Greg Nemchick was among the Rotarians participating in our semi-annual road cleanup on Oct. 17.

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 Sales – Part 4: Our steak sales have been so successful for the club that we are doing another one. As with past sales, we are offering packs of two choice Columbia Empire Meats steaks for $15 per pack. Orders must be received by Julia Kollar by 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 16. Steaks will be ready for delivery on Monday, Nov. 23.

Through the first three steak sales, our club has netted over $8,000 for our club. The money is targeted to be used for our involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program as well as our many other outreach programs, including our scholarship program.

Wreath Sale For Hope For the Holidays: To raise funds for our upcoming Hope for the Holidays service project, Janet Peters is coordinating a sale of holiday wreaths for the club. We will offer 20-inch wreaths, which are being made by Rotarian Melinda Fischer, with cones and decorative red bow for $28. Half of the costs of the wreaths will come back to the club to help fund Hope for the Holidays.

Orders must be received by Friday, November 6. Wreaths will be available for pickup and delivery around Saturday, Nov. 28. For additional information, contact Janet at 503-679-6479 or rjlc4peters@msn.com.

Road Cleanup: We had another small but mighty crew out for our semi-annual road cleanup along Gales Creek and Thatcher Roads on Oct. 17. The crew finished the project in about an hour with eight bags of trash collected. A special thank you to Andrea Stewart and Paul Waterstreet, who both coordinated the cleanup. A thank you to these Rotarians and friends who participated: Blake Timm, Stan Reasoner, Corinne Reasoner, Greg Nemchick, Scott McKee, Diana Watersteet, Bryce Baker and Jim Crisp.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee: Be watching your email boxes for a survey that is being put together by the club’s new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee. The purpose of the survey is to gauge how our club is viewed in the community and to identify ways that we can bring a more diverse cross-section of new members into the club. For questions about the survey and the committee, please contact co-chairs Howard Sullivan, or Amy Tracewell.

Optional Giving Invoice On Its Way: Also coming soon to your email inbox is a special invoice designed to assist members in donating to The Rotary Foundation and our club’s outreach programs. An optional club invoice, this will allow members to designate donations to PolioPlus, our scholarship committee, Hope For The Holidays and other programs. For more details or questions, please contact club treasurer Lucas Welliver.

Rotary Direct: Another easy way to set up giving to The Rotary Foundation is through Rotary Direct. The program allows Rotarians to schedule monthly, quarterly or annual donations that empower Rotarians to change lives in communities around the world. Rotary Direct contributions can go towards Rotary’s annual fund, PolioPlus, the World Fund or the Disaster Response Fund. These contributions are eligible for Paul Harris Fellow recognition.

District 5100 has the largest amount of Rotarians giving through Rotary Direct of all districts in Rotary International and our club has one of the highest percentage of Rotary Direct contributors in the district. Sign up or get additional information at https://my.rotary.org/en/rotary-direct.

Rotary Citation Earned Again: Once again, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove the prestigious Rotary Citation for the club’s work during the 2019-20 Rotary year. The Rotary Citation is an award designed to recognize continued growth and engagement of Rotary clubs. Clubs must meet certain benchmarks related to membership growth Rotary Foundation giving, service and community engagement.

A total of 23 clubs in District 5100 earned the Rotary Citation. Our club earned the citation with gold distinction, one of 11 in the district to receive that level of distinction of higher. A sincere congratulations to Past President Tim Pearson and all club members for the work they did to earn the Rotary Citation once again!

Dues Assistance Program: The Covid-19 Pandemic and related economic restrictions have affected everyone. Recognizing that some members have been more severely affected than others, the Club is offering assistance with quarterly Club Dues.  If you are interested in assistance with next quarter’s dues, please contact Julia Kollar or Lucas Welliver by October 15, 2020.  Initially, the help will be limited to two quarters of Club Dues. The assistance will be funded by donations from other Club members, so please contact Julia or Lucas if you are interested in contributing to this program. Any remaining funds raised for this purpose at the end of the Rotary Year (6/30/2021) will be paid to the Forest Grove Rotary Foundation for general charitable purposes.

Rotary Foundation Giving Update: Giving to The Rotary Foundation by members of the Rotary Club of Forest is at a total of $4,292 for the 2020-2021 Rotary year (as of October 16). For the foundation’s Annual Fund, we are currently at $5,112 our goal of $9,500. Meeting our annual fund goals is important as a club so we can receive our district matching grants, which help programs such as “Hope for the Holidays.” For Polio Plus, we’ve donated $820 vs. a goal of $3,000. Thank you all for your generous donations.

We would like to encourage every Rotarian to donate to The Rotary Foundation. Please see the Every Rotarian Every Year Brochure regarding ways to contribute. The brochure includes information on Rotary Direct, where you can make automatic donations on a fixed schedule. If you do not know your Rotary identification number you can find it on DacDB or contact Mike Yakos so you can receive your Paul Harris points when making a donation.

Dick Johnston Memorial Fund: The family of our late friend, Dick Johnston, have established a memorial with the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove to go towards the club’s scholarship program. Donations by check can be sent to the club at PO Box 125, Forest Grove, OR 97116. Donations to the fund are also being online through the club’s Square Payment Page.

Rotary Phone Tree: Thank you to everyone who has made our Rotary Phone Tree such a success in caring for our members. 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.

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.

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.

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
McMinnville Sunrise Rotary Wine Raffle: The Rotary Club of McMinnville Sunrise is holding its annual wine raffle. Five winners will be drawn and will receive some of 84 different bottles from Methven Family Vineyards, Durant Vineyards, Stoller Family Estate, Redhawk Winery, Bjornson Winery, Chehalem Wines, White Rose Estate and Laurel Ridge Winery.

Proceeds from the raffle benefit the club’s non-profit projects and scholarships for students attending Chemeketa Community College. Tickets are $5 each, five for $20 or 25 for $100. The drawing will be held on October 28. Purchase Tickets On The McMinnville Sunrise Rotary Website.

District 5100 Training Assembly: This year’s District 5100 Training Assembly, which is typically an in-person, will be delivered online once again this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sessions that are specific to club and district positions are scheduled to be delivered on Saturday, Apr. 10. Sessions providing general topics to the entire Rotary membership are scheduled to be delivered on Saturday, Apr. 17. More details will be made available in the coming months.

District Governor Nominee For 2023-24: Renee Brouse has been selected by District 5100 as its District Governor Nominee for the 2023-24 Rotary year.

Renee has been a member of the Rotary Club of Sherwood since 2007, serving as club president in 2011-12. Renee has been active in a number of district leadership roles over the last five years. She is currently serving as a district trainer and has served as an assistant governor for the Central Valley North Region. Renee has also served as a training leader for Pacific Northwest PETS for the last three year.

In addition to her Rotary roles, Renee is the executive director for the Good Neighbor Center and is a member of the Sherwood City Council. She and her husband, Rob, have two grown children and recently welcomed their first grandchild.

Last Week’s Program: District 5100 Governor Jo Crenshaw

Click Here To View The Entire Program

It was our distinct honor to welcome District 5100 Governor Jo Crenshaw to our last Zoom meeting for her official visit to our club.

Jo opened by talking about her district governor journey, which has been different than she ever expected. She was looking forward to getting in her car and traveling and visiting clubs throughout the district. She was looking forward to the fellowship at each club meeting.

Jo wonders if Rotary International President Holder Knaack’s have any idea of how relevant his theme of Rotary Opens Opportunities would be during his year? The pandemic is opening many new opportunities for clubs to share more with others Rotarians and our community.

Jo is one of 13 children from a family of sharecroppers in the south. She did not know what Rotary was until moving to Chicago and walked past the RI headquarters in Evanston. She asked what Rotary was and was told that it was a club of old white guys who drink coffee and talk about things. Jo then moved to California, where she worked for United Airlines for 13 years. After the death of her husband, Jo moved to Oregon and purchased a pair of McDonald’s restaurants.

In Oregon City, a colleague of hers invited to come to Rotary. It was explained that it was at Rotary where the movers and shakers of the community were. When she joined, she was welcomed with open arms. Her main reason for joining Rotary was to connect and draw more patrons to her restaurant but Rotary has grown to be so much more.

Went on a group study exchange and that’s when she really learned what Rotary was all about. She spent three weeks in Africa working with youth affected by the AIDS crisis. That moment started her believing that Rotary was going to help her with more than just bringing customers in.

Jo’s goals for the district in 2020-21 are to grow Rotary, increase effectiveness in foundation giving, better train presidents and leaders utilizing the DTA, PETS and Pre-PETS, strengthen clubs and add more members and promote diversity in membership.

Jo asked a couple of members about why they joined Rotary, why they continue to be part and what Rotary continues to give them.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted
Wed., Oct. 21: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Forest Resener, StoveTeam International
Wed., Oct. 28: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: To Be Announced
Wed., Nov. 4: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: To Be Announced
Thurs., Nov. 5: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.