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 for this round of sales is targeted to be used towards the club’s 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.

Welcome New Members!: We had the honor of inducting our three newest members at our Satellite Club meeting on Oct. 15: Darryl Carnley, Gwen Hullinger and Andrew Van Dyke. We look forward to their fellowship and service in the community! Read More About Our Newest Members

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Survey: Our club’s new Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee has drafted a brief survey to help gauge where we are as a club when it comes to diversity and inclusion in our group and in our broader community. Club members are encouraged to take 10-15 minutes to take the survey. Participation is completely anonymous and is essential to help our club in measuring progress in those efforts. Please complete the survey by no later than Thursday, Nov. 5. A program on the findings of the survey is scheduled for our Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Click Here To Take The Survey. If you need a paper copy of the survey, please contact Bryce Baker.

Welcome Baby Welliver!: Lucas Welliver and his wife, Megan, welcomed Margo Gay Welliver into the world last week. She entered the world at 6 pounds, 3 ounces and all are doing well.

Holiday Light Parade: There are still plans within the City of Forest Grove to do a Holiday Light Parade in December. This will be a modified parade due to the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are interested in taking charge of the Rotary float this year, please let President Julia know.

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 (who cleaned up his section of road the Thursday before).

Paul Waterstreet presented some interesting facts about our long involvement with the Washington Country Adopt-A-Road Program. Our club has conducted a total of 83 road cleanup service projects since our involvement began in 1992. Until this time, Jerry Hoerber was at every one of those. The most participants ever for a road cleanup were 27 people in September 2017. The fewest was two (Jerry Hoerber and Don Jones) in 2004.

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.

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.

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
Rotary Fire Relief Fund: In response to the catastrophic loss of homes, businesses, and livelihoods for many in Oregon and Washington, Rotary District 5100 has established a Fire Relief Fund to help victims of the fires rebuild their lives. Communities that have been severely devastated, if not eliminated, in the wake of these unprecedented fires will need help in both the near and long term.

District 5100 is ready to accept tax-deductible donations to provide grants to partner organizations and individuals in need. Additionally, the power of the Rotary International Foundation to help leverage the funds raised through public donations will be of great benefit to Rotary’s ability to substantially assist residents in both states into the future. District 5100 has applied and been preliminarily approved for a Disaster Relief grant to help those in need at this time.

“For the painful and challenging times ahead, Rotary is ready to accept public and corporate support to help those in need in our local communities. The focus is on raising and leveraging funds for future distribution via District Disaster Grants that help rebuild the fire devastated areas,” said District Governor Jo Crenshaw.

District 5100 has teamed up with the Rotary Club of West Linn Charitable Trust, a 501(c)(3), to accept tax-deductible contributions for fire relief.

Send Charitable Contributions to: West Linn Rotary Foundation: Fire Relief Fund, PO Box 442, West Linn, OR 97068

For more information on our relief efforts, contact District Governor Jo Crenshaw, crenshawjo2021@gmail.com, or Past District Governor Tom Markos, tmarkos@me.com.

District 5100 Training Assembly: This year’s District 5100 Training Assembly, which is typically 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 years.

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: Forest Resener, StoveTeam International

Click Here To View The Entire Program

Forest Resener, operations director for StoveTeam International, joined our Zoom meeting to present on this Rotary-rooted organization. Based in Portland and Eugene, StoveTeam International provides cookstoves to families in Central and South American that cook over open fires.

It is estimated that over 3 billion people across the world continue to cook over open fires. Those who cook over those open fires, primarily women, on average inject enough smoke equivalent to three packs of cigarettes per day. Often times, homes with open fire cookstoves have an average air quality index over 500.

Women and children are disproportionately affected by disease, burns, etc.; from these cook fires because they spend much of their days in the home.

By manufacturing cookstoves, StoveTeam International believes that it can save thousands of lives and millions of trees.

Nancy Hughes, a Rotarian in Eugene, founded StoveTeam International. She joined Rotary after the death of her husband. She was horrified by the conditions she saw women experience from open fire cooking while on a Rotary service trip to Guatemala.

In subsequent years, Nancy organized a stove team to go to Guatemala and, on the first trip, provided 120 cookstoves. She was then able to partner with the inventor of the “rocket elbow,” who also lives in Oregon, to design a cookstove that could be designed locally in Central America and then distributed.

StoveTeam International was started with the plan to empower entrepreneurs to develop projects to manufacture and distribute cookstoves. To date, StoveTeam International and its partners have distributed over 70,000 cookstoves.

Different types of cookstoves can be built and produced based on the needs of the home and the community. Each family who receives a stove is asked to commit to building the base for the stove before StoveTeam comes in and installs the stove. This ensures that the family is committed to using the stove and not open fires.

StoveTeam would not exist without Rotary. Almost every project that StoveTeam International does is made possible through grants from Rotary clubs and districts. StoveTeam currently has projects in El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras.

You can learn more about StoveTeam International at stoveteam.org.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted
Wed., Oct. 28: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Brian Schimmel, Temporary Emergency Shelter
Wed., Nov. 4: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: To Be Announced
Thurs., Nov. 5: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Wed., Nov. 11: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Dr. Jim Moore, Election Aftermath