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

Anna & Abby’s Yard: With Anna & Abby’s Yard making its long-awaited opening at Rogers Park earlier this year, it is time for our club to step up and make some enhancements to the park. Through $2,500 in club donations and a $2,500 District 5100 matching grant, our club is providing an ADA accessible picnic table, a double barbeque and a gaming table to enhance the covered picnic area.

A volunteer corps spent part of Saturday at the Forest Grove Public Works yard assembling the equipment, which the city will install at the park for us in the near future. Thank you to all of our club members for their longtime support in making Anna & Abby’s Yard a reality.

Update On FGHS Food Pantry Toiletry Distribution: The second of our club’s monthly toiletry distributions at the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry took place on Monday during the pantry’s open hours. Thank you to Rotarians Michael Yakos and Tom Linkhart for being on site for this month’s distribution.

Our club is working with the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry to provide toiletries, personal hygiene items and cleaning materials that are not part of the Oregon Food Pantry’s typical distribution. This effort is funded through $2,000 from our club and a $2,000 matching grant from District 5100. This will help sustain the purchase of these items and distribution over the next few months. It is the hope that this effort can become a regular sustained project for the club.

Special thank you to Rotarians Gwen Hullinger, Michael & Claudia Yakos and Laura Thompson-Aue for the initial push to make this toiletry distribution happen and to Janet Peters for submitting the District 5100 grant application in such rapid fashion. We are making a difference in the community!

Road Cleanup Scheduled: The first our club’s semi-annual road cleanups along Gales Creek Road and Thatcher Road will take place on Saturday, Mar. 20, at 8:30 a.m. We will meet at the Oregon Department of Forestry offices at 801 Gales Creek Road. All bags, equipment and safety vests will be provided, just bring yourself and your gloves. Many hands will make for quick work! For additional information, please contact Andrea Stewart.

 Scholarship Program: A reminder that there is a month left for local high school seniors to submit their applications for the annual Rotary Club of Forest Grove Scholarships. The scholarship program is open to all graduating high school seniors residing in the Forest Grove, Banks and Gaston school district attendance areas.

This year, through the work of Sharon Olmstead and the Scholarship Committee, the entire application process will be done online. Applications must be submitted by midnight on Thursday, Apr. 1. Click Here For Full Scholarship Detail Information.

For additional questions, please contact Sharon Olmstead at sharon.olmstead8571@gmail.com.

Thirsty Thursday: Our March Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club gathering is scheduled for Thursday, Mar. 18, 6:30 p.m., at the Zesti Food Carts pod, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove (across from Doherty Ford).

March Madness!: After a one-year hiatus, our March Madness fundraiser is back with DOUBLE the fun and DOUBLE the madness!

There are only two requirements to participate: Make a $20 donation to the Foundation of the Rotary Grove and to join the FG Rotary Group at Yahoo! Sports and fill out a bracket. “Selection Sunday” for the NCAA Division I Tournament is Sunday, March 14.

You can make your donation by sending a $20 check or cash to the Rotary Club of Forest Grove, PO Box 125, Forest Grove, OR 97116, or online by Clicking Here.

Every dollar donated will go the Annual Fund of The Rotary Foundation and earns you points towards a Paul Harris Fellowship. The club will match every one of those points. The top three brackets will be matched with Paul Harris points as follows:

First place: 50 percent
Second Place: 30 percent
Third Place: 20 percent

They profit most who PICKS the best!

Club Committees: Part of the work of our club is service on the different committees, which help our club function and help conduct our outreach activities. It is expected that members serve on at least one committee. Please review the list and if you wish make a change or add yourself to a committee, or need a new copy of the committee list (which was sent with the Rototeller two weeks ago), please contact President Julia Kollar.

Steak Feed & Concours Update: We have been informed by Pacific University that due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, our club will not be able to host its annual Steak Feed or the Concours d’Elegance on campus this year. Both committees will be meeting to discuss what this means for the club and will provide updates at a later date.

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.

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.

FGHS Community Food Pantry: Even with schools closed, the need for resources at the Forest Grove High School Community 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. There is a particular need for dish soap and laundry soap.

During the fall, the Food Pantry will be open on Mondays from 2- 4 p.m. Donations are accepted on-site on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The pantry will remain open on Mondays over the Winter Break.

If you can donate any of the above items, 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 are archived on our club YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

Around District 5100
District 5100 Spring Training Event: Registration is now open for the District 5100 Spring Training Event (formerly District Training Assembly). The virtual training event will take place over two weekends on Saturday, Apr. 10 and Saturday, Apr. 17. Sessions on Apr. 10 are geared towards club officers, including membership chairs, treasurers, Rotary Foundation chairs and more. The second weekend is geared towards anyone interested in learning more about the inner-workings of Rotary.

Two keynote speakers will be appearing as part of the training event. On Apr. 10, the event will be joined Rotary Zone 26 & 27 Director Vicki Puliz. On Apr. 17, the speaker will be Mitty Chang, president and CEO of Candeavor, a digital marketing and web development agency, ad a very-involved Rotarian.

Check Out The Schedules: Apr. 10 | Apr. 17

Attending the Spring Training Event is free to Rotarians but advance registration is required. You can sign up for the event by logging into DacDB and completing the registration form.

District 5100 Conference: The District 5100 Conference, slated for Apr. 30 and May 1, will be online. This will make the event as accessible to all Rotarians more than ever.

When the District Conference Committee, chaired by our own Claudia Yakos, started planning, chose the theme of “Wandering Through New Doors.” Now, as the COVID-19 pandemic is keeping us physically distant, it’s more important than ever to focus on the strength and opportunity that comes with opening new doors of opportunities. The District 5100 Conference will educate, connect, inspire and offer virtual fellowship. More information to come.

Dick Elixman Award Nominations: District 5100 is soliciting nominations for the inaugural Dick Elixman Award of Innovation For Visionary Thinking and Innovation. The award was created in memory of Dick Elixman, who was a dedicated Rotarian in District 5100 from 1992 until his passing in 2019.

The award is designed to honor clubs of Rotarians in District 5100 (including partners and spouses of Rotarians) who are active members in good standing, who have successfully implemented a project, program or activity in one of Rotary’s Seven Areas of Focus (Education & Literacy, Peace Building & Conflict Resolution, Disease Prevention & Treatment, Water, Sanitation & Hygiene; Community & Economic Development, Maternal & Child Health, and Supporting the Environment) that resonated with Dick’s commitment to service above self and makes an impactful, innovative positive change in a program, project or solution to a community need. The geographic scope can be local, regional and national.

Clubs may submit one nomination per Rotary year and must be nominated by March 15. The award will be presented during the District Conference. If you have a potential nomination for this award, please contact President Julia Kollar.

Around Rotary International
Special Program – RI COVID-19 Task Force: Members of RI Zones 26 and 27 have a special opportunity to take part in a special program with two members of the RI COVID-19 Task Force on Tuesday, Mar. 9, at 5:30 p.m. Pacific. The program will feature Ann Marie Kimball, a member of The Rotary Foundation Cadre of Technical Advisors; Pat Merriweather-Arges, executive director of Project Patient Care and RI Vice President Johrita Solari.

During the program, the experts will talk about how Rotarians can support COVID-19 vaccination drives and about Rotary International’s international and domestic role in this effort. Participants will also have a chance to ask questions of the experts.

You can register for the Zoom webinar by Clicking Here. If you cannot take part live, a recording of the seminar will be available at a later date.

Last Week’s Program: Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton

Click View To View The Complete Program

Our club was joined this week by Washington County district attorney Kevin Barton. Barton was one of our last in-person programs before the pandemic began and provided an update on how the district attorney’s office has kept operations going during the pandemic.

Before getting into the bulk of his program, Kevin advised members to pick Gonzaga, his alma mater, in the club’s March Madness fundraiser.

The mission of Washington County district attorney’s office is seeking justice and protecting our community. There are over 130 employees in the office. In an average year, they serve more than 12,500 victims last year, reviewed more than 11,800 criminal cases and tried more than 300 trials. They obtain orders for more than $5.4 million in victim restitution and collect more than $35 million in owed child support obligations.

The DA’s office runs a number of specialty courts and treatment program, including adult and juvenile drug courts, an Intensive Re-entry Supervision Services Program, Veterans Treatment Court and others. The goal of the DA office is to be more proactive than reactive, trying to address the root causes of why crime is occurring that try to change that root cause.

Trials are moving forward during COVID. One positive during COVID has been ensuring that they are being more equitable in every part of the justice program. He talked about Washington County’s Building Bridges program, an effort to bring together governmental agencies and community members to engage in greater dialogue to increase understanding. The program just passed its fifth anniversary.

One of his priorities as DA has been to have his employees reflect the diversity in the community. There is a real gap in diversity in law of Oregon. Barton helped to put together an Oregon Diversity Legal Job Fair that will take place virtually on March 9 and 10. The event is designed for all aspects of the legal profession, including lawyers and paralegals. Visit odljf.org.

During his career, Barton spent 12 years prosecuting child abuse crimes. To him, it was the most rewarding work he has ever done and he believes the county needs to do more for those victims. He is working to bring Cares Northwest in to provide for a child abuse trauma clinic in Washington County. The clinic would hopefully be housed with the Family Justice Center of Washington County.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted

Tues., Mar. 9: Zone 26 & 27 RI COVID-19 Task Force Webinar, 5:30 p.m.
On Zoom, Registration Information In Rototeller

Wed., Mar. 10: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Rocky Brown, Troop 213 Update

Thurs., Mar. 11: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.

Wed., Mar. 17: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Dave Parker, Forest Grove School District

Thurs., Mar. 18: Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Sat., Mar. 20: Road Clean-Up Service Project, 8:30 a.m.
Oregon Department of Forestry, 801 Gales Creek Rd.