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

This Week – At Forest Grove UCC: This week’s meeting will be held at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way (across the street from Pacific University). This will be our final noon meeting of 2023 and it will be a club assembly. We will also be honoring our Youth Citizens of the Month from Forest Grove High School.

As part of the meeting, club members are welcome to share stories and memories of Paul Minor, who passed away on Dec. 1. We will plan to record remembrances and will also publish them in next week’s edition of the Rototeller. If you will not be able to attend but would like to share a memory, please send those to President Amy Tracewell.

Order Your Lunches In Advance: If you wish to receive lunch at meetings, confirmation for lunch orders must be received by secretary Janet Peters by the Saturday before each week’s meeting. A sign-up sheet will be available at weekly meetings or you can RSVP to Janet via email, rjlc4peters@msn.com.

Satellite Club Meeting: The December Satellite Club meeting will take place on Thursday, Dec. 21, 6:30 p.m., at The Growler Garage, 1837 Pacific Ave. All Rotarians are invited to attend and enjoy some fellowship.

Holiday Cancellations: In order for Rotarians and their families to celebrate the upcoming holidays, our club will not meet at its regular Wednesday time on the following dates: Wed., Dec. 20 and Wed., Dec. 27. Our next scheduled weekly meeting is on Wednesday, Jan. 3.

Hope For The Holidays: Mark your calendars! This year’s Hope for the Holidays project will take place on Monday, Dec. 18, at the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry. Because of the rules that the Food Pantry has with the Oregon Food Bank, we will not be allowed to distribute meals inside the building. Instead, we will distribute the meals under tents just outside the pantry along Nichols Lane.

A sign-up sheet for volunteers will be distributed at our next meeting. There will be a need for members with trucks who can help transport food from Fred Meyer and Winco to the high school, as well as set up for the event. The distribution will take place from 4-5:30 p.m., the normal open hours for the food pantry.

Parri Van Dyke, Fareeha Nayabare, our Rotary Youth Exchange Student, and Moira Olmstead, daughter of Sharon Olmstead, will distribute save the date postcards to those utilizing the Food Pantry on Monday, Dec. 11 (the Food Pantry itself will be closed on Dec. 18).

All of the food for the project is being covered by $2,500 from the club and $2,500 from a District 5100 Matching Grant. Money from wreath sales and other donations will be used to purchase and provide household items, like toilet paper and laundry detergent, that are normally not available at the Food Pantry.

For more information or questions, please contact Parri Van Dyke.

Holiday Pledges: Unlike in past years, the club will not be distributing pledge cards to raise funds for Hope for the Holidays or for the Rotary Foundation. If you feel so inclined to make a donation before the end of 2023, please see treasurer Sharon Olmstead at this week’s meeting. Donations will not be billed so please check or credit card to pay at our meeting.

In Memoriam – Paul Minor: It is with great sadness that we mourn the passing of our friend and fellow Rotarian, Paul Minor. Paul died on Friday, Dec. 1 at his home in Forest Grove.

Paul was a longtime member of our club and served as club president in the 1997-98 Rotary year. Paul was active with Concours d’Elegance Committee and, until recently, designed and edited the show’s annual program and poster. A talented photographer, we often saw Paul at Concours behind the viewfinder of a camera, capturing images of art of wheels on the Pacific University campus.

Paul practiced as a dentist in Forest Grove for decades but he may be best known for his musical and artistic talents. His tenor voice was heard with both the Oregon Chorale and the Forest Grove United Church of Christ choir. He often performed the organ for FGUCC services and have a notable affinity for Bach compositions. Click Here To Read Full Obituary.

Services for Paul will be held in January. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Paul’s memory made be made to the Kitchen Remodel Fund at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ, PO Box 265, Forest Grove, OR 97116. Please keep his wife, Linda, and his family in your thoughts and prayers.

Concours d’Elegance Committee: The Concours d’Elegance Committee is starting the planning for our 50th show on July 21, 2024. If interested in getting further involved with the Concours, the steering committee is always looking for volunteers to prepare for the show throughout the year. For more information, contact Tom Raabe at 503-704-1200 or rotarytomr@gmail.comor Geoff Johnston at 503-939-7868 or gamsma@comcast.net.

The next meeting of the Concours Committee will be on Wednesday, Dec. 13 via Zoom at 7 p.m.

A Note About PMail: When club leadership sends out emails through the DacDB Pmail system (these will usually have ROTARY in the subject line), these are mass emails sent for the purpose of informing the whole club of information. While it may look like the email is addressed specifically to you, it is not. Please keep this in mind when choosing to reply to an email.

The PMail system is the same system we use to send the Rototeller out each week. This means that if you are opting-out of receiving club emails, you will not receive the weekly newsletter either.

Committee Communications & Meetings: Our executive board is working to put together a master calendar of club functions and committee meetings. The goal is that this calendar will be available for all members of the club to access. If your committee is planning to meet during the months of November and December, please send that information to any member of the executive board as soon as possible.

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 (over 100 videos to date) are archived on our club’s YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

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

Last Week’s Program: Forest Grove High School Music Programs

Last week was our annual holiday celebration meeting. We were treated to sounds of the season provided by Forest Grove High School’s Da Capo choir, orchestra and jazz band competition combo. It was also our annual joint meeting with the Forest Grove Daybreak Rotary Club and we were pleased to share food and fellowship with them.

If you missed the meeting and the concert, a small sample of the high school’s musical offerings is posted on our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Club Calendar
Wed., Dec. 13: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way
Program: Club Assembly

Wed., Dec. 13: Concours Committee Meeting, 7 p.m.
via Zoom.

Thurs., Dec. 14: Executive Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
via Zoom

Mon., Dec. 18: Hope for the Holidays Service Project, 4-5:30 p.m.
Forest Grove High School

Wed., Dec. 20: No Meeting

Thurs., Dec. 21: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Wed., Dec. 27: No Meeting