Some of the people who made the 2024 Concours d’Elegance a great success. Photos by Hector Mendez-Colberg.

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

Another Successful Concours: It was touch and go with some lightning, thunder and brief showers in the morning, but the 50th Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance was another success! This show doesn’t happen without the hard work of all of our Rotarians, friends and volunteers that continue to make this show one of the best in the United States for car enthusiasts. Thank you to everyone, from our set-up and takedown crews, to our car spotters, judging coordinators and more.

The Best In Show award went to this year’s poster car, a 1929 Mercedes-Benz 680 S Barker Tourer presented by Vintage Racing Motors in Bellevue, Washington.

A special thank you to all of the members of the Concours Committee who have many hours into the show all year and especially to this year’s show co-chairs: Geoff Johnston, Alisa Johnston, Tom Raabe and Allen Stephens.

We also extend a special thank you to Court Carrier for his work in planning and executing the Concours Weekend Kickoff Concert at McMenamins Grand Lodge. It was a great evening of music enjoyed by Rotarians and community members alike.

Updates on the success of fundraising from this year’s Concours will be coming in the following weeks.

Next Week’s Meeting: Next week’s weekly club meeting, and the remainder of our weekly meetings in July, will take place in the Grove Room at the Forest Grove School District offices, 1728 Main St. Join us as our own Claudia Yakos will present an update on the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce.

With lunches being catered, lunch orders were due to Claire Agner by Friday. If you did not order RSVP by the deadline, please bring your own lunch. To RSVP for future meetings, please email Claire.

Upcoming Meetings: Our weekly meeting on July 31 will be held at the Forest Grove School District offices. On August 7, our weekly meeting will be at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way. Watch this space, the FGRotary.org website and our social media channels for updates.

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.

Rotary Club of Forest Grove 100th Anniversary Celebration: Mark your calendars for Saturday, Sept. 7, as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our club and 100 years of Service Above Self! Join us at the Carpenter Creek Winery, 47266 SW Carpenter Creek Road, Forest Grove, for an evening of fellowship and celebration.

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.

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

For questions about the celebration, please contact Julia Kollar. The next meeting of the planning committee will take place on Wednesday, July 24, 5:30 p.m., at Julia’s home.

Youth Exchange Update: We have confirmation on our 2024-25 inbound Rotary Youth Exchange Student! We will welcome Laurin Van Orelli from Switzerland around August 17.

The Youth Exchange Committee has one host family already lined up for Laurin but we are still in need of two more families. If you are interested in being a host family and would like more information, please contact youth exchange chair Melinda Fischer.

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. There is currently a display of Concours history that will remain through 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.

Past Programs: Did you miss a meeting or want to go back and check out a program again? Many of our programs since May 2020 (over 140 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.

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 at the Forest Grove City Library. Upcoming blood drives will be held on Friday, July 26, Friday, Sept. 27 and Friday, Dec. 6. To sign up to give and set an appointment, please visit the Bloodworks Northwest website.

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 person is a prior club president who will work with other club presidents to assist clubs to be successful in their projects and fellowship. You would be responsible for three to five clubs in a geographic area. If you are interested, please contact an area governor or Chief of Staff Cindy Jones of RC Silverton.

District Governor: The next level of Rotary leadership. It is a 3.5-year commitment in learning and leadership of the district. You would be working with the Governor Team every step of the way. Your training in leadership will be carried out at Zone and International Assembly There is a modest expense account to help offset costs. IT IS POSSIBLE TO BE EMPLOYED AND SERVE AS DISTRICT GOVERNOR.

APPLICATIONS FOR DISTRICT GOVERNOR FOR ROTARY YEAR 2027-2028 are available through the District Office and iPDG Renee Brouse. Interviews for this position will be held on October 12, 2024.

Shoot For The Moon – This October: This October, Rotary District 5100 will be holding a Major Donor event to recognize and thank you who have been generous supporters of The Rotary Foundation and to challenge our district to reach even further to support the cause.

The Shoot for the Moon dinner event will take place on Saturday, October 19, at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville. Inspired by the Artemis mission, which will cover nearly a million miles traveling to the moon and back, we are launching a campaign to raise $1 million in new TRF contributions.

As part of Shoot for the Moon, 2024-25 Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick will be our keynote speaker. This marks the first time a sitting RI president will have visited District 5100 since the late Ray Klinginsmith in 2010-11. Shoot for the Moon will be an inspirational evening and a testament to the great work Rotary and Rotarians do in the world through The Rotary Foundation.

Invitations for Shoot for the Moon will be sent to Arch Klumph Society members, Bequest Society members, Major Donors and Paul Harris Society members. If you are not part of one of these giving groups yet, you can earn an invitation by “leveling up” your giving to TRF:

• Move from Paul Harris Fellow to Paul Harris Society
• Close the gap to become a Major Donor
• Move from Benefactor to Bequest Society

In addition, those who give a new gift of $10,000 or more to The Rotary Foundation between now and August 15, either as an outright gift, a two to three-year pledge or in a gift to the Bequest Society, will earn an invitation to an exclusive reception with Stephanie Urchick. Gifts can be made to any TRF giving area: Annual Fund/SHARE, PolioPlus, the Endowment, Peace, an Area of Focus, or to a Global Grant.

To learn more, visit the Shoot for the Moon website. For further questions, please contact Jeannine Murrell or Blake Timm. We hope to see you on October 19!

Click Here To Learn More About Giving To The Rotary Foundation | Click Here To Donate

District 5100 Mental Health Committee: The District 5100 Mental Health Committee is developing Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training for members and clubs. Most of us know that if we saw someone bleeding or having medical distress, what to do. We would attend to wounds, call 911 or start CPR. Few of us know how to respond if we saw someone having a panic attack, or if we are concerned about a friend or coworker in emotional distress.

Mental Health First Aid is a day-long training that helps equip people with tools to start a conversation, be present to support them and help people get the help they need. MHFA provides an action plan that teaches people to safely and responsibly identify and assist people with mental health challenges.

If you are interested in this training, contact Nancy Boyle. 

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

Last Week’s Program: Tara Rolstad, Mental Health

At last week’s meeting, it was our pleasure to welcome Tara Rolstad. Tara is a public speaker focusing on mental health. While she is not a licensed mental health expert, she speaks on the issues of mental health from her own experience as a wife and mother. Her goal in this presentation was to present a “Costco-sized sample” of her story and talk about what we can collectively do.

Tara has an MBA with a background in nonprofit management. Over the last 15 years, she has spoken to hundreds of families about their mental health experiences. She is a mother to three kids of her own and a legal guardian to one of her nieces.

Tara’s story begins 15 years ago, when she and her husband took in their nieces as foster kids. They had suffered from both physical and mental abuse. A couple of months after the girls came to live, Tara saw one of the 14-year nieces admitted to a mental health ward with hallucinations of the guy who had abused her. She spent the next several years helping the girls deal with their mental health challenges.

What helped Tara and her family was the compassion, the openness, and the support they found in their community. Everyone has the power to create those conditions in their community so they can be open about the help they need and find the help they need.

Every dollar in investment in mental health will provide a return of $4. When people struggle with mental health, they can’t be the best workers and best contributors to the community.

Tara said that 1 in 4 over our lifetime will struggle with a mental health issue. One in five deal with a mental health issue every year. One in five kids ages 13-18 is struggling with a mental health issue. In 2021, two-third of girls were persistently sad. Kids’ mental health is the biggest concern for working parents. More than 50% regularly take time off to deal with kids’ mental health struggles.

Tara encouraged everyone to save the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – 988, in their phones. The line is open for calls and text 24 hours per day.

To learn more about Tara and her journey, visit her website.

Club Calendar
Wed., July 24: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Grove Room, Forest Grove School District Offices, 1728 Main St.
Program: Claudia Yakos, Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber Update

Wed., July 31: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Grove Room, Forest Grove School District Offices, 1728 Main St.
Program: Malynda Wenzl, City of Forest Grove Update

Wed., Aug. 7: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way
Program: To Be Announced

Thurs., Aug. 8: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom