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

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 consists of roast sirloin, lemon herbed roasted chicken, cheese tortellini with vegetables, salad, sides, and bread rolls. RSVPs were due to Bryce Baker on June 15. There will be no noon meeting on June 22.

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.

Steak Feed – Thank You!: We did it! Thank you to all of you who helped make our 64th annual Rotary Steak Feed a success! Despite the rainy weather, we had a steady line of customers throughout the three hours of the event and a lot of satisfied diners. Initial estimates indicate a gross income of $11,000, part of which benefits our involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program, will be available in the coming weeks. If you have not turned in your ticket money or have tickets that did not go used, please turn those in ASAP.

A big thank you to the Steak Feed chair, Geoff Faris, for all of his hard work to make the event run smoothly after a three-year absence. A special thank you as well to the staff at Bon Appétit and Pacific University for their assistance.

You can views photos from the Steak Feed, taken by our own Hector Mendez-Colberg, on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

Steak Sale: The bad news is that we had uncooked steaks left over from the Steak Feed. The good news is those steaks are now available for purchase! Packs of two choice steaks from Columbia Empire Farms are available for $20 per pack. Just like the Steak Feed, proceeds benefit the Rotary Youth Exchange program.

Orders can be emailed to Janet Peters and are due by Monday June 27. Steak pickup in tentatively scheduled for Friday, July 1, 4-5:30 p.m., at Jeff Duyck’s warehouse on 19th Avenue between Main and Ash streets.

Concours d’Elegance Elk Cove Vineyard Concert: The Concours d’Elegance weekend begins this year with our inaugural concert event, “The Celebration of our Senses,” taking place in the amphitheater at Elk Cove Vineyard on Friday, July 15.

The concert features Bossa PDX- Brazilian Jazz as the entertainment, a three-course gourmet dinner featuring Kama’Aina hawaiian food, Sho Restaurant sushi plate and farm-to-table local salad with Elk Cove wine-braised beef bruschetta from the Wilderness Hunters Chefs. There will also be tastings of Elk Cove wine and SakeOne sake, free parking and great summer fun!

Tickets for all of the above are an all-inclusive package at $90 per person and limited to only 200 people. Additional beverages may be purchased after the tasting tickets are used.

Do not miss what will be the signature wine country concert of the summer at Elk Cove, one of Oregon’s premier pioneer wineries.

Get your tickets here now at forestgroveconcours.org/vineyard-concert and invite your family and friends, they’ll never forget it!

More 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.

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. Volunteer assignments will be available soon.

Volunteers: The Concours needs an army of volunteers to make everything happen. The show’s volunteer sign-up link is now open. If you have friends, family or others who want to volunteer ans be part of the event, Click Here.

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.

For more information on the show, including a full schedule of the weekend’s activities, visit forestgroveconcours.org. For questions, contact show chairman Ryan Garcia at rypgarcia@gmail.com.

Trailer Donation: For much of the show’s history, the fence that surrounds the Concours grounds was hauled with a trailer that was specially outfitted for the project by the late Bob Nixon. The Nixon family has agreed to donate the club, providing that this part of the project will be easier for years to come. After the show, the trailer will be used to store the fence posts and fencing material.

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.

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.

Service Opportunities
B Street Cleanup: Tim Orr is working with the Forest Grove Foundation on the coordination of cleanup of a homeless campsite along Gales Creek and B Street (near the recently demolished City of Forest Grove Light & Power building). The cleanup will take place on Saturday, July 9. The group would like to have an additional 10 people to assist with the effort.

If you are interested, please contact Tim at 503-702-5773 or timothyd47@yahoo.com.

Summer Meals Program: Volunteers are needed to assist with the Forest Grove School District’s Summer Meals program, which runs from June 20 to August 26. Meals are served to kids Monday through Friday from 12 to 12:30 p.m. at a variety of locations, including Rogers Park, Lincoln Park, Bard Park and the Rose Grove Mobile Home Park.

Each site needs three volunteers each day: one that can pick up meals from one of the base kitchens at a local school and two others to help serve the meals. At last one of the volunteers each day needs to have an Oregon food handlers permit. Our own Parri Van Dyke will be assisting at Rogers Park on Tuesday.

If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Kelly Daily at kelly.daily@comcast.net.

St. Anthony’s Parish Blood Drive: Parri Van Dyke has worked with St. Anthony’s Catholic Church and the Red Cross to host a blood drive on Thursday, July 14, from 10-3 p.m., at the church’s parish hall at 1160 Elm Street. Blood supply is still at critical levels and donations are sorely needed. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or Click Here To Schedule On The Red Cross Website.

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.

Around District 5100
District 5100 Updates: The latest edition of Rotary District 5100 video updates were made available last in the district’s “That’s My Jam” newsletter. If you did not receive the newsletter in your email box, here are links to the videos that provide updates on what is happening all around the district.

District Governor Jim Boyle’s Update
District Governor Nominee Renee Brouse’s Update
PolioPlus Committee Update
REEL Update
Vocational Service Committee Update
Youth Exchange Committee Update

Last Week’s Program: Karine Kadyan, Washington County Parks

At Wednesday’s meeting we were joined by Karine Kadyan, the communications manager for Washington County Parks, who provided an update on the park system and what is happening at its largest park, Scoggins Valley Park at Hagg Lake.

The Washington County Park system is comprised of three parks: Scoggins Valley Park, Metzger Park in Tigard and Eagle Landing Park near Groner Elementary School in Scholls. Washington County Parks employs 11 people to service the three parks.

Karine pointed out that the county does not actually own Scoggins Valley Park. The land is owned by the U.S. Department of Reclamation with the park managed by the county. The country works with the Bureau of Reclamation on all improvements.

Last year, Hagg Lake experienced its lowest water levels since the reservoir was constructed in the 1970s. With the late spring rains, the lake is near capacity.

Washington County Parks worked with a Forest Grove artist to install the first public arts project at Hagg Lake, a mural at Boat Ramp C that was completed in June. The lake will also be hosting a free summer concert series with concerts on July 23 and August 27. The parks department is working to get food trucks out to both the event and to be out at the lake on a regular basis.

The county’s recreation rental program, Scoggins Valley Outfitters, started last year and is now open for the season. The program rents kayaks and stand-up paddleboards on Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays from now until Sept. 5. For more information, Click Here.

There are two major improvement projects in the works at Hagg Lake, both of which the county has federal grant funding in place. The first is the development of a campground and the second is the development of a visitor’s and welcome center. The county is currently working on finding matching funds to further both projects.

For more information on Washington County Parks, visit https://www.washcoparks.org/.

Club Calendar
Wed., June 22: End Of Year President’s Celebration, 6 p.m.
Prime Time, 4450 Pacific Ave.
   No Noon Meeting On June 22

Wed., June 29: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Ryan Garcia, Concours d’Elegance

Wed., July 6: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: To Be Announced

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