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 Sale: Thank you again to all members who made out third Steak Sale Fundraiser a great success. We sold a total of 370 packs of steaks (740 steaks total) this round, which raised $2,220 towards our club’s community outreach programs. All the steaks have been picked up and all money has been collected. Thank you club members!

Through the three sales, we have raised over $8,000 for the club. Thank you! A big thank you to Jeff Duyck for coordinating this effort with Columbia Empire Meats.

Cornelius Elementary Service Project This Friday: Thank you to our club members who helped assemble new desks at Cornelius Elementary School on Friday: Blake Timm, Michael Doherty, Greg Nemchick, Josh Shinoda and Geoff Faris. The group of five assembled 30 desks in their four-hour work window. Between our club and the Daybreak club, around 200 desks will be assembled, which will replace group tables that have been used for learning in the lower grade levels.

Satellite Club Meeting/Thirsty Thursday: Our next Satellite Club meeting and Thirsty Thursday social will take place this Thursday, Sept. 17, at 6:30 p.m. in the backyard of the home of Pete and Parri Van Dyke, 1336 Rosearden Dr., Forest Grove. If you plan to attend, please bring a side dish or a dessert to share. Attendees should RSVP to Michael Yakos.

McDougall Garden: The McDougall Garden, near the big flagpole, is looking good. But just like any garden, weeds will pop up. Rotarians are welcomed and encouraged to stop by and pull a weed or two, even if it is just for a few minutes. Many hands make for light work. A special thank you to Carl Heisler, Jim Cain and Rob Foster, who did some maintenance on the garden over the last week.

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.

Daybreak Club Bicycle Project: Our friends at the Forest Grove Daybreak Club are looking for bikes to donate to WashcoBikes, a non-profit organization that refurbishes bikes and distributes them to residents in Washington County. If you have a bike to donate, please contact Mitch Taylor at 503-314-0766.

Corn Roast: Despite the pandemic, the annual Forest Grove Corn Roast is going to go on! This year’s event will be an eat-in-your-car event at the Cornelius 9 Cinemas on Sunday, September 20, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. There will be entertainment on site throughout the day. For more information, or if you are interested in helping sponsor this year’s event, please contact Juanita Lint at the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce.

In addition, the chamber has worked with the City of Forest Grove to put together a temporary Pedestrian Mall from September 25-27 (rescheduled from this weekend due to the smoky conditions). Main Street from Pacific to 21st and 21st from A to College Way from Friday afternoon to Sunday night to allow downtown businesses and restaurants more space to serve customers.

Rotary Phone Tree: Thank you to everyone who has made our Rotary Phone Tree such a success in caring for our members. Paul Waterstreet has completed the latest shuffle of the list, which is attached to the email version of the Rototeller.

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.

Over the summer, the Food Pantry will be open on Monday and Thursday from 2-4 p.m. If you have a donation of food or items for the pantry, those are being accepted on Mondays and Thursdays before 2 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.

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.

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
Save The Dates: The annual District 5100 Training Assembly is scheduled for the weekend of April 17 and 18. The exact date, location and delivery method is to be determined. The annual District 5100 Conference is scheduled for April 29 through May 2 at the Vancouver Hilton.

Around The Rotary international World
Africa Declared Free Of Wild PolioVirus: The World Health Organization (WHO) on 25 August announced that transmission of the wild poliovirus has officially been stopped in all 47 countries of its African region. This is a historic and vital step toward global eradication of polio, which is Rotary’s top priority.

After decades of hard won gains in the region, Rotary and its partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) — WHO, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNICEF, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Gavi, the vaccine alliance — are proclaiming the milestone an achievement in public health. They offer it as proof that strong commitment, coordination, and perseverance can rid the world of polio.

The certification that the African region is free of wild poliovirus comes after the independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) conducted thorough field verifications that confirmed no new cases and analyzed documentation of polio surveillance, immunization, and laboratory capacity by Cameroon, Central African Republic, Nigeria, and South Sudan. The commission had already accepted the documentation of the other 43 countries in the region.

The last cases of polio caused by the wild virus in the African region were recorded in Nigeria’s northern state of Borno in August 2016, after two years with no cases. Conflict, along with challenges in reaching mobile populations, had hampered efforts to immunize children there. Read More

New Leadership Courses Online: As part of Rotary’s new partnership with Toastmasters International, six new leadership courses have been developed to expand leadership and communciation skills. These online modules, along with many others to expand your knowledge of Rotary, can be accessed for free by Rotary members at rotary.org/learn. (NOTE: You must login to the Rotary.org website to have access to thee learning center.)

Last Week’s Program: Court Carrier, Forest Grove Tourism Rebranding

Click Here To View The Entire Program

Rotarian Court Carrier is the tourism consultant for the City of Forest Grove. At our last meeting, Court presented on the efforts to re-brand Forest Grove and work to make the city a more attractive tourist destination.

He started by stating that tourism is not a new thing. Tourism has occurred wherever transportation has been over the years. Whenever the mode of transportation has changed, tourism has changed. The same is true for Forest Grove. The city needs to adapt and try to cater to current needs and desires.

The city has put together a comprehensive marketing and branding plan designed to increase awareness of Forest Grove as a tourism destination. This current plan builds on all the work done in this area in the past, most notably the tourism developed and implemented in 2007.

The study and implementation of a tourism strategy is made possible through a 2.5 percent increase in the transient lodging tax, which was approved and collected starting in 2018. Those funds help to hire Court as the city’s tourism consultant. The COVID-19 pandemic has put a dent in this year’s funding thanks to a drop of lodging revenue.

As part of the plan, the city has done an inventory of tourism resources and has identified six key niche areas: Food and beverage; outdoor recreation and adventure; arts; history and culture; meetings and conferences; local events and festivals; and Pacific University.

The Forest Grove tourism plan is based on six building blocks: A branding proposal, a strategic plan, marketing plan, mission and vision statements, the appointment of a tourism advisory committee and an inventory of tourism assets and resources. All of these have been completed or are currently in process.

The tourism advisory committee includes a number of current or past members of our club, including Rob Foster, Howard Sullivan, Lois Hornberger and Nikki DeBuse.

Forest Grove was the first incorporated town in Washington County. We would like to think that we are the last true town in the county that has not been morphed into a suburb of Portland.

Court is open to any ideas and discussion about how the re-branding and tourism plan can be used to help promote Forest Grove. The committee is especially interested in identifying high-resolution photos that could be used to promote tourism.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted
Wed., Sept. 16: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: To Be Determined
Thurs., Sept. 17: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Thurs., Sept. 17: Satellite Club Meeting/Thirsty Thursday, 6:30 p.m.
Backyard of Pete & Parri Van Dyke, 1336 Rosearden Dr., Forest Grove
Wed., Sept. 23: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: To Be Determined