Rotary Club of Forest Grove 2016-17 President Claudia Yakos (center) with Pacific University President and new Rotarian Dr. Lesley Hallick and development officer Zach Wallace.

By Anna Robaton-Winthrop, Pacific University
Reposted with permission of Pacific University

The Rotary Club of Forest Grove has established an endowed scholarship at Pacific University that will benefit local students for years to come.

Rotary officials presented a $25,000 gift to Pacific University President Lesley Hallick on June 21. The gift will establish an endowed fund that will provide yearly scholarships to Pacific students based on their academic achievement and dedication to community service

“Endowments are the most advantageous source of funding for the university and the donor, as they ensure perpetual funding through careful investment,” said Claudia P. Yakos, president of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove.

“Financial aid, in the form of scholarships, is the most important tool in recruiting the best and brightest students to Pacific,” she added.

The new endowed scholarship builds on the club’s longtime partnership with Pacific University. The club, whose motto is “Service Above Self,” holds its annual Steak Feed and weekly meetings at Pacific.

For many years, Pacific also has been home to the Rotary Club of Forest Grove’s largest fundraiser, Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance. The classic car show, now in its 45th year, has raised more than $1 million to support community service programs and student scholarships.

Through the Concours d’Elegance, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove has helped nearly 750 students attend college, more than 100 of them at Pacific.

“The Forest Grove Rotary Club has been a generous supporter of our students for many years,” said President Hallick. “We are so grateful for this additional commitment, which will ensure opportunities for students for generations to come.

“We are proud to partner with an organization that is so dedicated to our local community and youth.”

Dr. Hallick also was inducted into the Rotary Club of Forest Grove at its weekly meeting on June 21.

“I am extremely honored to be inducted into the Rotary Club and will endeavor to serve the Rotary as we go forward,” Dr. Hallick said at the meeting.

Several Rotarians received the club’s service award at the meeting, including Pacific alumnus Blake Timm ’98. Timm began his career at Pacific, serving as the university’s sports information director until 2015.

“It is heartening for me to see us confirm and formalize our relationship with Pacific,” said Timm, a president-elect of the Rotary Club.

Membership in the club is open to anyone who wishes to make a difference in their community and the world. Rotary is particularly dedicated to helping make local communities a better place to live by funding organizations, especially those focused on youth, and through service projects.

Established in 1924, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove is one of thousands of clubs affiliated with the humanitarian organization Rotary International. It is one of the oldest and largest Rotary clubs in the Portland metro area.