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…

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

Classics On Main Event: With the 2021 Concours d’Elegance unable to happen, the Concours Committee has decided a host a smaller event on Main Street on Sunday, July 18. The invitation-only event will feature up to 85 former class winners and judges. Following the event, a group of 50 cars will take an invitation-only tour that will end at the Brothers Museum in Salem.

The Concours Committee will need help from club members with set-up, car-spotting, a Rotary information booth and more. If you are able and interested in volunteering for the event, sign up at the following link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0448a9aa22a5f94-july.

Due to logistical challenges surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no Concours d’Elegance in 2021. Click Here To Read The Full Announcement.

Steak Sale Continues: As promised, by popular demand, we have another Steak Sale going on just in time for Father’s Day. As with our past sales, we are offering packs of two Columbia Empire Meats sirloin steaks for $15 per pack. Proceeds from the steak sale will benefit our club’s service outreaches and our annual Scholarship Program.

The deadline for orders is Sunday, June 12. Please submit your orders to President Julia Kollar by that date. Steaks will be available for pick up on Thursday, June 17.

Over the last year, our club has netted over $13,500 from the steak sales that we have done over the last year. These funds are helping to offset proceeds we normally receive from the Steak Feed and the Concours d’Elegance, both of which are not happening again this year due to the pandemic. Thank you to everyone who has made these sales such a success, especially Jeff Duyck, Julia Kollar, Lucas Welliver and Marge Johnston.

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. Our club is currently contributing $1,000 per month of toiletry items, cleaning supplies and feminine hygiene products.

Distribution events for these items take place on the first Monday of each month. The next scheduled distribution event will be on Monday, June 7. If you are interested in assisting with the next distribution, please contact President Julia or Michael Yakos.

The Food Pantry is open on Mondays from 2- 4 p.m. Donations are accepted on-site on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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.

Thirsty Thursday: Thank you to everyone who attended our last Satellite Club/Thirsty Thursday meeting on May 20 at Pat’s Corner at McMenamins Grand Lodge! A great time was had by all. Be on the lookout for details on June’s event, which will take place on Thursday, June 17.

Rotary Citation – We Did It Again!: Exciting news our club. President Julia Kollar was notified last week that the Rotary Club of Forest Grove has received the Rotary Citation for the 10th consecutive year! The Rotary Citation is based on goals set by the Rotary International President to evaluate benchmarks in increasing club membership, developing sustainable service projects, giving to The Rotary Foundation and building awareness of Rotary in our community.

To receive the Rotary Citation, clubs must set and meet 13 goals out of a possible 25 available goals. The 2020-21 Goals Can Be Viewed Here.

Congratulations to President Julia, our leadership team and the entire club for another job well done!

Rotary Foundation Giving Update: Part of receiving the Rotary Citation means that our club has met its goals for fundraising for The Rotary Foundation. As of May 30, club members have contributed $11,262 to the foundation’s Annual Fund and $3,985 towards PolioPlus. Thank you to all of you for your continued contributions!

If you are interested in knowing where you are at on your contributions or believe that you may be close to your next Paul Harris Fellow level, please contact foundation chair Michael Yakos.

If you are interested in starting or increasing a regular contribution to The Rotary Foundation, Rotary Direct is a great way to make that happen. The online portal allows you to make a one-time donation or set up monthly or semi-annual contributions. To learn more r to set up your recurring donation, visit https://my.rotary.org/en/donate.

Presidential Rotation Update: Due to an exciting new work opportunity, Josh Shinoda will be unable to fulfill the position of president of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove for the 2022-23 Rotary year. While we are sad that Josh will not fill that role, we are excited to announce that Janet Peters has accepted that role.

The presidential rotation for the next three years is…

2021-22: Bryce Baker
2022-23 Janet Peters
2023-24: Amy Tracewell

Rotary Phone Tree: Keep up the work keeping our members in the loop with the Rotary Club of Forest Grove phone tree. 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.

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’s YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

Around District 5100
Save The Date – 2022 District 5100 Conference & Training: Rotarians are asked to save May 19, 2022 on their calendars. This will be the date for District 5100’s combined Spring Training Event and annual District Conference. The combined event will be held in Seaside. Watch for more details as we move into the 2021-22 Rotary year.

Around Rotary International
“Hop On The Bus” Gets Children To School In Liberia (By Meg Ramey & Duke Adams, Rotary Club of Harrisburg Keystone, Pa.): Since I was first introduced to Rotary in 2016, I have experienced a month-long vocational study trip to Taiwan, became a Rotarian, and met my wife, Dr. Meg Ramey, all through Rotary. Along the way I’ve served a few pancakes, planted some shrubbery for a Martin Luther King memorial, picked up pounds of trash, made some great friends, and had the honor to experience the hospitality of Rotarians locally and abroad. Rotary is awesome! Now, I am embarking on my latest Rotary adventure as the 2021-22 president of the Rotary Club of Harrisburg Keystone.

One of the biggest goals for our club in the upcoming year is the successful completion of our 2021-22 district grant project. In partnership with YesLiberia and several non-profits in Monrovia, Liberia, including the Rotary Club of Sinkor, the Rotaract Club of Monrovia, YMCA, and Educate the Future Liberia, we will purchase a much-needed school bus for the children and greater community of Monrovia. Read More

Rotary Responds To COVID-19: Rotary is taking action in response to the pandemic as our clubs support COVID-19 vaccination and continued prevention efforts around the world.

Tapping into decades of experience in bringing polio to the brink of eradication, Rotary members worldwide are helping health authorities communicate lifesaving information about COVID-19 and vaccination, combatting misinformation, supporting fair and equal access to vaccines, and curbing the spread of the virus by donating protective gear and other supplies to clinics and hospitals that are under strain. Read About How Rotary Has Been Responding & Supporting

Last Week’s Program: Jeff King, Forest Grove Economic Development

Click Here To Watch The Complete Program

This week, we were happy to welcome the City of Forest Grove’s economic development coordinator, Jeff King, who presented an economic development update for the city and talked about how the has fared economically through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jeff said that over the last 14 months he has often thought about the old Chinese adage, “May you live in interesting times.” Before the pandemic, the city’s unemployment rate was at 3.5 percent and median household income had increased 25 percent over the last five years. Employment growth was 13.5 percent rate. In short, all economic and growth indicators were on the way up. The city had close to $1 billion in growth investment in the four years prior to the pandemic.

When the pandemic started, the trends shifted from growth to survival. The City’s emphasis also shifted from growth to working to help small businesses survive. Since the start of the pandemic, the city has provided five small business grant programs, offering grants from $1,000 to $10,000. Most of the businesses that took advantage were small businesses of 50 or fewer employees. The majority were in the food and beverage and hospitality sectors. The city also worked to aggressively get information on different local, state and federal grant programs to local businesses.

Forest Grove is fortunate that there have not been many outright business closures. The challenge during this recovery period, however, is mental and physical exhaustion being experienced by business owners and the ability to re-hire and retain workers.

The current population of Forest Grove is 25,435. The city has grown by 10.2 percent over the last four years and is in the top-15 among the fastest-growing cities in the region. Over the last 10 years, Forest Grove had grown by 20.6 percent, outpacing the growth in both Oregon and Washington County.

Peak unemployment in Forest Grove was 11.8 percent at the start of 2020. Washington County lost 39,200 jobs in the pandemic and has gained back 20,800 (53 percent). Despite the pandemic, the vacancy rate in Forest Grove has remained steady. The vacancy rate for industrial space remains close to zero percent and commercial and retail vacancy ticked up to three percent (mostly due to US Bank building becoming available).

The recovery in tourism has begun as well. The lodging occupancy rate in April 2021 in Washington County was 56 percent, an increase from 14 percent from April 2020. In addition, Forest Grove has initiated a robust tourism program that was developed under the leadership of Court Carrier. The Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber is the new contractor managing tourism services and programs.

Club Calendar
All Meetings Are On Zoom Unless Noted

Wed., June 9: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Scholarship Committee Update & Scholarship Winners

Thurs., June 10: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.

Wed., June 16: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Tom Cook, Attic To The Classroom Program

Thurs., June 17: Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Location TBD