Rotarian Howard Sullivan with members of the Forest Grove Fire Department in this month’s meal delivery for first responders. This month’s meals were provided by The Higher Taste, a food manufacturer in Cornelius.

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

Online Meetings Continue: 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 (will be the same for all of our online meetings moving forward)…

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

Steak Fundraiser: Thank you again to everyone who made our Steak Sale Fundraiser a great success! This sale raised $3,600 to support our involvement in the Youth Exchange Program in lieu of being able to hold our annual Steak Feed.

Steaks were distributed on Thursday and Friday. If you were not able to pick up the steaks that you ordered, please contact Tim Pearson or Jeff Duyck to make arrangements to pick up your order.

PLEASE SEND IN YOUR MONEY! If you still need to send in your collected money, please do so to Marge Johnston at the address listed on the invoice.

Jeff is working with Columbia Empire Meats to do a second sale with steaks to arrive around Father’s Day. Those orders already on the wait list will have first priority. Contact Tim Pearson if you want to add to the wait list.

First Responder Meals: Thank you to Howard Sullivan for coordinating our First Responder Meals donations over the last two months. Our second wave of 88 meals was delivered on Tuesday to members of the Forest Grove and Cornelius police and fire departments. We are grateful to our first responders always but especially during this quarantine time.

This month’s meals were provided by The Higher Taste, a manufacturer of grab-and-go vegetarian and vegan entrees that is based in Cornelius. Click Here To Learn More About This Partner Business

Fundraising is underway to another wave of meals to be donated in June. The plan is to raise $240 to provide for those meals. For more information on this initiative, contact Howard for more details, 503-680-1537.

Thank You Farmers Insurance: We send a big THANK YOU to Rotarian Kevin Harmon, who worked with fellow Rotarian Jeannine Murrell to secure $7,500 worth of grants from Farmers Insurance for Forest Grove High School’s Food Pantry. The funds are being donated to the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove and will be then directed to the Food Pantry.

The following is the official press release on the donations from Farmer’s Insurance.

As communities across the country continue to face unprecedented circumstances in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Farmers Insurance is granting donations to nonprofits directly related to COVID-19 relief efforts, as nominated by Farmers agents and district managers across the country.

As millions of people do their part to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, many nonprofit groups continue to rely on the support of local communities to assist in COVID-19 response efforts. To offer support to the Forest Grove community, Matt Elliott, Joe Gilles, Kevin Harmon, Jeannine Murrell & Danny Davidson nominated and secured a $7,500 grant for the Rotary Club of Forest Grove to aid in relief efforts directly related to the current crisis.   These funds will be used to provide much needed help to the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry.

“As Farmers agents & district managers, it’s a privilege to be able to do our part in helping communities in which we live, work and play with the continued support from Farmers Insurance,” said Harmon. “During these extraordinary times, we are proud to help support a deserving nonprofit with a grant that will enable them to continue to rise to the challenge of battling this pandemic.”

Golf Tournament Update: Even with social distancing guidelines, it appears that we will still be able to hold our annual club golf tournament, which usually takes place in August. It is possible that it will be a golf only event as we will likely not be able to have the usual lunch portion together. Tim Schauermann is in the planning stages and more details with be forthcoming.

Next Satellite Club Meeting: Our next Satellite Club Zoom meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 18. More details will be coming soon.

Youth Exchange Update: At long last, our inbound Youth Exchange student, Gabriella Cuadra, has arrived home in Chile after dealing with a month-and-a-half of flight cancellations due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We are so sorry that her exchange was cut short but we are so glad that she was here.

Our 2020-21 outbound student, Melanie Schneider, has had her exchange to Denmark canceled. She had decided to delay her exchange for one year and go to Denmark for the 2021-22 academic year. Read More On How District 5100 Is Handling Youth Exchange During Pandemic

 Rotary Phone Tree: We Care Committee has started a Rotary Phone Tree that will be utilized once per week. 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. For more information or questions, or if your information on the Phone Tree is not correct, contact Paul Waterstreet.

FGHS Community Food Pantry: Even with schools closed, the need for resources at the Forest Grove High School Community Food Pantry continues. The pantry continues to need the following items to serve the community that is depending on it…

Food: Pasta, Canned Sauces, Tortillas, Rice, Beans, Canned Fruit, Jelly, Peanut Butter, Boxed Milk, Canned Vegetables, Bread, Applesauce, Granola Bars, Fruit Snacks, Macaroni & Cheese, Tuna, Crackers, Maseca and Vegetable Oil.

Hygiene Items: Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Tampons/Pads, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Deodorant, Hair Brushes, Toilet Paper.

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.

Concours d’Elegance Canceled: With the uncertainly on the COVID-19 situation, the Rotary Board of Directors, at the unanimous recommendation of the Concours Steering Committee, has canceled the 2020 Concours d’Elegance, scheduled for Sunday, July 19. The committee will refocus its efforts on the 2021 show. The club board will be talking in the coming weeks to find avenues that we can fundraise for our scholarship fund with the absence of our top fundraising event of the year. Click Here For The Complete Announcement From The Concours Committee

Quarterly Dues: You should have received by now your quarterly dues statement from the club. Please note that this statement will not include any prepaid meals expenses. This reflects the decision of the board in March to put all members on a “pay as you go” status for this quarter since we are currently unable to meet in person.

We understand that this is a challenging time for all of us and that some of our members are affected more significantly than others. If you are able, please pay your dues invoice as soon as possible so that we can continue to meet our RI and District obligations. If you believe that your situation will make it hard or impossible to make a payment, please contact President Tim Pearson. The club will consider and work with those hardships on a case-by-case basis.

Helping The Forest Grove School Community: At the request of Rotarian and Forest Grove School District Superintendent Dave Parker, our Youth Funding Committee donated $3,000 to the school district to help in making supplemental learning items available to students as supplemental and distance learning. In addition, our committees have banded together for a $2,000 donation to the Banks Community Food Bank to help with the purchase of food from the Oregon Food Bank.

Take Out Locally!: There are many local restaurants and coffee shops that are continuing to operate for take-out during the stay-at-home order. Those local businesses are seeing a significant drop in business and could use our support. Could you commit to patronizing one of these eateries at least once per week to help stimulate the local economy? Click Here For A List Of Places That Are Opened For Takeout (updated on May 18), courtesy of Court Carrier and Jeff King at the City of Forest Grove.

District Announcements
RYLA Canceled: With the uncertainty of when stay at home orders will be lifted, the difficult decision was made to cancel the District 5100 RYLA program for 2020. The program will be back stronger than ever in 2021. Click Here For More Details

Rotary International Announcements
Virtual Rotary Convention 2020: Mark your calendars for 20-26 June for an exciting opportunity to gather online with the family of Rotary for our first online convention.

Now More Than Ever, Rotary Connects the World: The 2020 Rotary Virtual Convention will join you with Rotary participants around the world during a time of unprecedented challenges. A schedule of sessions and times are now posted. If you have ever wanted to attend an international convention, or wanted to go back, this is a great chance to experience it.

Together, we’ll still experience the spirit of Rotary, be inspired by innovation, celebrate our resilience, and explore how clubs are addressing COVID-19. Experience Rotary in action during our Flag Ceremony, witness the power of connection during our general sessions, learn new ways to engage with Rotary during our breakout sessions, find inspiration from our global speakers, and much more.

We have never needed Rotary — and we have never needed each other — more than we do now. We hope to see you online, because Now More Than Ever, Rotary Connects the World.

Disaster Response Fund: Rotary International has a Disaster Response Fund that is drawn from to help clubs provide disaster recovery and support rebuilding efforts. This includes efforts related to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Contributions are combined into one fund and made available through Rotary Disaster Response Grants. To make a donation to the program, Click Here.

Last Week’s Programs
Satellite Club: District Governor Elect Jo Crenshaw
Click Here To Watch The Full Presentation

At last week’s Satellite Club Meeting, we were honored to be joined by District 5100 Governor Elect Jo Crenshaw. A member of the Rotary Club of Oregon City, Jo served her club as president in 2000-01 before getting involved at the district level. When not serving Rotary, Jo runs a number of McDonald’s restaurants in the east Portland Metro area.

Jo talked about her upbringing in a family with 16 children in Tennessee and her adult journey from California to Chicago and finally to Oregon. Jo worked in corporate relations for an airline for 12 years before starting into running small businesses.

Jo says her mother was a “Rotarian” in every sense of the word. She would help the homeless, feed the sick, help the mothers who didn’t have food, go to school and take lunches. Jo did not know what Rotary was until she became a business owner after leaving the airline. She joined the Oregon City club in 1994 because her sponsored said she needed a network that would help her through problems and network in business. Joined in 1994. She joined to get to know people.

Becoming a district governor has been three years of absolute joy and hard work for Jo. Her focus in 2020-21 will be membership. We have to grow Rotary. If we don’t, who will be here to move things forward?

Wednesday Meeting: Chelsea Peterson & Derrik Zebroski, Knight Cancer Institute
Click Here To Watch The Full Presentation

Our Wednesday program featured Chelsea Peterson and Derrik Zebroski, who represented the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University. The two are completing an internship with the Knight Institute while completing master’s degrees in public health.

The two have been working with the Knight Institute on community outreach, support and engagement. In this particular program, Peterson and Zebroski are working to providing outreach and education about the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The two provided Rotarians an opportunity to take part in the study in reactions to HPV.

Human Papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection. A total of 79 million are currently infected with it with 14 million becoming infected each year. Most people who are sexually active will get the virus unless they are vaccinated. HPV does not always have visible symptoms. It can take HPV 10 to 20 years to develop into cancerous cells. Almost all cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV.

Of all cancers, only cervical cancer has FDA approved testing for cancers caused by HPV. Gardasil 9 is the HPV vaccine and is approved by the FDA. CDC recommends HPV vaccinations for adolescents around age 11 or 12 and can also be administered after the age 26 with a doctor’s approval.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted
Wed., June 3: Weekly Club Meeting, Noon
Program: Sharon Olmstead, FG Rotary Scholarship Committee
Wed., June 10: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program TBA
Thurs., June 11: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Wed., June 17: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Tualatin Valley Beekeepers Association
Thurs., June 18: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Thurs., June 18: Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m.