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

Mask Mandate Ends At Pacific: With the state of Oregon dropping its mask mandate, Pacific University has made the use of facemasks optional on campus. The rest of Pacific’s COVID precautions remain in effect, including…

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

For more information on Pacific University’s COVID precautions and requirements, please visit pacificu.edu/coronavirus.

Meal Change For This Week’s Meeting: Due to the fact that Pacific University is in spring break, we will need to cater our lunch from outside the university this week. We will have a taco bar with a cost of $16 per person. We will be back to our usual $8 lunches through the dining commons next week. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Another Successful Steak Sale!: Thank you to all of our Rotarians who helped make the latest version of our Steak Sale a success. We sold just over 200 packages of steaks. When combined with an additional $150 of donations we received, the sale netted a profit of approximately $2,366. A special thank you to those who made it all happen behind the scenes: Julia Kollar, Jeff Duyck and Marge Johnston.

Scholarship Program Deadline Approaching: Applications are now being accepted for the Rotary Club of Forest Grove’s annual scholarship program. Scholarships are awarded to high school seniors that live in the Forest Grove, Gaston and Banks school district attendance areas. These scholarships are made possible thanks to contributions from club members and from our annual car show, the Concours d’Elegance.

Scholarships vary in amounts from $500 to $2,000 and are awarded to help pay for the first year of college or vocational school at a school in the United States.

The application deadline is midnight on Saturday, April 7. The application process will once again take place completely online. Click Here For Additional Details.

For questions, please contact Scholarship Committee chair Sharon Olmstead at sharon.olmstead8571@gmail.com.

Road Cleanup: Thank you to all of our Rotarians and friends who made our return to our semi-annual road cleanup service project a success! This was the 86th time we have performed a cleanup over the past 27 years.

Thank you our participants: Piper Stewart, Corinne Reasoner, Stan Reasoner, Greg Nemchick, Blake Timm, Janet Peters, Terry Nahm-Kaln (Forest Grove HS student volunteer), Tim Pearson, Paul Waterstreet, Diana Waterstreet, Melinda Fischer, Andrea Stewart, Jim Cain and Jim Crisp (who completed a section on Friday).

A big thank you to Corinne Reasoner, who found a wallet with money and ID intact. She is returning the wallet to its owner in Cornelius.

RYLA Applications Open: After a two-year hiatus, applications are being taken for the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). RYLA is a one-week intensive leadership training experience for youth ages 21 to 32 years old that includes team-building exercises, guest speakers and more. This year’s event will take place July 9-15 at the Menucha Retreat Center in the Columbia River Gorge.

Applicants must be sponsored by a local Rotary club and our club has traditionally sponsored two RYLA participants. For more information on the program, please contact Andrea Stewart at 503-357-1427 or astewart@pacificu.edu. Information on RYLA, along with the required application, can be found online at ryladistrict5100.org.

Crab Feed: Mark your calendars for Wednesday, Apr. 20, when our annual Crab Feed returns. The Crab Feed is designed to be a social event for club members and their families to celebrate the good work that we do throughout the year. This is also traditionally when the club recognizes its latest Paul Harris Fellows. The event takes place from 5-8 p.m. at the Forest Grove Senior & Community Center.

Admission for this year’s Crab Feed is $40 per person for those who are eating crab and $25 if not eating crab. There will also be crab for sale to take home at market price.

Julia Kollar is re-forming the committee to take on the planning and execution of this event. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Julia.

Silent Auction At Crab Feed: As we have done in past years, we will be conducting a silent auction at the Crab Feed to raise money for our service outreaches. We are looking for donations such as themed gift baskets, wine and wine tasting experiences, a stay in beach house, tickets to sporting events…on maybe something else in mind that you would like to donate.

If you are interested in donating to the silent auction, please contact Parri Van Dyke.

Looking Ahead To The 2022-23 Rotary Year: Please take the time to respond to president-elect Janet Peters email about what you would like to see our club look like as we move into the future. Janet is interested to know…

• Is there anything that we should stop doing?
• What should we continue doing?
• What would you like us to start doing?
• What about Rotary excites you the most?
• What is one thing that Rotary can do to improve the community?

Janet is also interested if you are interested in keeping your current committee assignment or would like to switch. If you are new to our club, what would you like to be involved with?

Concours Update: Planning for the 2022 Concours d’Elegance is well underway. 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:

Vendor Chair Found: Thank you to Claudia Yakos, who has stepped up to serve as the vendor chair for this year’s show!

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 and is also attached to this week’s edition of the Rototeller. If you have sponsorship questions or a lead, please contact Tim at 503-998-8616 or TimPearsonPC@gmail.com.

Concours Events: The Concours Committee has agreed to move forward with a Friday night concert event to start the weekend. The concert will take place on July 15 at Elk Cove Vineyard near Gaston. Capacity will be limited to 200 people. More details will be coming soon.

Evening of Excellence dinner will take place at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course on the evening of Sat., 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.

Steak Feed Returns: Our annual Steak Feed is also returning after a two-year hiatus. This year’s event will take place on Friday, June 10, on the campus of Pacific University.

Designed as a community event, the Steak Feed is specifically targeted as a fundraiser for our club’s involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program (which we also hope to see return in 2022). A meal featuring a choice steak, potatoes, vegetables and dessert is prepared and served by club members.

As one of our club’s major fundraisers, the Steak Feed is an “all hands on deck” event with all club members expected to volunteer. More details on this year’s event will be available soon. For more information, please contact Geoff Faris at gafaris@aol.com.

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 at 971-241-7426 or lucaswelliver@gmail.com.

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 Video Updates: The latest set of District 5100 video updates are out! Click on the links below to find out more about the exciting things going on all around the district.

District Governor Jim Boyle’s Update
District Governor Elect Steve Williams’ Update
District Governor Nominee Renee Brouse’s Update
Introduction of the Rotary Club of Sandy
International Service Committee – Ukraine Relief Effort Update
International Service Committee – Mexico Service Project Update
Peace Committee Update
PolioPlus Committee Update
Vocational Service Committee Update
Youth Exchange Committee Update

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. The conference website is now live. Check it out at http://www.rotary5100.com.

Around Rotary International
Rotary’s Network Enables Rapid Humanitarian Relief For Ukrainian Refugees: The crisis in Ukraine is having devastating consequences on civilians as families flee their homes. According to the United Nations, more than 3 million people, most of them women and children, have sought refuge in neighboring countries and across Europe, while about 1 million more people have been displaced within Ukraine.

Rotary and Rotaract clubs in Europe and around the world have taken swift action and are working with members nearby to provide food, water, medical equipment, and shelter for refugees.

Rotaract Europe
The European Rotaract Information Centre, a multidistrict information organization that serves Rotaractors all over Europe, created a United for Peace site that compiles information for refugees and volunteers.

• The site offers information about free rail, bus, and air transportation available to refugees and lists details about what’s needed and how to help at specific national borders.
• It also has fundraising details for hospitals in the western Ukraine city of Lviv, as well as for clubs that are helping in various places and for other organizations in the region.
• The site lets Rotaractors coordinate shelter for refugees stranded at the border. Volunteer hosts can sign up through an online form and specify how many people they can house and for how long. Begun as an initiative to help fellow Rotary members leaving Ukraine, it’s now being used by Rotaract and Rotary members all over Europe to offer help.
• A tool on the site links a demand for goods with available supplies. It was created within 48 hours after a team of 60 members from 10 countries met by videoconference about how to meet the most urgent needs.

Ukraine
Ukraine has 62 Rotary clubs and six satellite clubs with about 1,100 members, and 24 Rotaract clubs with more than 300 members.

• District 2232 (Ukraine and Belarus) formed a committee to help people affected by the crisis. It has launched an appeal to Rotary members worldwide for funds to provide basic necessities.
• The city of Lviv has had an influx of people displaced from other cities around Ukraine. The Rotary Club of Lviv International, working with local authorities and major hospitals, created an online spreadsheet of relief items that can be accessed by people who want to help. Members arrange for the donated items to be delivered to hospitals and coordinate storage with local warehouses.

Poland
Poland has taken in more than a million refugees, and Rotary clubs all over the country created a central account for contributions.

• The Rotary Club of Olsztyn is collecting and managing donations for more than 150 Ukrainians who are staying at Ostróda Camp, a conference and recreation center. Most of the occupants are unaccompanied children whose parents stayed in Ukraine. Four cars full of supplies including food, clothes, toiletries, and toys were donated hours after the center began accepting refugees.
• Members of the Rotary Club of Zamosc worked with a member of the Rotary Club of Wolsztyn, who owns a medical supply distribution company, to coordinate a partnership with other organizations to collect supplies and equipment.
• The Rotary Club of Gdansk Centrum is providing accommodations for four refugee families, and members who own businesses are offering them work.

Other Countries That Border Ukraine

• The Rotary Club of Kisvárda, Hungary, is coordinating contributions and mobilizing members to donate necessities and deliver the items to where they’re needed.
• Rotary members in Romania and Moldova have created a central fund for contributions and set up WhatsApp groups that organize food donations and coordinate shelter for refugees.
• In Slovakia and the Czech Republic, clubs have partnered with a railway and cargo company to offer transportation to nearly 2,300 refugees.

Club Calendar
Wed., Mar. 23: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, Pacific University
Program: Brenna Fulks & Elisabeth Stover, City of Forest Grove Development Update

Wed., Mar. 30: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, Pacific University
Program: Dave Parker, Forest Grove School District Update

Sat., Apr. 7: Rotary Scholarship Program Application Deadline

Wed., Apr. 20: Rotary Crab Feed, 5 p.m.
Forest Grove Senior & Community Center

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

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