Mobility Assistance: If you have mobility issues and would like assistance on the Pacific University campus to get to and from parking areas to our meeting location, please contact Amy Tracewell at 541-844-9467 or amy.tracewell@pacificu.edu at least one day before our scheduled meeting. She will work to make sure you can make it to the University Center. Please give one day’s notice for assistance.

Wreath Sales Underway: We have started our annual wreath sale, which will benefit our club’s many community service outreaches. We will have 20-inch wreaths available for $30 and 28-inch wreaths available for $40. The wreaths will be produced locally by Fischer Greens, owned and operated by Rotarian Melinda Fischer.

Orders are due on Friday, Nov. 4 with wreaths delivered on Friday, Nov. 25 and Saturday, Nov. 26.

Rotarians: Please get out and sell to your family and friends! Orders can be submitted to President Janet by phone, text or email.

In Memoriam – Lois Johnston: It is with sadness that we learned of the passing of honorary Rotarian Lois Johnston on October 10 at the age of 91. The Johnston family has deep roots in our club and Lois was a proud supporter of our club. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Johnston family, especially Rotarians Geoff Johnston and Mackenzie Carey.

Concours Update: Last July was our first Concours d’Elegance in three years and it could not have been better. The final net proceeds from the 2022 show was a record of $75,608! This includes gate receipts, advertising receipts and proceeds from the Friday night concert event. The funds will go a long away towards funding our Scholarship Program and our club’s other community outreach projects.

Thank you to all of our club members for helping make the Concours last not only in 2022 but every year! A special thank you to last year’s Concours Committee, which was chaired by Ryan Garcia, for their exceptional work, and to Tim Pearson for his work in securing $38,000 of advertising proceeds and along with $5,000 for a VIP Tent which was secured for the event.

The planning for the 2023 Concours is well underway. To find out more about how you can be involved, please contact one of our four co-chairs for the show: Tom Raabe, Geoff Johnston, Alisa Johnston and Allen Stephens.

Concours Concert Event – Help Wanted: The Concours Committee has given the green light to go ahead with another concert event linked to the annual show. The concert is tentatively scheduled for Friday, July 14 with the Concours taking place on Sunday, July 16. If you are interested in helping plan and execute the concert event, please contact Court Carrier.

Steak Feed: In addition to our proceeds from the Concours, our annual Steak Feed brought in a net profit of $7,457! Thank you again to all of our club members for their work in making this a great community event and to Geoff Faris for his longtime service as the chair.

Steak Feed Leftovers: We are finally sold out of steaks left over from June’s Steak Feed. Thank you for all who purchased and supported our club in that way. There are still some containers of strawberries available for $10 per container. If you are interested in some, please contact President Janet.

Caterers For Future Meetings: President Janet is looking for one to two more members to serve with herself, Howard Sullivan and Court Carrier in identifying local caterers that could serve the club at future meetings. We will have a number of meetings coming up where we will meet at the Forest Grove School District offices and will need catering for those meetings. If you would like to assist, please let President Janet know.

Pledge Cards: It is almost that time where we ask for extra help in making Hope For The Holidays happen. Pledge cards for donations to this project, along with the Rotary Foundation and PolioPlus, will be available by the beginning of November.

Holiday Meetings: Note that our club will not meet on the following Wednesdays around holidays: Wed., Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving), Wed, Dec. 21 and Wed., Dec. 28 (Christmas).

December 14 Joint Meeting: We will hold our annual joint meeting with the Forest Grove Daybreak on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the Forest Grove School District offices. This meeting will include our annual concert with musical groups from Forest Grove High School. We will require a head count in advance for this meeting. More details coming soon.

Road Cleanup: We had an exceptional turnout for our semiannual clean-up of Gales Creek and Thatcher Roads. The effort took just 90 minutes thanks to the 11 Rotarians and friends and 10 Pacific University Rotaractors that showed up! Thank you to Rotarians and friends Tim Orr, Bryce Baker, Jim Crisp, Cari Atzen, Greg Nemchick, Janet Peters, Rus Peters, Piper Stewart, Seth Berdahl and Pamelajean Myers. We also thank Rotaractors Elvis Amaro, Sophia Otshlea, Logan Miyasaki, Jillian Nguyen, Lindsey Boluug, Amber Victoria Paguirigan, Valentina Casac-Klescova, Grace Herr, Maile Andrada and Blessie Corotan.

And, of course, a big thank you to Andrea Stewart and Paul Waterstreet for coordinating this longtime volunteer effort for the club!

This marked the 30th year that our club has participated in the Washington County Adopt-A-Road program, continuing a club tradition started by Jerry Hoerber. In that time, the club has conducted 87 road cleanups and had over 600 volunteers participate in the effort.

ShelterBox HERO Club: We have once again been recognized as a bronze ShelterBox HERO Club, recognized for a continual gift to the organization of $1,000 per year. The Rotary Club of Forest Grove has been ShelterBox HERO Club since 2018.

ShelterBox is an international relief organization that began as a Rotary centennial project in England. The organization utilizes the resources and connections of Rotary to help bring shelter and disaster relief supplies to those who are suffering from the effects of natural and man-made disasters. To learn more about ShelterBox, Click Here or speak with our club’s ShelterBox ambassadors, Jeannine Murrell and Pamelajean Myers.

Blue Badges Earned: Our congratulations to Evelyn & Tim Orr, who have earned their Blue Badges, signifying that they have completed all of the required new member items to become full members in good standing. Those requirements included obtaining 20 signatures in their Red Badge to Blue Badge books, serving as a greeter at a meeting and attending a New Member Orientation meeting.

Youth Exchange Updates – Host Families Still Needed: For the first time since 2020, our involvement in Youth Exchange is back! Our outbound exchange student, Blue Barbour-Weiss, will leave for Ecuador on Aug. 25. We wish her all of the best on her journey this year!

Our inbound exchange student, Juan, arrived from Ecuador on Aug. 20. For the first four months of his exchange, Juan will stay with the Barbour-Weiss family. We will hear from Juan and learn more about him during our meeting on Wed., Nov. 9.

Host families are still needed that can host Juan during the winter (December through March) and the spring (March through June). If your family is interested, and for information on the requirements for hosting, please contact Youth Exchange Committee chair Melinda Fischer.

Additionally, our outbound student for the 2022-23 Rotary year has been selected! We will have information on our new outbound in a future issue.

New Member Orientations: Our club held the first of four scheduled new member orientation sessions on Wednesday, September 7, ahead of the club’s potluck social. The other orientations are scheduled for December 7, March 1 and June 1. Watch the Rototeller for times and locations. All Rotarians are welcome to take part. If you know of someone who you believe might be interested in joining us, this is a perfect opportunity to introduce them to our club.

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.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Forest Grove Halloween Party: The Rural Youth Support Coalition will be hosting a Forest Grove Halloween Party on Friday, Oct. 28 at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way. Our club has an opportunity to provide volunteers to help run the event in hourly shifts from 5-8 p.m. There is specific need to help cover shifts from 6-7 p.m. and 7-8 p.m.

If you are interested in helping the club’s volunteer effort, please contact Melinda Fischer.

Holiday In The Grove: The City Club of Forest Grove has approached our club asking if we might be willing to conduct an activity as part of the annual Holiday in the Grove celebration on Saturday, Dec. 3. If you are interested in leading this for the club, please let President Janet know.

There are also volunteer opportunities that will be available both during the daytime event and the Holiday Light Parade that evening. You can up for a volunteer shift by Clicking Here.

Additionally, President Janet is gauging if there is interest in the club putting a float in this year’s Holiday Light Parade. If you are interested in spearheading this for the club, please let her know.

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 4-6 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.

Around District 5100
Imagine Rotary Raffle To End Polio: This is the last week to purchase your tickets for the Imagine Rotary Raffle To End Polio!

In January, Rotary International President Jennifer Jones sent a package to each district governor-elect with some important Rotary information and a little Rotary swag. Also included was a signed print of an original painting by her brother, Darren Jones, an accomplished artist in the Chicago area. With the print came a request to use the print to help raise funds to help Rotary finish the fight to end polio.

District 5100 has decided to have a raffle for the print. Tickets are $21.55 each ($20 per ticket plus a $1.55 handling charge. We are limited by the state of Oregon to sell only 464 tickets. When all are sold, the district will be able to donate $9,280 towards Rotary’s flight to End Polio.

The raffle drawing will be held on Oct. 27 at 12:50 p.m., during the week of World Polio Day. Anyone who purchases a ticket will receive a Zoom link to witness the drawing. The district will continue to sell tickets until all are sold out or on Oct. 27 at 12:45 p.m., whichever comes first.

For details and to purchase your raffle tickets, visit https://myevent.com/imaginerotaryraffle.

District 5100 Newsletter: Click Here To View The Monthly District 5100 Newsletter

Around Rotary International
District 6960 Hurricane Ian Relief Fund: Hurricane Ian caused significant damage to property and loss of life to many in Florida. District 6960 has established a relief fund for those wanting to support the work of Rotary clubs in that district working to deal with the devastation to their area.

Much like the wildfires of 2020 that ravaged parts of District 5100, donations of time and money by Rotarians can truly make a difference in the recovery from this storm.

For more information, or to make a donation, visit rotaryfl.org.

Rotary & Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Extending Fundraising Partnership To Eradicate Polio: Rotary and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation are renewing their longstanding partnership to end polio, announcing a joint commitment of up to $450 million to support the global polio eradication effort.

“We’ve made tremendous progress, but the world is facing multiple pandemics, and vaccine hesitancy is on the rise. Recent polio outbreaks in Malawi and Mozambique, plus detection of poliovirus in Israel, the UK, and the United States prove that if polio exists anywhere, it threatens children everywhere,” said Ian Riseley, chair of the Rotary Foundation and Past President of Rotary International. “Partnering with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation helps us ensure that children in polio-affected countries get the lifesaving vaccines they need to be protected from polio for life.”

This pledge comes on the heels of Rotary’s announcement at the Global Citizen Festival pledging an additional US$150 million towards polio eradication.

Rotary is committed to raising $50 million per year over the next three years, with every dollar to be matched with two additional dollars from the Gates Foundation. This expanded agreement will translate into up to a total of $450 million to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

“Eradicating polio requires the dedication and generosity of nations and individuals around the world, and Rotarians are again leading the way,” said Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “Rotary International and Rotarians continue to be the heart of GPEI – and have been since the beginning. Together, we are moving closer to our shared goal of ending polio and ensuring that families will never have to fear this disease again.”

“As the first organization to envision a polio-free world, Rotary is more committed than ever to delivering on our promise that one day, no child will ever again be paralyzed by polio,” said Rotary President Jennifer Jones. “Our partnership with the Gates Foundation helps us eliminate any impediment to conquer polio now.”

The Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees recently approved a $50 million grant for AFRO surveillance, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Outbreak Response. These grants will support ongoing immunization activities to reach children under the age of five with an emphasis on improving community awareness and engagement—promoting vaccine acceptance, reducing the number of missed children—and ensuring robust surveillance capacity to quickly detect poliovirus transmission.

Polio—a paralyzing and sometimes deadly disease—is on the verge of becoming the second human disease in history to be eradicated. This critical funding helps ensure that children in at-risk countries are protected from polio, and that the wild poliovirus is eliminated in the last two countries that continue to report cases.

While only Afghanistan and Pakistan continue to report cases of wild poliovirus, the remaining challenges to global eradication—like difficulty reaching children amid insecurity and conflict and weak health systems—have proven to be the most difficult. To meet these challenges head-on and ensure the continuation of program efforts, funding and support from donors and world governments are imperative.

Rotary has contributed more than $2.6 billion to fight polio, including matching funds from the Gates Foundation, and countless volunteer hours since launching its polio eradication program, PolioPlus, in 1985. In 1988, Rotary joined in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to form the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. The Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance later joined. When the initiative launched, there were 350,000 cases of polio every year. Today the incidence of polio has plummeted by more than 99.9 percent.

Anyone can be a part of the fight to end polio and have their donation to Rotary matched 2-to-1 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Visit endpolio.org to learn more and donate.

Last Week’s Program: Jeannine Murrell, District 5100

Click Here To Watch The Complete Program

Last week, we were joined by our own Jeannine Murrell, who will serve as District 5100 governor in 2024-25. She presented to the club on the 2023 Rotary International Convention and about leadership opportunities that will be coming up within the district.

Jeannine started by asking how many club members had been to a Rotary International Convention and asked them to share what they remembered about their experience.

Next year’s RI Convention will be in Melbourne, Australia, from May 27 to 31. The opening ceremony takes place on May 28, which is a highlight for Jeannine whenever she has attended the convention. Registration, along with additional information and hotel accommodation links, is available at MyRotary.org. She encouraged members to book now as rates will go up in mid-December. Rotary has blocked 6,000 hotel rooms at various rates.

Melbourne is a very walkable city. For those who don’t wish to walk, registration includes unlimited public transportation on trains, trams and water taxis. Opening ceremonies will take place at Rod Laver Arena, court No. 1 for the Australia Open. Visas are required for traveling to Australia. Jeannine said she was able to get her visa within 15 minutes.

Currently, approximately 21 people from District 5100 are planning to attend the RI Convention.

District 5100 is always looking for volunteers who want to work on committees at the district level. There are plenty of opportunities to serve. You do not have to be a past president or past district officer. If you want to learn more, please ask Jeannine.

When Jeannine becomes district governor in 2024-25, she will need the support of the club for a number of items, including banner exchange and help with the district spring training in 2024 in Hood River. That will also be the 100th anniversary of our club, providing a great opportunity for our club to shine within the district.

Club Calendar
Mon., Oct. 24: World Polio Day

Wed., Oct. 26: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Joe Kurmaskie, Washington County Bikes

Wed., Nov. 2: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Pacific University Rotaract

Wed., Nov. 9: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Juan David, Our Inbound Exchange Student

Thurs., Nov. 10: Executive Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
Via Zoom