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

This Week: Be sure to join us this Wednesday at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way (across from Pacific University) as we celebrate the season with our annual holiday concert with musical groups from Forest Grove High School. We will also honor our Youth Citizens of the Month from Banks High School. Because of our packed program, please plan on arriving as close to noon as possible.

This week is a catered lunch. Orders were due on Dec. 2. If you did not order lunch, you are still welcome to attend and provide your own meal.

December Meetings: Our meetings on Wednesday, Dec. 18 will take place in the Boxer Pause in the University Center at Pacific University. There will be no meetings on Wednesday, Dec. 25 or Wednesday, Jan. 1.

Hope For The Holidays – Mon., Dec. 23: This year’s Hope For The Holidays food distribution will take place on Monday, Dec. 23, 4 p.m. at the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry. This is the closest that we have ever been able to have our project to Christmas. The plan once again is to provide holiday groceries to 100 needy families.

There will be volunteer opportunities both at the actual event and preparing the boxes the day of the event. For more information, or to find out how you can participate with the logistics for the project, please contact Parri Van Dyke.

Thank you to all of our Rotarians who participated in the wreath sale in November, which raised approximately $1,600 for Hope For The Holidays.

Troop 213 Christmas Tree Sales: Our chartered Scouting America Troop 213 is once again having their annual Christmas tree stand in the parking lot of Ballad Town Center (Safeway). The tree stand opened on Saturday and run through Dec. 23 or when tree sells out. The troop will have around 400 trees available for purchase. This is the troop’s major fundraiser for the year and primarily assists scouts in being able to attend summer camps.

The Rotary Club of Forest Grove has been the charter organization for Troop 213 for decades. If you can, please support the troop this holiday season.

Rototeller – Help Wanted: Blake Timm, the editor of the Rototeller, is looking for a club member who would be interested in helping fill in to take notes at meetings on an occasional basis. With his increased duties as area governor and work, he is having to miss more Wednesdays than he did in the past. The job would entail taking notes about any club announcements and a five to six-paragraph recap of that week’s program. Please contact Blake for more information.

Have A Program Idea? Let Hector Know!: Do you have an idea for a program presentation that you would like to see at our meetings? Let our incoming program director, Hector Mendez-Colberg know as he is setting up the schedule for 2025.

Laurin Is Ready For Ski Season!: Our inbound Rotary Youth Exchange student, Laurin von Orelli, is preparing to compete for the Forest Grove High School ski team after a fun season competing for the Vikings’ cross country team. To compete as part of the ski team, however, he needs to purchase a season pass to Mount Hood Meadows. The cost of the annual pass is $750. He is willing to do work for Rotarians to raise money for the pass. If you are interested in putting to Laurin to work, or to make a donation, please contact Laurin directly at one of our meetings or contact Youth Exchange Committee chair Melinda Fischer.

Pickleball Evenings – Presented By Rotary: The Rotary Club of Forest Grove is helping to sponsor indoor pickleball Monday through Thursday evenings at the Forest Grove National Guard Armory, 2950 Taylor Way. Coordinated by Rotarian Steven Barnard, the evenings run from 5:30 to 8 p.m. There is a $5 fee to help cover facility rental. Players of all ages and ability levels are welcome with reserved courts for beginners and intermediate-level players.

For more information on the pickleball evenings, please contact Steven at 443-454-5177 or sbarnard@fgsd.k12.or.us.

Greeters Are Back: 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.

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.

Around District 5100
District Leadership Opportunities: Running a successful organization requires that we plan for succession, and then continue to invest in future leaders. District 5100 is always looking for those Rotarians who would like to advance in Rotary leadership. Some positions require some past leadership experience. For more information, please contact the District Office.

Area Governor: This is a one-year term, renewable for up to three years. You would be working with the Governor Team every step of the way as the direct support to the clubs in a specific region of our District. Prior experience as a club president is required. 

Your training in leadership will be carried out at the district level and supplemented by Rotary Zone and RI online training. There is a modest expense account to help offset costs in the District budget for the Area Governor.

Youth Exchange Webmaster: To maintain, manage the content and keep the webpage current. The web address is: www.youthexchange5100.org

District Diversity, Equality, & Inclusion Committee: This committee is working on facilitating with clubs the RI DEI policies and real-life applications for Rotarians and clubs. They meet once a month. The Chair is Chase Morinaka: https://rotarydistrict5100.org/committees/

Youth Exchange Administrative Assistant to the Secretary: Work with the committee on a number of communication channels with youth, families and the committee. For a detailed understanding of the needs and time commitment please contact the YEX Secretary Marie Johnson.

If you are interested in any of these positions of District Leadership, please reach out to your Area Governor, or the Governor Team.

Last Week’s Program: Keith Buckley, Pacific University Athletics
At last week’s meeting, we were happy to welcome back Keith Buckley, the athletic director at Pacific University. Keith has been at Pacific since 2009 when he was hired as the head coach of the Boxers’ resurrected football program. He led the Boxers to the 2014 Northwest Conference co-championship. Keith has served as athletic director since 2020.

Keith first thanked Rotarian and club president-elect Andrea Stewart, the department’s athletic business manager, for her work in the department, as well as new Rotarian Mallory Hiefield, who serves as the interim associate athletic director.

Keith remembers the sense of excitement of the return of football when he arrived in 2009. Building the team was one of the most rewarding things that he has done in his life. He believes Pacific is a better place because of the addition of the program.

When Ken Schumann retired as athletic director, Keith said that he decided to stay because he believes in the university and its student-athletes. He looks forward to being here for another decade and more. He took over right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which presented a number of challenges as he began his tenure. Over the last two years, Keith feels like they have set a new course as a department with some ambitious goals for what Pacific athletics can look like.

The university is looking to start a capital project to enhance the Stoller Center, which was built in 1970 for 300 athletes. Keith hopes that the project will help the university’s indoor sport programs the same way that the construction of the Lincoln Park Athletic Complex helped the outdoor sports.

Keith said that the landscape of Division III recruiting is changing, as it is across all NCAA levels. Recruiting is more competitive than it ever has been.

Excited about the prospects of the basketball programs this year. Women have advanced to the NWC Championships final the last three years, but will experience a bit of a rebuild with 10 seniors graduating last year. The men have the potential to have its best team since the late 1990s. This year, the NWC will have men play first and women second for doubleheaders.

Club Calendar
Wed., Dec. 11: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way
Program: Holiday Concert With Forest Grove High School Music Groups

Thurs., Dec. 12: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Via Zoom

Wed., Dec. 18: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Sara Schaffner, Open Door

Thurs., Dec. 19: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Via Zoom

Mon., Dec. 23: Hope For The Holidays Service Project, 4 p.m.
Forest Grove High School

Wed., Dec. 25 & Wed., Jan. 1: No Meeting – Happy Holidays!