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 – Deadline Is Near!: We have started our annual wreath sale, which will benefit our club’s many community service outreaches. We 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 this 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.

Hope For The Holidays: We are looking forward to continuing our Hope for the Holidays service project this December with a new format. Instead of offering shopping sprees to needy families, we will be partnering with the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry to provide food boxes for a holiday meal. Our distribution event is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 12, 4-5:30 p.m., at the Food Pantry building on the Forest Grove High School campus.

There will be work prior to the event shopping for food and packing the boxes and preparing them for distribution. Dates for both will be announced soon. For more information, please contact President Janet or Parri Van Dyke.

Garden Cleanup: We had a small but mighty group of Rotarians and friends take part in the recent cleanup of our McDougall Garden. Thank you to Geoff & Annette Faris, Janet & Rus Peters and Carl Heisler for their work in getting the garden ready for the winter.

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. Lois obituary can be Read Here.

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 at 971-404-7864 or ccarrieriv@gmail.com.

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.

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.

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
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
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.

Global Health Leaders See A Clear Path To Polio Eradication: Global health leaders expressed confidence that polio will be eradicated worldwide and praised the frontline workers who are striving to achieve that goal during an event at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, 21-22 October.

Sponsored by Rotary International and WHO, World Polio Day 2022 and Beyond updated participants and viewers on the status of polio eradication. It also discussed possible community-based solutions that go beyond immunizations to improve the health of mothers and children.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, speaking at the opening session, said that polio eradication is within reach. He cited the fact that the work of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has reduced cases by 99.9%, from 350,000 in 1988 to only six cases last year. However, he acknowledged that the global effort has lost ground this year, with 20 cases in Pakistan and two in Afghanistan. Those are the only two countries where the transmission of the wild poliovirus has never been stopped. But the diagnosis of a polio case in the U.S., and the detection of poliovirus in sewage in the United Kingdom “show that polio will remain a global threat until it is eradicated everywhere.” Polio cases have also been diagnosed in Malawi and Mozambique last year and this year.

“We still face many challenges, including misinformation, hard-to-access populations, and community fatigue,” Dr. Tedros said.

Polio immunization programs for children have faced historic disruption, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has added to the challenges. “Without concerted action, we could lose the gains we have made,” Dr. Tedros added.

The GPEI’s polio eradication strategy for 2022-26 is designed to meet these challenges by using both proven solutions and innovative new tools. At the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, earlier in October, donors, including Rotary, committed US$2.6 billion to fund the strategy. These funds will support polio immunizations in countries where polio is endemic and in those that have had recent outbreaks. It will also fund adoption of the new type 2 oral polio vaccine (nOPV2), which is a genetically modified version of a current vaccine and is less likely to cause outbreaks of circulating vaccine-derived polio, also known as variant polio.

Funds will also support the GPEI’s commitment to empowering women at all levels of health care. “Gender equality is critical to achieving eradication, because in many of the most affected communities, only women are allowed access to the homes and [to] children other than their own,” Dr. Tedros noted.

He assured the audience that polio eradication will remain a top priority for WHO. “With Rotary’s support, I look forward to a future when the only thing children ever learn about polio is in the history books,” said Dr. Tedros.

Other global health experts who spoke at the event included Aidan O’Leary, director for polio eradication at WHO; Steven Lauwerier, director of polio eradication at UNICEF; and Ambassador Hans-Peter Jungel, deputy permanent representative for Germany.

“Not only is polio eradication feasible, it’s within grasp,” O’Leary told attendees.

Vaccinating every child against polio must continue to be the priority, said Lauwerier. “A vaccine alone, if it stays in the vial, doesn’t make a change,” he emphasized.

During a question-and-answer session with RI President Jennifer Jones and Jeffrey Kluger, editor at large for TIME magazine, Jones said, “We’re making incredible progress, and we need to be proud of where we’re at.”

The second day of the event focused on preventive care and mothers’ and children’s health. Breakout sessions discussed regional needs and opportunities for collaboration.

Global Update Underscores The Importance Of Vaccinations
Rotary also released the World Polio Day 2022 Global Update video, which features other global health experts. They underscored the importance of vaccinations as the only sure protection against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases.

Dr. Hamid Jafari, director of polio eradication for WHO, said the diagnosis of polio cases in Malawi and Mozambique, as well as the variant poliovirus detections in New York, London, and Israel, demonstrate polio’s lingering threat.

“As long as the poliovirus survives anywhere, it remains a threat to children and unvaccinated persons everywhere,” he said.

Dr. John Vertefeuille, polio eradication branch chief for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), noted the importance of continuing surveillance after cases of polio stop.

“On the road to eradication and containment, surveillance will continue to play a critical role in the certification process, ensuring that poliovirus transmission has been interrupted, and the hard-earned win of a polio-free world will be maintained post-certification,” he said.

Experts who are part of the national immunization program in Pakistan also talked about the GPEI’s gender strategy and the importance of employing female frontline health workers to ensure that campaigns reach every child with the polio vaccine.

“We found that females were reluctant to be vaccinated by male vaccinators,” says Dr. Soofia Yunus, director general for the Federal Directorate of Immunization in Pakistan. “In every strategy we make and in every activity that we conduct, we ensure that females are part of it.”

As O’Leary said at World Polio Day 2022 and Beyond, “The path forward is absolutely clear. We have the tools. We have the strategies. We have a ruthless focus.”

Last Week’s Program: Joe Kurmaskie, WashCo Bikes

Click Here To Watch The Complete Program

Last week, we were joined by Joe Kurmaskie, executive director of WashCo Bikes. An award-winning journalist, travel writer and author of several books, Joe also pours his energy into supporting and running this local non-profit.

WashCo Bikes is the largest free bike distribution non-profit in the Northwest. The organization is on track to give away 5,000 bikes this year. They partner with schools, hospitals, veterans organizations, etc., to identify adults who are in need of bicycle transportation and to provide kids with the magic of having their own bicycle.

WashCo Bikes consists of three basic programs: its Community Bike Center in Hillsboro, a summer camp program and the Free Bikes for Kids program.

The Community Bike Center, located as 137 NE 3rd Ave. in Hillsboro, offers retail sales or new, used and refurbished bicycles along with offering a full-service repair shop with full-time mechanics.

The Saddle Up Bike Camp took place at nine different sites last summer, including last June at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ, and served 350 kids. The camps cover a number of different subjects and provide many activities, many of which tie back into cycling. Attendees are asked to get to and from the camps by bicycle and many of the games tie into safety and the proper repair of bicycles.

The Free Bikes for Kids program has grown from around 500 bikes in past year to over 5,000 bikes given away this year through partnerships with Providence and Ridwell. The organization cleans, repairs and refurbishes bikes to be given away. They provide new seats, clean grips, repair chains and do safety checks. At this year’s Forest Grove Corn Roast, 75 bikes were given awat with helmets and lights.

Joe shared a number of stories that spoke to the impact of both WashCo Bikes and Free Bikes for Kids. We encourage you to watch the video of the presentation to hear those stories.

Learn more about WashCo Bikes at https://washcobikes.org/.

Learn more about Free Bikes for Kids at http://fb4kportland.org/.

Club Calendar
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

Wed., Nov. 16: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Raziah Roushan, Tualatin Valley Creates

Thurs, Nov. 17: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Via Zoom