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

This Week’s Meeting: We hope you will join us on Wednesday at noon for our weekly meeting in the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University. This week we will be joined by Rick Kemmer of Strong Harvest International and we are also scheduled to have our first Youth Citizen of the Month presentation for the 2024-25 academic year.

Upcoming Meetings: The remainder of our meetings in the months of October and November will be held in the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University. As per our usual Thanksgiving week tradition, we will not hold a meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

Welcome To Our Newest Member, Blair Van Dyke!: It was our pleasure to induct Blair Van Dyke as the latest member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove. Blair was inducted during our club’s Satellite Club meeting on Thursday, Oct. 17.

Blair is a resident of Forest Grove who moved to town two years ago with her husband and fellow Rotarian, Andrew Van Dyke. She grew up in Portland and always has appreciated spending time volunteering in her community. Blair is a registered nurse who works in labor and delivery and is currently studying to earn her doctorate in nursing practice with a focus in midwifery. Prior to becoming a nurse, she volunteered at a local women’s day shelter and provided undomiciled women with opportunities to receive first aid. 

Since becoming a nurse, Blair has spent time improving health outcomes for underserved and marginalized individuals, particularly those who are pregnant and experiencing substance use disorders. She has also helped improve health outcomes within the bariatric obstetric community by initiating a subcommittee at Oregon Health & Science University, which identifies barriers to care for folks of larger size. 

Blair first heard about Rotary three years ago and became very curious when chatting with then boyfriend, Andrew. She attended several meetings and has even volunteered at the car show the past three years. Being new to the community, she was shy and wanted to feel things out before she committed to joining Rotary, but felt so welcomed she decided to take the leap! 

Blair is looking forward to working together for the betterment of our community.

Habitat For Humanity Service Project: Thank you to the five people who came out for the West Tuality Habitat for Humanity service project on Saturday, Oct. 12: Rus & Janet Peters, Howard Sullivan, Greg Nemchick, Fareeha Nayebare and Laurin Von Orelli. The quintet did a painting project on a home in Cornelius as part of Habitat’s home repair program.

McDougall Garden Fall Cleanup Service Project: Our Garden Committee will hold its fall garden cleanup on Saturday, Oct. 26, 9 a.m., at the garden located by the big flagpole in Forest Grove, between 19th and Pacific avenues. Please bring rakes and gloves and dress for the weather. Many hands will make quick work, so please plan on attending. For more information, contact Geoff Faris.

Wreath Sales – Order Yours Now!: Help support our Hope For The Holidays service project with our annual holiday wreath sale! You can order 20-inch wreaths for $30 and 28-inch wreaths for $40. All wreaths are made locally by Rotarian Melinda Fischer.

All proceeds from the wreath sale will benefit our Hope For The Holidays service project, which provides holiday meals to families experiencing food insecurity in partnership with Forest Grove High School’s Food Pantry.

Orders will be accepted through Wednesday, Nov. 6 with wreaths available for delivery on Friday, Nov. 29. Rotarians can turn orders into Janet Peters by phone/text or email.

Shoot For The Moon: The Rotary Club of Forest Grove was well represented at the District 5100 Shoot For The Moon gala on Saturday, Oct. 19, at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. Seventeen Rotarians and guests from our club took part in the evening, which was a celebration of giving to The Rotary Foundation and featured Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick.

The campaign accomplished its goal of over $1.8 million in new funds raised for The Rotary Foundation, a major goal of our fellow Rotarian and district governor Jeannine Murrell. Thank you so much to our Rotarians that aided this effort and took part in a great evening.

Pickleball Evenings – Presented By Rotary: The Rotary Club of Forest Grove is helping to sponsor indoor pickleball evenings at the Forest Grove Armory, 2950 Taylor Way. Coordinated by Rotarian Steven Barnard, the evenings start on Monday, Oct. 14, and 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.

In Memoriam – Richard Kidd: It is with great sadness that we share the news that Rotarian Richard Kidd passed away on Sunday, Oct. 6, after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Richard was a Rotarian for as long as he and his wife, Christine, lived in Forest Grove. Originally a member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove, he was a charter member of the Forest Grove Daybreak Rotary Club when it was chartered in 1991. He returned to our club as a member of 2003.

Richard’s record for service in our community is unsurpassed. He spent quarter-century in city government as a Planning Commission member, a city councilor and a four-term mayor of the City of Forest Grove. He was an active member of the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce for much of that time. At the time of his death, he was a member of the chamber’s executive board and worked as a chamber ambassador.

Richard volunteered West Tuality Habitat for Humanity for 15 years and spent five years as the organization’s construction manager. He was board chair in 2006 and founded the organization’s home repair program. Habitat’s recently completed project at the end of 22nd Place was named Kidd’s Corner in his honor.

A veteran of the United States Army, Richard retired with the rank of colonel. He has received many honors for his service above self. He was a two-time Chamber Citizen of the Year and received the Chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award last spring.

Our hearts are with Richard’s wife, Christine, and his whole family. He was a valued member of our Rotary family and our Forest Grove community and he will be sorely missed.

A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2 p.m., at the Forest Grove Senior & Community Center. Full military honors will be rendered at Fort Stevens National Cemetery on Friday, Nov. 8.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to West Tuality Habitat for Humanity.

In addition to his full obituary, remembrances of Richard’s life and legacy can be found on the City of Forest Grove website, the West Tuality Habitat for Humanity website and in the Forest Grove News-Times.

Hurricane Helene & Milton Relief Efforts: If you are interested in supporting relief efforts for those affected by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, you can support relief efforts by direct donation to Rotary Zones 33 and 34.  Zones 33 and 34 include the Southeast coast (Florida up to Delaware) and the Caribbean.

Message from Zones 33 & 34 Rotary Director Patrick Eakes:
I appreciate your concern and prayers as communities across zones 33 and 34 try to survive the next few days before starting the long recovery following Hurricane Helene.
 
We have established a fund where those who would like to assist recovery efforts by making a donation can do so via online payment, mailed check, or wire transfer. Information to make a donation is at https://www.rizones33-34.org/disaster-relief/. Our zones’ organization is a 501(c)(3), so donations are generally tax-deductible. Donors should check with their tax advisors. 
 
We are collecting these funds at a zone level. I will ask district leaders, in cooperation with club leaders, in the most affected areas to submit requests for funding to a group of seasoned leaders (many with significant disaster relief experience) who I will appoint. This group will make recommendations to me to approve grants that will support the efforts of volunteers by providing equipment, tools, storage, mobile storage, etc. Our hope is that our donations can amplify the efforts of volunteers, which seems like a solid Rotary type of approach. When we can, we will leverage district grants and RI disaster relief grants (if/when they become funded again) to further maximize our impact.

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.

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 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. The next local blood drive will be held on Friday, Dec. 6 at the Forest Grove City Library. To sign up to give and set an appointment, please visit the Bloodworks Northwest website.

Last Week’s Program: Miles Glowacki, Forest Grove Forward
At last week’s meeting, we were joined by Miles Glowacki, the community development coordinator for the City of Forest Grove, who gave us an overview of the Forest Grove Forward 2040 community vision planning process.

Forest Grove Forward is designed to get the city’s citizens to dream big about what they want Forest Grove to look like over the next 20 years. The visioning is designed to ask people what they like about Forest Grove, what they think will make Forest Grove better and what people do not want. It is designed to envision the overall future of Forest Grove over that time and translating those community aspirations into a clear vision that will guide the city’s strategic planning effort and decision-making.

The community vision statement will include a shared vision statement, a set of community values that describe what is important to people in Forest Grove and an action plan with specific goals and supporting actions towards achieving those goals.

The goals of Forest Grove Forward include developing community vision & values, engaging broader community to identify current, emerging and projected trends; outlining a future vision for Forest Grove through community engagement, outline an implementation structure, report progress and ensure that the vision remains a living document.

Glowacki said that there will be multiple opportunities for community involvement in the process. An online survey was available for two months and recently closed on Oct. 18. Citizens will be invited to take part in vision lab focus groups, and will have the opportunity to see the draft vision document and provide feedback.

To learn more about the visioning, visit bit.ly/ForestGroveForward.

Club Calendar
Wed., Oct. 23: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Strong Harvest International

Sat., Oct. 26: McDougall Garden Clean-Up Project, 9 a.m.
McDougall Garden, Between Pacific & 19th Avenues near big flagpole

Wed., Oct. 30: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: TBD

Wed., Nov. 6: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Tim Graham & Steven Barnard, CALC Career & Technical Education Program

Wed., Nov. 13: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: TBD