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

Steak Feed: At long last, our 64th annual Rotary Steak Feed is here! The first in three years, the Steak Feed runs from 5-8 p.m. at the University Center at Pacific University.

If you have not made contact with your committee chair and set your work shift, please do so ASAP! A list of committee assignments is Linked Here.

If you have not sold your tickets, now is the time! Tickets are $25 each and includes a choice New York steak, salad, baked potato, rolls, beverages and dessert. Proceeds from the event go to our club’s involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program (which will also restart this year). It is the expectation that all Rotarians try to sell at least 10 tickets to the event. If you sell more, that is great!

Tickets can also be purchased locally at Ace Hardware, Van Dyke Appliance and the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce.

The Steak Feed is an “all-hands-on-deck” event, with all members expected to participate and help on the day of the event. We will see everyone there!

For more information or questions, please contact Geoff Faris . We will also have information at Wednesday’s meeting.

What Is Rotary Youth Exchange?: Newer members of Rotary may not know that Rotary International has a robust Youth Exchange program, providing the opportunity for high school-aged students the chance to study in another country. The Rotary Youth Exchange program was suspended for the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic but will return for the 2022-23 academic year.

Traditionally, our club has sponsored both an outbound student (going from our area to another country) and an inbound student (from another country to our club) each year. We have identified our outbound student for next year and will have information about her in an upcoming edition of the Rototeller.

For more information on the Rotary Youth Exchange program, visit the District 5100 Rotary Youth Exchange Website or contact our club’s committee chair, Melinda Fischer, at dancorntopper@aol.com.

End Of Year Celebration: For the first time in three years, we will gather as a club for a special evening of celebrating the Rotary Year. This year’s Rotary End of Year President’s Celebration will take place on Wed., June 22, 6-8 p.m., at Prime Time, 4450 Pacific Ave. The dinner will be at Prime Time and consist of roast sirloin, lemon herbed roasted chicken, cheese tortellini with vegetables, salad, sides, and bread rolls. Meals are $30 per person and family and friends are welcome!

Since this is our first year-end celebration in three years, we will be getting together to not only acknowledge all that we have accomplished this year but to also honor our two immediate past presidents who, because of COVID, we were unable to acknowledge in person.

Please RSVP at the following the link below before Sunday, June 19: http://evite.me/UUukB6Q6YG. There will be no noon meeting on June 22.

Memorial Service For Jerry Hoerber: A celebration of life service for our friend and fellow Rotarian, Jerry Hoerber, has been scheduled for Saturday, June 18, 1 p.m., at the Forest Grove United Methodist Church, 1726 Cedar Street. Jerry was a member of our club for 33 years and passed away on January 13.

Concours Update: We are under two months away from the 2022 Concours d’Elegance. Our annual car show, which raises funds for our club’s Scholarship Program, will take place on Sunday, July 17, on the campus of Pacific University. This year’s theme is a celebration of Jaguar. In addition, the show will showcase a salute to British Excellence with feature classes for MG, Triumph and Lotus.

Here are a few updates from the Concours committee:

Registration: Registration for this year’s Concours is now open. Let’s get as many cars out on the show field to help celebrate our return! There is a suggested entry donation of $25 per car. More details on entry classes and the registration link can be found at https://forestgroveconcours.org/enter.

Sponsorships: Tim Pearson has a goal of 100 sponsors for the show. “That’s going to be a stretch but I think it is doable,” Tim said, but he needs the help of club members to make it happen. A copy of the sponsorship flyer is Linked Here. If you have sponsorship questions or a lead, please contact Tim at 503-998-8616 or TimPearsonPC@gmail.com.

Vineyard Concert: The Concours weekend will begin this year with “The Celebration of our Senses,” a vineyard, dinner and beverage tasting event that will take place on Friday, July 15 at Elk Cove Vineyard. BossaPDX, a dynamic Brazilian jazz and bossa nova group, will provide the concert entertainment.

Tickets are $90 per person and limited to 200 people. Tickets include the concert, dinner and beverage tastings. Additional beverages will be available for purchase.

Other Events: The rest of the weekend’s events include the vineyard tour on Saturday, July 16, the Evening Of Elegance dinner on Saturday night and, of course, the show on Sunday, July 16

For more information on the show, visit forestgroveconcours.org, or contact show chairman Ryan Garcia at rypgarcia@gmail.com.

As our club’s primary fundraiser for the year, the Concours is an “all hands on deck” event with all club members expected to volunteer.

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
District 5100 Rotary Foundation Update: An update on our District Grant for Emergency Ukraine Refuge Aid through the Polish Rotary Club of Biala Podlaska. At
last count, donations from 44 Rotary clubs from District 5100 with District Grant matching funds of $29,085 totaled more than $145,000. Many thanks to Rotarian Kris Akins and the Rotary Club of Portland Metropolitan for driving this District Grant. A second trip is planned in the fall to deliver the balance of funds.

What Can Your $100 Contribution to The Rotary Foundation Do?
Your $100 contribution to The Rotary Foundation can help provide textbooks for one elementary school in Zambia, provide a hearing aid for a deaf child in Pakistan, buy de-worming tablets for 112 children in the Philippines, pay for cataract operations for three blind people in India, or provide 230 blankets for the elderly in the winter months of Korea. Will you commit today to donating $100 or more per year to The Rotary Foundation and start making a difference in people’s lives.

Thank you for your continued support of The Rotary Foundation.

Around Rotary International
Houston Clubs Raise Awareness About The Environment, Human Trafficking: Anyone who wants recommendations for food or one-of-a-kind cultural experiences while they’re at the 2022 Rotary International Convention should ask Michelle Bohreer. But she also really wants to talk about the ways in which Rotary clubs in Houston are transforming their communities.

Bohreer is governor of District 5890, which includes all 60 Rotary clubs in the city. She’s hoping that while people enjoy Houston’s amenities and diversity, they also learn about local efforts to protect the environment and fight human trafficking.

“Houston clubs are really focused on being part of the solution to these problems,” Bohreer says. “The convention is a good opportunity to share the work we’re doing.”

Cooling The Urban Heat
In the shadows of Houston’s skyscrapers, the historic Third Ward neighborhood is an urban heat island. The neighborhood is full of dark, impermeable surfaces like pavement and roofing that absorb heat, and it lacks greenery — as is often the case in low-income communities. The city can get up to 17 degrees Fahrenheit (9 degrees Celsius) hotter than outlying areas that have the same weather conditions.

In 2020, Rotary members Ed Pettitt and Dakota Stormer began leading a project to transform donated vacant lots in the community into parks and greenspace — which can reduce the effects of urban heat. Stormer, a member of the Rotary Club of Memorial-Spring Branch (Houston), who died in 2021, had scouted potential locations and found a spot along the Columbia Tap trail in the Third Ward.

Pettitt, a member of the Rotary Club of Houston Skyline, worked to follow through on their vision and honor Stormer, an environmentalist who had founded the Footprint app that lets users track their carbon footprint. Rotary members, friends, and supporters recently planted more than a dozen trees and other greenery. The park includes benches, trash cans, water fountains, bike racks and fix-it stations, and educational signs. The greenspace was named Dakota’s Peace Grove.

“There is enough … information out there that shows the importance and urgency for Houston to address the various climate and environmental issues featured in our service project,” Pettitt says. “We’re going to build on our efforts.”

Look for the Dakota’s Peace Grove booth in the convention’s House of Friendship. It will feature a small-scale version of the space with real trees and vegetation. It will also have a bench where people can take selfies and share messages about the importance of parks and greenspace.

Addressing Human Trafficking
Houston consistently ranks among the U.S. cities with the most human trafficking, in part due to its two international airports, busy seaports, and proximity to the border with Mexico. The hospitality industry is often used as a front for or the site of trafficking and forced labor.

Recognizing that link, Texas law requires hotels to train employees to identify the signs of trafficking and know how to respond. A District 5890 task force that fights human trafficking has worked with the nonprofit organization Unbound, which supports people who have been trafficked, to contact every Rotary convention hotel to confirm that employees have completed the training. Houston clubs are also using a global grant from The Rotary Foundation to fund operations for a stabilization and assessment center for young people who have been trafficked.

“We wanted to make sure that hotel owners, management, and guests know that Rotary is serious about this issue,” says Kerri Taylor, a member of the Rotary Club of Houston Downtown and executive director of Unbound. “I want Rotarians to be inspired to lead the way in making human trafficking a rare occurrence rather than an accepted, dark underbelly of our communities.”

Last Week’s Program: Dr. Jim Moore, Political Update

Click Here To Watch The Full Program

At Wednesday’s meeting, we were joined by Dr. Jim Moore, political science professor at Pacific University. Jim provided his analysis on the recent primary elections that took place in Oregon in May, with a specific emphasis on Washington County.

Jim’s presentation included a look at the Oregon governor’s races, races for Washington County commissioner and the statewide congressional races, which of particular interest with the addition of a sixth congressional seat in the state.

Rather than summarize it here, we encourage you to click on the link and take in the analysis from one of the Portland area’s most sought after political minds.

Club Calendar
Wed., June 8: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Rotary Scholarship Recipients Plus Steak Feed Prep

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

Fri., June 10: Steak Feed, 5 p.m.
Pacific University Campus

Wed., June 15: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Karine Kadyan, Washington County Parks

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

Wed., June 23: End Of Year President’s Celebration, 6 p.m.
Prime Time, 4450 Pacific Ave.

Sun., July 17: Concours d’Elegance
Pacific University Campus