If you did not make it to our last Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here is what you missed…

This Week – Return To Pacific!: Our summer traveling tour for our weekly meetings is over! For this week’s weekly meeting, we will make our return to the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University. We will take our meals through the main dining commons, so please plan ahead to get your meal before we begin the program part of our meeting at 12:15 p.m.

Please plan to join us as our program will be our own Javin Frelin, who will talk about his experience at RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards).

No Meeting Sept. 4: As we prepare for our 100th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Sept. 7 (see below), we will not have a regular weekly meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 4. We will return to our regular schedule on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Rotary Club of Forest Grove 100th Anniversary Celebration: If you have not purchased tickets for our club’s 100th anniversary celebration, now is the time! All tickets must be purchased by this Friday, Aug. 30. Join us at the Carpenter Creek Winery, 47266 SW Carpenter Creek Road, Forest Grove, for an evening of fellowship and celebration.

Tickets are $45 per person and are limited to 200 tickets sold. Click Here To Purchase Tickets.

The celebration will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and will include a barbeque dinner and non-alcoholic drinks by Blues BBQ. Wine, beer and cider will also be available for purchase.

The event will include visits by District 5100 officials, past presidents who are no longer active in our club and more.

Welcome Laurin!: We are excited to welcome our new Rotary Youth Exchange inbound student, Laurin von Orelli from Switzerland! Laurin arrived in the U.S. last week and attended his first club meeting on Wednesday. He presented a banner from his home club in Switzerland to President Lucas Welliver.

If you are interested in becoming involved with our Youth Exchange Committee or in becoming a host family for Laurin, please contact youth exchange chair Melinda Fischer.

Rotary At Community Events In September: Our club will have a presence with a booth at two of the community’s larger events of the fall. We will have a booth at the 60th Forest Grove Corn Roast, Sat., Sept. 21, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., along College Way adjacent to Pacific University. On Sat., Spt. 28, our club will also host a booth at the Forest Grove Oktoberfest and will be hosting some sort of interactive activity.

If you are interested in working a booth shift, please contact Evelyn Orr.

There are additional volunteer opportunities at both events. Click Here for the Corn Roast volunteer sign-up. Click Here email oktoberfestfg@gmail.com.

McDougall Garden Art Installation: Thank you to all of our club members who attended the dedication on Friday, Aug. 16 of the new sculpture installed at the McDougall Garden. The wooden sculpture, “Guardians of the Grove,” features a wood tree snag with two herons taking flight. The artist, Joshua Blewett, was in attendance for the dedication as were Forest Grove Mayor Malynda Wenzl, and members of the Forest Grove Public Arts Commission.

We are grateful to the leadership of the Forest Grove Public Arts Commission for their leadership in placing this piece of art in the garden, welcoming people into the city.

Golf Tournament: Thanks to all of our members who came out for the annual golf tournament at the Sunset Grove Golf Course. We raised $40 for The Rotary Foundation. Congratulations to this year’s winning team of Michael Cook, Jerry Frye and Lucas Welliver. As always, thank you to Tim Schauermann for putting together this fun event for the club.

Concours T-Shirts Available: There are a number of 2024 Concours d’Elegance t-shirts in varying sizes still available. The t-shirt back pictures the 2024 poster image, the Best In Show 1929 Mercedes Benz 680 S Barker Tourer, in front of Pacific University’s Marsh Hall. Shirts are $25 and can be purchased at future weekly meetings.

Greeters Returning: President Lucas is bringing back the role of having greeters at our weekly meetings. This role will not be pre-assigned. Instead, the ninth and 10th Rotarians showing up a meeting each week will serve as greeters. Please be prepared to take on that responsibility and let President Lucas know if you have any questions.

Friends of Historic Forest Grove Displays: As part of celebrating the 50th Concours d’Elegance and the 100th anniversary of our club, Friends of Historic Forest Grove is looking for items to use for a lobby display to celebrate both milestones. The display will be located in the Old Train Station Museum at the corner of Main Street and 19th Avenue. A Concours display was presented in July. A display in September will highlight our club.

If you have items that you would be willing to loan to FHFG to promote the history of Concours and/or the club, you can also bring items to the museum during its open hours, Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Mentorship Program With Rotary: Since joining our club, Rotarians Cole Thursam and Javin Frelin have been exploring how to connect younger professionals to our club and to Rotary as a whole. The two are in the preliminary stages of developing a mentorship program for young professionals in the local community that would be tied to Rotary. If you would like to learn more or are interested in taking part in this effort, please contact Cole or Javin.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Do You Know Of Service Opportunities?: Are you aware of service opportunities in our area that our members might be interested in? We can advertise those here! This space is not limited to club-sponsored activities but to any service opportunity in the community. To promote the service activity, please send a detailed description of the project, the date and time, contact information and a link to register to Rototeller editor Blake Timm, blakertimm@gmail.com.

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 Mondays from 4-5:30 p.m. The pantry is located along Nichols Lane between the football field and the Basinski Center. Click Here for more information on the FGHS Food Pantry and on other resources for those experiencing food insecurity.

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.

Bloodworks Northwest Blood Drives: In an effort to build blood supplies in the Pacific Northwest, Bloodworks Northwest is sponsoring a number of blood drives in 2024 in Forest Grove. Upcoming blood drives will be held on Friday, Sept. 27 at Pacific University and Friday, Dec. 6 at the Forest Grove City Library. To sign up to give and set an appointment, please visit the Bloodworks Northwest website.

Around District 5100
Vibrant Club Workshop: This year’s Vibrant Club Workshop will take place on Saturday, Sept. 28. The pod for the West Region clubs (Forest Grove, Forest Grove Daybreak, Beaverton and Hillsboro) will take place at the Forest Grove United of Christ, 2032 College Way, and will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The workshop will cover topics around membership, The Rotary Foundation and public image and will provide clubs time and topics to discuss to help strengthen their clubs. Club leadership and anyone interested in strengthening their clubs are encouraged to attend. If you are unable to attend in person, a virtual option will be available.

There is no feed to attend and snacks and beverages will be provided. After the workshop, everyone is invited to partake in the Forest Grove Oktoberfest, which will be taking place just outside the church.

Registration is now open on DacDB. We hope to see you there!

Join A Rotary Action Group: Rotary Action Groups are independent, Rotary-affiliated groups made up of people from around the world who are experts in a particular field, such as economic development, peace, addiction prevention, the environment, or water. District 5100 currently has Rotary Action Groups for mental health, peace and Alzheimer’s/dementia.

There are many more that you can join – here in the district and/or the Rotary Universe. For more information contact:

Sally Gradin for Mental Health (RC Tigard Breakfast).
Larry Strober for Peace District/Poles (RC Newberg).

To learn more about other groups, visit: https://my.rotary.org/en/take-action/empower-leaders/rotary-action-groups.

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

Last Week’s Program: Dr. Suzanne West, Forest Grove School District
Last week, we were honored to have been joined by the new superintendent of the Forest Grove School District, Dr. Suzanne West. Hired by the district in May, West came to Forest Grove from the Salem-Keizer School District where she served as the director of strategic initiatives and director of elementary curriculum and instruction. She has been a teacher and principal at the elementary and middle school levels.

West is still learning quite a bit about the FGSD. Just seven weeks into the job, she has learned that FGSD is a minority-majority district. Most students in the FGSD are students of color with the majority identifying as Latino. Thirty-six percent are from homes where, at some point, a language other than English is spoken at home. There are over 60 languages spoken by students in the FGSD.

As of last the reporting period, FGSD exceeded state graduation rates, but West said the district is still lagging in third-grade reading. There is work to do.

West said that the values that are the foundation of the FGSD’s work align well with her personal and professional values. She believes that teaching a child to read is the gateway to equity. Is has been her professional mission to make sure that children learn to read and read at a grade level. She wants to provide students the skills to be able to access the choices that they want to make after graduation.

West said that it is important to her that students feel safe. Looking at data, schools nationwide are less safe. The FGSD has taken steps to make schools safe. The district had two-thirds less discipline incidents than what was reported in the previous year.

She said that schools have to prepare kids for the complexity of the world around them with a focus on pathways in high school for success. West highlighted the CALC program as a pathway for students in the district to have an alternative to traditional high school.

Before becoming an educator, West had a full career in the private sector. That was great for a number of years but decided to follow the goal that she had since she was 12 of becoming a teacher. Being an educator has been one of the highlights of her life.

West thinks that Forest Grove is a very special place. The community has been nothing but welcoming and helpful as she navigates a new community and a new school system. There is something about this community that is very special about how it cares about kids and the school system.

Club Calendar
Wed., July 28: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Javlin Frelin, RYLA

Wed., Sept. 4: No Meeting

Sat., Sept. 7: Rotary Club of Forest Grove 100th Anniversary, 5:30 p.m.
Carpenter Creek Winery, 47266 SW Carpenter Creek Rd., Forest Grove
Click Here To Order Tickets

Wed., Sept. 11: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Club Assembly/State of the Club

Thurs., Sept. 12: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Wed., Sept. 18: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: TBA

Thurs., Sept. 19: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom