacific University campus, unless you are actively eating.

• If you are experiencing any of the symptoms associated with COVID-19, please stay home and join us via Zoom. Click Here For Symptoms.

• If you have been in close contact with an individual who is a confirmed or presumptive COVID-19 case, or have tested positive for the virus yourself, follow the quarantine guidance from the Washington Country Health Department.

These rules will help keep our members and community safe and will allow us to meet in-person after such a long time apart.

If you cannot attend or do not feel comfortable attending in-person, Click Here On Information On How To Join Us Via Zoom.

Club President For 2024-25: We are excited to announce that Lucas Welliver has agreed to serve as club president for the 2024-25 Rotary Year. Lucas has served as club secretary in the past and currently serves as club treasurer. Thank you for your continued service to the club and congratulations!

The current rotation of club presidents following the end of Bryce Baker’s term is as follows:

2022-23: Janet Peters
2023-24: Amy Tracewell
2024-25: Lucas Welliver

Program Chair Update: Thank you so much to Janet Peters for her excellent work as program chair for the club during 2021! You did an excellent job for us, especially in the transition from online meetings to in-person meeting and navigating hybrid presentations.

As Janet prepares for her presidential year, Amy Tracewell is stepping in for her term as program chair. If you have ideas for potential programs, please contact Amy.

Thank You Jerry Hoerber: After 32 years as a member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove, Jerry Hoerber has made the decision to resign from the club. We are incredibly grateful for Jerry’s longtime service to the club, most notably the club’s road cleanup program that has been a staple of our service projects for over a quarter century.

In honor of his longtime service to the club, the board of directors has voted to make Jerry an honorary member. Thank you Jerry!

Welcome New Members: It was our honor to induct three new members into the Rotary Club of Forest Grove during our December 22 Zoom meeting. Erika Plunkett, Lynne Tynan and Cortland Jones will all be active in the cause-based satellite club that will be formally chartered in 2022.

Erika Plunkett has spent the last several years as an independent consultant in the international nonprofit sector supporting businesses, philanthropists, and nonprofits as they develop and grow. Her goal is to challenge the status quo of corporate giving and to implement strategies and abstract ideas that invigorate the philanthropic realm. In addition to consulting, Erika has worked closely with marginalized and underserved communities in the United States, both professionally and personally, giving her a passion for equity and advocacy.

She is a “humanitarian innovator” who seeks to implement creative solutions to challenges in developing countries. She strongly believes that everyone, regardless of social or economic status, should have opportunities to learn and access to a good education.

This passion led to the co-founding in 2018 of Ama International Inc, a 501(c)3 registered nonprofit focusing on poverty reduction through prevention, provision, education, and action in Mexico. Ama serves as a bridge for the vulnerable by forming long-term partnerships with local leaders in underserved communities to establish projects and initiatives that will positively impact families and offer communities a brighter future.

Erika envisions a world where our differences don’t divide us but rather inspire us; a world made up of global citizens motivated by generosity; a world of ama sin fronteras (love without borders).

Lynne Tynan is a passionate co-founder of Kilkenny Consulting, I Love Travel, LLC and the newest humanitarian non-profit, I Love Travel Missions, Inc.  Her fervor for justice, travel, and missions, as well as her extensive background in legal affairs has led her to not only co-found these organizations but be an active part in volunteering both locally and overseas. This, coupled with her heart for empowering individuals, educating others, and impact on a global scale has moved her to the soon-coming launch of Revolt 35, which will feature products created by artists and people groups from around the globe.

Lynne resides in Shreveport-Bossier, Louisiana where she was born and raised. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, the outdoors, and spending time with friends and family both near and far.

Cortland Jones is the co-founder of I Love Travel Missions, a non-profit that unites people, empowering them to make an impact through supporting innovative programs that create sustainable solutions to eradicate poverty. In addition to operating this incredible non-profit, she is a think tank facilitator, and a serial social impact entrepreneur. Cortland revels in helping people discover their purpose and enjoys listening to the ideas of great minds, assisting them in taking their ideas from concept to fruition.

Cortland worked as a project manager in the tech industry for over 15 years until transitioning full time into her travel company where she has over 10 years of experience providing international event and travel services. Together with her amazing teams, she manages I Love Travel, I Love Travel Missions and pursues other human-centered business ventures.

Outside of her professional grind, Cortland is an avid traveler, and food enthusiast who enjoys exploring the world, seeing all it has to offer through the places, experiences, and people she encounters. Being married for 15 years with one son has proven to be one of her greatest accomplishments and adventures to date. Cortland strives to see the world through rose-colored glasses and encourages others to follow her life motto to love more, honor always, seek unity and to respect regardless.

Hope For The Holidays: A holiday tradition for the Rotary Club of Forest Grove, the club’s annual Hope for the Holidays event was another success.

Hope for the Holidays is a service project designed to help give less fortunate families a little brighter holiday. This year, the project helped 12 families and 48 individuals from the local area. The 12 families were identified and nominated by local school districts and West Tuality Habitat for Humanity.

Each family received a $500 gift card at Walmart and shopped with Rotarian volunteers at our shopping event on Tuesday, December 14. Families used the money to purchase everything from toys for kids to clothing to food and basic essentials.

The gift cards were funded thanks to $9,000 donated by Rotary Club members, proceeds from the club’s wreath sale fundraiser and a $2,500 matching grant from Rotary District 5100. Any left over proceeds from this year’s event will be kept in reserve to use for Hope for the Holidays in 2022.

A thank you to the following Rotarians and volunteers for helping to coordinate the event and for helping on event night: Mike & Claudia Yakos, Pete & Parri Van Dyke, Dean & Lori Larson, Luis & Alma Lozano, Melinda Fischer, Blake & Hannah Timm, Caroline Roudry, Lucas Welliver, Julia Kollar and Janet Peters.

Rotaract Update: Thank you to Amy Tracewell, who has stepped forward to become the club liaison to the Pacific University Rotaract Club. Thank you, Amy, for helping us continue to have an important link between our two clubs!

Forest Grove Partnering With Lake Oswego On International Project: The Rotary Club of Forest Grove Board of Directors voted to partner with the Rotary Club of Lake Oswego on an international project. Called Project Flourish, the project is based with the MAIA Impact School in Guatemala, which strives to teach girls, and particularly girls of Mayan descent, to finding their empowered voice and to embrace what education can do for them.

Guatemala has the worst gender equity gap in the Americas. This initiative centers on the creation and implementation of an educational program to connect talent with opportunity for first-generation “Girl Pioneers” (young women born into situations of quadruple discrimination as rural, poor, female, and Indigenous) in Guatemala. The elements of this program center on the following:

• Formal internships to generate experience and informed decision-making
• Preparation for university entrance exams
• Training on soft skills for job interviews and workplace readiness/success
• Workplace English & IT training to increase employability

This project creates a powerful pilot that will serve 42 girls and their families (approximately 336 people). These girls and families represent over a dozen rural villages in Sololá. Once created, the project will continue in perpetuity to serve generations of young women who will break out of poverty.

The project is partially funded through a Rotary International Global Grant. We will have a program on this impactful project later this year.

Online Dues Payments: Our club is now equipped to process dues payments online! We can now process credit card or debit card payments for quarterly dues. Information on how to pay online will be included with quarterly billings that will be coming to your mailbox or email inbox.

With the transition to billing with Quickbooks, some members may not have received their quarterly invoice. If you did not, please contact treasurer Lucas Welliver.

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 4-5:30 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.

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 are archived on our club’s YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

Around District 5100
That’s My Jam Live On January 11: Join District Governor Jim Boyle on Tuesday, January 11 at 7 p.m. for That’s My Jam Live on Facebook Live. This month’s webcast is designed to you better understand how Rotary International can support YOUR club.

Help us welcome RI Director, Vicki Puliz. Vicki serves as Rotary International Director from the “Big West” Zones 26 & 27 from 2021 to 2023. Vicki is a proud member of the Rotary Club of Sparks, Nevada. She joined Sparks Rotary in 1992, served as club president in 2004-2005, and as Governor for District 5190 in 2013-2014.

Vicki’s “Why” in Rotary is to make a positive difference—whether in youth service, public image, polio eradication, leadership development, education, or growing Rotary through new clubs and supporting Rotarians and Rotaractors.

Vicki graduated from the University of Utah with a Marketing degree and Master of Business Administration and went on to own a commercial electrical contracting firm in northern Nevada.

Link To The Live Facebook Event Here: https://fb.me/e/1ghxC2Q1f

Save The Date: District 5100 Rotary One Conference: Mark your calendars for May 19-22 as District 5100 will present its first combined Spring Training Event and annual conference in Seaside. The combined conference will provide Rotary training opportunities, inspirational speakers and a celebration of what is hoped to be a great year in District 5100.

Around Rotary International
In Memoriam – Cliff Dochterman: Clifford L. Dochterman, a past Rotary International president and university administrator, died on 23 November 2021. He was 95.

Dochterman, who was known for his lively sense of humor, ready smile, and positive outlook on life, served as RI president in 1992-93. An accomplished public speaker, he was recognized around the world as one of the premier spokespersons for Rotary.

Dochterman retired in 1990 after more than 40 years in higher education administration, including 20 years at the University of California, Berkeley, and almost two decades as executive vice president of the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, USA.

At the University of the Pacific, Dochterman was instrumental in getting funding for new campus buildings and in establishing the development office and the school’s Community Involvement Program, which supports first-generation students. When he retired, his colleagues and friends created an endowment in his name.

Dochterman was active in civic and professional organizations throughout his life. He served as president of the Stockton Chamber of Commerce and chair of the San Joaquin County Parks and Recreation Commission, and he received the George Washington Honor Medal from the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, a U.S. organization that encourages civic engagement. Dochterman also authored two Rotary-related books: a compilation of columns he originally wrote for his club’s bulletin called “The ABCs of Rotary,” and “As I Was Saying,” a collection of his favorite speeches.

Dochterman, a member of the Rotary Club of Moraga, California, joined Rotary in 1958. In addition to his term as president, he served as RI vice president and as Rotary Foundation trustee and trustee chair. He served on or chaired a number of committees and was chair of the 2001 Council on Legislation.

He was one of the architects of Rotary’s Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) program and was recognized for his leadership in creating the PolioPlus program.

Clifford and Mary Elena Dochterman were Rotary Foundation Major Donors and Benefactors. He received The Rotary Foundation’s Citation for Meritorious Service, Distinguished Service Award, PolioPlus Pioneer Award, and Service Award for a Polio-Free World.

Dochterman was married to Dorothy Coset from 1954 until her death in 1987. In 1994, he married Mary Elena Washburn, who died in 2013. He is survived by two children, Claudia and Clifford Jr.; two stepdaughters, Elena and Karen; and six grandchildren.

Last Week’s Program: Howard Sullivan, Forest Grove Sesquicentennial

Click Here To Watch The Full Program

We kicked off 2022 with hearing from one of our own Rotarians. Howard Sullivan is the chair of the Forest Grove sesquicentennial committee and gave us a preview of the plans for the city’s 150th anniversary celebration 2022.

Howard opened by providing a brief history of Forest Grove. The earliest inhabitants of the area were a sub group of the Kalapooya Tribe, the Tualatin Indians.  Missionaries arrived in 1841 with a dream of educating and spiritually enlightening the native peoples in the ways of ‘Civilization”.  Among those missionaries were Alvin T. and Abigail Smith and Rev. Harvey Clarke and his wife Emeline. The Tualatin Academy was Chartered by the Territorial Government in 1848 and Pacific University was added to that charter in 1854.

The West Tualatin Plains became Forest Grove in 1851, although the City was not incorporated until October 5, 1872. Many houses and buildings from those early years remain and Forest Grove is proud to boast four National Register Districts and other structures individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The sesquicentennial committee is comprised of individuals from a number of civic organizations throughout the city and is endorsed by the Forest Grove City Council. Each month will have a signature event with the official 150th anniversary celebration during the Forest Grove Farmer’s Market on Wednesday, October 5, which is the anniversary date of the city’s incorporation.

The signature events tied to the sesquicentennial celebration include…

January: Ralph’s Run by the Oregon Road Runners Club
February: Oregon State Anniversary & Valentine’s Day Wine Tasting Loop
March: McMenamins Grand Lodge 100th Anniversary
April: Pacific University Luau
May: Kickoff of the Forest Grove Farmer’s Market
July: Concours d’Elegance and Birthday of the Farmer’s Market
August: Natsu-Matsuri Summer Festival
September: Corn Roast & Harvest Festival and Chalk Art
October: Oktoberfest
November: Verboort Sausage & Kraut Festival
December: Holidays In The Grove

More information on the sesquicentennial is available at https://discoverforestgrove.org/150-years-of-forest-grove/.

Club Calendar
Wed., Jan. 12: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, Pacific University
Program: Jim White, Nonprofit Association of Oregon

Concours d’Elegance Meeting, 1:30 p.m.
Via Zoom

Thurs., Jan. 13: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Via Zoom

Wed., Jan. 19: Monthly Evening Meeting
Time & Location To Be Determined

Wed., Jan. 26: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, Pacific University
Program: Monique Hammond, Hearing Specialist