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

No Meeting This Week: In observance of Independence Day, we will not have a weekly meeting on Wednesday, July 3. Our next meeting will take place on Wednesday, July 10, in the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University. Our program that day will be Chris Harrison of LifeWorks NW.

Upcoming Meetings: Our next three weekly Wednesday meetings, July 17, July 23 and July 31, will take place in the Grove Room at the Forest Grove School District offices, 1728 Main Street.

Rototeller On Hiatus: With no meeting this week, the staff of the Rototeller will also take a week off to recharge and let his typing fingers rest. Our next edition of the Rototeller will be published on the weekend on July 13 and 14.

Hillsboro Rotary Fourth of July Parade: It is an annual tradition! Members are invited to help promote the Concours d’Elegance at the Hillsboro Rotary Fourth of July Parade. Participants should plan on being at the staging areas by no later than 8 a.m. Our club will be in staging area 2. Click Here To View Staging Area & Route Map. The parade begins at 10 a.m., beginning ending at 3rd Avenue and NE Grant St. If you are interested in marching with our club, put your name on the sign-up sheet at next week’s meeting or email Claire Agner.

Happy Rotary New Year!: July 1 is the start of a new Rotary year. So, let us be the first to wish you a Happy New Year! We hope that you will discover the Magic of Rotary as we continue our mission to provide great service to our community.

Here are your 2024-25 Rotary Club of Forest Grove officers & board:

President: Lucas Welliver
President-Elect: Andrea Stewart
President-Elect Nominee: Hector Mendez-Colberg
Past President: Amy Tracewell
Secretary: Claire Agner
Treasurer: Sharon Olmstead
Fundraising Treasurers: Jim Crisp & Tom Raabe
TRF Chair: Michael Yakos

Board of Directors: Michael Cook, Bruce Cummings, Margie Davidson, Melinda Fischer, Hector Mendez-Colberg, Pamelajean Myers, Evelyn Orr, Dave Parker, Andrew Van Dyke, Parri Van Dyke

Congratulations District Governor Jeannine!: July 1 also means that our own Jeannine Murrell begins her term as the 2024-25 District 5100 Governor! We are proud of her work so far with the district and we know that she will have a great year.

Jeannine is the fourth member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove to serve as district governor, joining William W. McCready (1959-60), Ray Miller (1969-70) and George Horner (1979-80), and the fifth Rotarian from a Forest Grove club to serve as district governor (Larry Hatch from the Forest Grove Daybreak Rotary Club was district governor in 2018-19).

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.

Rotary Recognized By Parks & Recreation Commission: At the June 19 meeting of the City of Forest Grove’s Parks & Recreation Commission, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove and the Forest Grove Daybreak Rotary Club were presented with Community Service Awards in recognition of the work by both clubs to support youth activities and the work of the commission. We are proud to be a key member of our community and support the area’s youth!

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.

Laurin has a very musical background and enjoys playing guitar. The Youth Exchange Committee would like to find a guitar that he can borrow while he is on his year in Forest Grove. If you know of someone with an instrument to borrow, please contact Melinda Fischer.

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 Melinda.

Youth Citizen Of The Month: At last week’s meeting, we were honored to recognize Ailani Aparicio as our June Youth Citizen of the Month! Ailani is a student at CALC, joining the program mid-year and hit the ground running to meet her graduation requirements. We will have a full write-up on Ailani’s accomplishments on the club website soon.

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. The display in June and July will highlight the Concours while the 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.

Concours News
2024 Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance, presented by the Rotary Club of Forest Grove
Sunday, July 21 on Pacific University’s Forest Grove Campus

Concours Website | Enter A Car | 2024 Concours Weekend Schedule

Concours Committee Meetings: 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.com or Geoff Johnston at 503-939-7868 or gamsma@comcast.net.

The committee is now meeting weekly on Tuesdays, 7 p.m., via Zoom.

Registration Update: As of June 26, approximately 250 cars have registered for the Concours d’Elegance. The entry deadline has been extended and cars of suitable quality will continue to be considered. Click Here To Register.

Volunteer Assignments: Like the Steak Feed, the Concours D’Elegance is an “all hands on deck” event, requiring all members to volunteer and make this event as successful as possible. If you are unsure of your volunteer assignment, please contact Tom Raabe or the Concours volunteer coordinator, Janet Peters, 503-679-6479 or rjlc4peters@msn.com.

Sponsorships: Sponsorships go a long way to increasing the profit of the Concours, which goes to fund our scholarship program and our club’s other outreach activities. To learn more about available sponsorships, Click Here to contact Tim Pearson at 503-998-8616 or timpearsonpc@gmail.com.

Concours 50th Anniversary Kickoff Concert: For the last two years, Concours weekend has kicked off with a dinner and concert event. This year, this kickoff event will be bigger and better than ever as McMenamins presents the Concours d’Elegance 50th Anniversary Kickoff Concert at McMenamins Grand Lodge.

This year’s event takes place on Friday, July 19. Doors open at 4 p.m. and an evening of music begins at 5 p.m., featuring music by Scott Pemberton O Theory, Hillstomp, the Forest Grove Outlaws and Trask River Redemption. McMenamins will be serving food and its line of locally-produced beers, wines and spirits. This will be a tremendous opportunity to promote Sunday’s show and to celebrate 50 years of a hallmark community events.

Once expenses have been met, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove will receive proceeds from ticket sales.

Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door on the day of the event. Click Here to purchase tickets…and send the link to your friends!

Future Collectors – Youth Judging Program: As part of the 50th Concours d’Elegance, the committee is offering a program for high school students to learn the ins and outs of judging classic cars. The Future Collectors program is sponsored by Sports Car Market, allowing students to learn the craft of judging and to select a car to receive the Future Collectors Trophy at this year’s show.

In addition to admission to the show and the opportunity to judge their Future Collector class, participants will also receive two tickets to the Concours, a polo shirt and a hat.

Interested youth can learn more and fill out a registration form on the Future Collectors Program page on the Concours Website.

Polo Shirts: We still have a number of our club Concours polo shirts available for new members or club members who did not get one last year. The blue shirts have the Concours logo on the front and the club logo on the sleeve and are the work shirts we wear during the event. Shirts are $30 each. If you would like a shirt, please contact Tim Pearson.

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 NW Blood Drives: In an effort to build blood supplies in the Pacific Northwest, Bloodworks NW is sponsoring a number of blood drives in 2024 at the Forest Grove City Library. Upcoming blood rives 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 NW website.

Around District 5100
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 via email, nancyjeanboyle@gmail.com. 

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

Last Week’s Program: Community Alternative Learning Center
Last week’s Rotary meeting was held at the Forest Grove School District’s Community Alternative Learning Center (CALC). Tim Graham, principal, and Steven Barnard, social studies teacher (and both Rotarians), gave the club an overview of the school and then gave club members of tour of the facility.

The goal is CALC is to provide students a chance to further their education when the typical high school setting does not work for a student. Graham and Barnard said that CALC is not an alterative school in the traditional sense, where troubled students come for a chance to setting, but rather to provide an alternative learning environment for all students.

Last year, 193 students were enrolled at CALC. In June, CALC held a graduation for 38 students. It marked the first time that the program held a commencement ceremony independent of the high school.

While CALC provides education in the same basic subjects that the high school provides, it also specializes in provide in career and technical education (CTE). Students in CALC last year participated in over 80 field trips that introduced them to a number of different career fields.

Currently CALC is housed in the Forest Grove School District’s Taylor Way annex. The facility also serves as the district’s main warehouse and the bus barn. Physical education classes are held at the nearby National Guard Armory thanks to a working agreement with CALC and the Oregon National Guard.

Because of the growth of students, CALC is quickly reaching capacity in its current facility. Tim and Steven hope that, in the next bond cycle, money can be made available for CALC to move into its own facility.

Club Calendar
Tues., July 2: Concours Meeting, 7 p.m.
via Zoom

Wed., July 3: No Meeting – Happy Independence Day!

Thurs., July 4: Hillsboro Rotary July 4 Parade
Meet at 8 a.m., Parade Begins at 10 a.m.

Tues., July 9: Concours Meeting, 7 p.m.
via Zoom

Wed., July 10: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Chris Harrison, LifeWorks NW

Thurs., July 11: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Tues., July 16: Concours Meeting, 7 p.m.
via Zoom

Wed., July 17: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Grove Room, Forest Grove School District Offices, 1728 Main St.
Program: Tara Rolstad, Mental Health

Sun., July 21: Concours d’Elegance
Pacific University Campus