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 that you will be able to join us on Wednesday at noon in the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University. This week, David Noyes of the Hillsboro Rotary Club will join us for a presentation on ShelterBox.

Upcoming Meetings: Our Wednesday meetings in November will be held at Pacific University. Our meetings on Dec. 3 and Dec. 10 will be held at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ. There will not be Wednesday meetings on Nov. 26, Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.

Lunch Procedures Our For Meetings At Pacific: Pacific University’s food service provider, Bon Appetit, has updated the way lunches are purchased for our meetings this Rotary year. All members and guests will need to present a voucher, purchased from our treasurer, to enter the dining commons.

• If you are billed for lunch, you will still need to check in to receive your voucher.
• All guests will also need a voucher to enter the commons.
• The cost for lunch remains at $10.

Additionally, we are encouraging members to purchase a month’s worth of lunch vouchers at a time for our weekly meetings. This small change will make check-in smoother and help lighten the load on our treasurer. If you would like to prepay for your lunches, please see treasurer Sharon Olmstead.

Wreath Sales – Benefitting Family Resource Center: It’s wreath sale time again! Our club is again selling wreaths, made locally by fellow Rotarian Melinda Fischer. Orders are due this Wednesday, Nov. 5.

This year’s wreath sales will benefit the Forest Grove School District’s Family Resource Center at Cornelius Elementary School. Members of our club were made aware of the center and the support that the center provides and the board made the decision this year to put financial support towards the center instead of our annual Hope For The Holidays food distribution project.

The Family Resource Center supports the growing number of homeless youth and families in our community. The center provides necessities like underwear, socks, hats and gloves, hygiene products, shoes and more. The center also has an ADA-accessible shower and washer and dryer that youth and families can utilize.

A 20-inch wreath is available for $35 and a 28-inch wreath is available for $45. All wreaths come with a decorative bow. Orders are due by Wednesday, Nov. 5, with local deliveries made by Rotarians on Saturday, Nov. 29.

Our goal is to sell 200 wreaths, which would provide $3,000 to donate to the Family Resource Center. The club is also in the process of applying for a $2,500 District 5100 matching grant to support the cause.

To order wreaths, please contact Janet Peters at 503-679-6479 (phone or text) or by email, rjlc4peters@msn.com.

Foundation Board Creates Endowment Fund: At its last meeting, the board of the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove voted to use a portion of the foundation’s assets to create an endowment fund. The creation of the foundation endowment is part of a three-year process to create and enact a financial reserve policy for the foundation.

Over the last three years, the board identified that the foundation held cash above and beyond the annual distributions (including the Rainy Day Fund used to self-insure the Concours d’Elegance against cancellation). Placing these funds in an endowment will allow that surplus to grow, creating more financial stability for both the club and the foundation.

The long-term goal is to make annual contributions to the endowment fund. Continual funding will also help the foundation tap a source of perpetual funds to ensure the club’s ability to support the many causes of the foundation, including scholarships, youth programs, and international projects.

The endowment will also allow for greater ability for people to contribute to the foundation, including making stock contributions and bequests.

Bassum Tarazi of Edward Jones, who helped the club set up the endowment, will make a short presentation and be available to answer questions at our meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 12. In the meantime, please contact President Andrea Stewart or Treasurer Sharon Olmstead with any questions.

The Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove is the 501(c)3 charitable giving arm of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove.

Road Cleanup Service Project – Nov. 8: Our next semi-annual road cleanup service project is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 8. We will begin at 8:30 a.m. and will meet at the Oregon Department of Forestry offices at 801 Gales Creek Road. The project will last between 1 to 2 hours, depending on the number of volunteers.

We are grateful to Melinda Fischer and Rus Peters for stepping up to take over leadership on this project from Paul Waterstreet. Thank you to Melinda and Rus for taking this project on and thank you again to Paul for his longtime leadership.

A standing project for nearly 30 years through the Washington County Adopt-A-Road program, our club cleans up along Gales Creek Road between Thatcher Road and Forest Gale Drive, and Thatcher Road between Gales Creek Road and David Hill Road. This is one of the ways that we contribute to the beauty of our community through service.

Membership Committee: Bruce Cummings made a short presentation about the Membership Committee’s first regular meeting at the end of October. The committee talked about how to not only attract new members to the club, but to find ways to retain current members. The committee will be looking to develop a mentorship program what will pair new members with longtime members.

The committee also expressed concern about the club’s social media channels and whether or not the content did a good job of keeping club members informed or did a good job in drawing more non-Rotarians in to participate in club projects and events.

The Membership Committee will meet the second and fourth Tuesday at noon in the conference room at the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce. For more information, or to get involved, please contact Evelyn Orr or Bruce Cummings.

Community Service Update: Amanda Hartmann, our club’s new community service chair, made a short presentation about work to try and gauge the best way for our club to move forward with service projects. As part of her discovery process, Amanda has learned that coordinating service project efforts is a new concept to the club post-COVID. She would like to learn more about why we do certain projects and how we can best leverage projects moving forward.

Community service is a passion for Amanda and her “why” for joining Rotary. She wants to use her involvement to help make the community better and to make it a better place for her family.

At future meetings, we will have 10-minute standing conversations to discuss our community service outreaches. These conversations are designed to review current projects, define what we want the club’s direction to be, and to collaborate strategically and determine our future direction.

Pints For Polio: We had a great turnout for our first Pints For Polio event at The Growler Garage on Thursday, Oct. 23, in observance of World Polio Day. Between 15% of proceeds donated by The Growler Garage that evening and $190 from raffle baskets, our club and the Forest Grove Daybreak Rotary Club raised $478 from the event. Rotarian Jill Verboort, co-owner of The Growler Garage, has expressed a desire to try and make this an annual event to support Rotary International’s PolioPlus fund.

Youth Exchange Drivers For Weekly Meetings Needed: One of the requirements of the Youth Exchange program is that both inbound and outbound students attend our Rotary meetings. The Youth Exchange Committee is still in need of someone who can pick up Lara and our outbound student, Sophie, from Forest Grove High School weekly at 11:30 a.m., and return them to the school after. While a consistent driver for the semester would be ideal, the committee is open to having people sign up for one-month shifts at a time.

If you are interested in helping out, please contact our Youth Exchange Officer, Sarah Barbour. NOTE: To assist with the transport of Youth Exchange students, you must complete the District 5100 Youth Protection Training and undergone a background check with the district.

Steaks Available For Purchase: Our club still has packages of steak left over from the Steak Feed available for purchase. Packs of two choice New York steaks are available for $20 each. If you are interested, please contact Janet Peters.

Concours d’Elegance News
Concours Committee Meetings: Club members are invited to take part in the monthly online meeting of the Concours meeting, which takes place on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. The next scheduled meeting will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The link to the online meeting is available in the Rototeller newsletter sent to club members.

Concours Committee Update: At last week’s meeting, Concours Chair Bruce Cummings gave a brief update on planning for the 2026 show. He noted that the themes for the upcoming show will be announced in November and efforts in advertising the show will begin.

Bruce and the committee have a goal to have the planning and execution of the car show better connected to our club, which has hosted and been the beneficiary of the Concours since 1975. Additionally, the Concours Committee and the club’s board have agreed to bring David Tauber back on board to help produce the 2026 edition of the show.

If you have questions about the Concours or want more information on how you can be better involved, please attend the next Concours Committee meeting or contact any of the Rotarians on the committee, including Bruce Cummings, Janet Peters, Geoff Johnston, Jordan Miller, Amy Tracewell, Mackenzie Carey and Tom Raabe.

Around District 5100
Local, International Service Around District 5100 In November: From building cooking stoves in Central America to providing essentials and laundry service in Milwaukie, Rotarians in Rotary District 5100 are making a difference for people around the world this November.

Members of three District 5100 clubs are opening the month in Guatemala, building and maintaining safe stoves for cooking in partnership with StoveTeam International. Led by the Rotary Club of White Salmon-Bingen, Rotarians from the Portland New Generations and West Salem clubs have also joined the cause, which helps replace open-fire cooking stoves and reduces health risks for women and children.

Meanwhile, the Rotary Club of Milwaukie continues its partnership with LoveOne Milwaukie to help distribute essentials to local residents in need and provide laundry services for those who normally do not have access to laundry facilities. The effort is part of a longtime partnership between the club and LoveOne.

The Vancouver Rotary Club will pay tribute to the area’s veterans with a special lunch event on Monday, Nov. 10. The Rotary Club of Lake Oswego has several projects planned for November, including two dictionary distribution projects and work with Lake Oswego’s Meals on Wheels program.

Oct. 30 to Nov. 9 | White Salmon-Bingen, Portland New Generations & West Salem Rotary Clubs
Guatemala Woodstove International Service Project

Led by the Rotary Club of White Salmon-Bingen, six District 5100 Rotarians have traveled to Guatemala as part of multi-club effort to improve conditions for Indigenous families that use open-fire cooking, which place women and children at risk for respiratory disease and burns, In partnership with StoveTeam International, 70 Justa stoves have been built as part of this project, and four more stoves will be constructed on this trip with the help of the visiting Rotarians. This project is funded in part by a $5,000 District 5100 grant.

Location: Nuevo Palmar & Nuevo San Carlos, Retalhuleu, Guatemala

Wed., Nov. 5 & Fri., Nov. 14 | Rotary Club of Lake Oswego
Dictionary Project

As part of its longstanding partnership with the Dictionary Project, members of the Rotary Club of Lake Oswego will give dictionaries to third-grade students at two local schools. The first event will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 12:30 p.m., for students at the Palisades World Language Immersion School. The second event will be for students at Westridge Elementary School on Friday, Nov. 14, at 2 p.m. The Rotary Club of Lake Oswego has provided 7,800 dictionaries to local students since first partnering with the Dictionary Project in 2007.

Location: Nov. 5: Palisades World Language Immersion Schools, 1500 Greentree Ave., Lake Oswego, OR 97034. Nov. 14: Westside Elementary School, 3400 Royce Way, Lake Oswego, OR 97034

Mon., Nov. 10 | Noon | Vancouver Rotary
Veteran’s Day Luncheon

Vancouver Rotary will honor local veterans with a special luncheon during the club’s weekly meeting on Monday, Nov. 10. Patrick Locke, a three-time Purple Heart recipient, veteran of the Vietnam War and station chief of Vancouver’s 40 et 8 military honor society, will be the featured speaker. An honor guard from the Veterans of Foreign Wars will present the colors while Rey Reynolds will perform The Star-Spangled Banner and God Bless the USA. Lunch is provided for all veterans in attendance. Other members of the public are welcome to attend with a lunch cost of $26.

Location: AC Marriott, 333 W. Columbia Way, Vancouver, WA 98660

Fri., Nov. 14 | 11 a.m. | Rotary Club of Lake Oswego
Meals On Wheels Project

Members of the Rotary Club of Lake Oswego will help deliver meals with the city’s Meals On Wheels program. The national program helps provide meals to seniors facing food insecurity.

Location: Lake Oswego Adult Community Center, 505 G Ave., Lake Oswego, OR 97034

Wed., Nov. 19 | 5:45 p.m. | Rotary Club of Milwaukie
LoveOne

The Rotary Club of Milwaukie and LoveOne Milwaukie join forces again for their Milwaukie South service event. LoveOne Milwaukie provides monthly laundry service, food, toiletries and social services to local residents. Club members will volunteer to hand out food, toiletries, and other supplies, and monitor and manage laundry services. This outreach is partially funded by a $2,500 District 5100 Matching Grant.

Location: QED Laundry, 18020 SE McLaughlin Blvd, Milwaukie, OR 97267

Sun., Nov. 23 | 9 a.m. | Rotary Club of Milwaukie
Farmers Market Wreath Sale

The Rotary Club of Milwaukie Foundation will be selling wreaths at a special Thanksgiving edition of the Milwaukie Farmers Market from 9 a.m. to noon. A 22-inch wreath runs $35 and a 34-inch wreath costs $55. Proceeds from the sales benefit the Rotary Club of Milwaukie’s local community service partners, including LoveOne Milwaukie, North Clackamas School District’s “Battle of the Books,” Feed the Hungry, Hillside Family Holiday Event, and more.

Location: Milwaukie Farmers Market, 10723 SE Main St., Milwaukie, OR 97222

Susanne’s Storybook: Click Here to read the latest edition of Susanne’s Storybook, the Rotary District 5100 newsletter.

Last Week’s Program: Erika Diaz Tofaeono & Elena Aguilar, FGSD Family Resource Center
At last week’s meeting, we received a short presentation from Erika Diaz Tofaeono and Erica Aguilar on the Forest Grove School District’s Family Resource Center, which will be beneficiary of our Hope For The Holidays funds this year.

Tofaeono is the district’s family resource coordinator. This is her first year with FGSD but brings over 13 years of experience from her work as family outreach liaison with the Hillsboro School District. Aguilar is an early learning resource specialist at Cornelius Elementary School, where the resource center is located, and has worked in the district for the past eight years.

While the Family Resource Center is located at Cornelius Elementary, it serves families from the entire district. The center provides for basic essentials for families, including a clothing closet, toiletries, washer and dryer services, a shower, and community resource flyers and information. The center is also providing food boxes to families who are afraid to leave their homes.

Funding for the Family Resource Center has been spent for the 2025-26 academic year, but the need is growing, especially with the potential of SNAP benefits being suspended during the government shutdown.

The Family Resource Center is always in need of volunteers to assist with organizing and sorting items. No background check is necessary, as you will not be working directly with students. In the last two weeks, Rotarians Janet Peters and Jeff Hoyt have volunteered in the center.

For more information or to find out about volunteering, contact Tofaeono at 503-359-2500, extension 5530, or ediaztofaeono@fgsd.k12.or.us.

The Family Resource Center is currently conducting a canned food drive to help meet the rising need. Rotarians are asked to bring one or two canned food items to next week’s meeting to help the cause. If you cannot attend the meeting, you can also drop items at Sharon Olmstead’s Edward Jones office at 2031 Hawthorne St., Suite A, Forest Grove.

Club Calendar
Wed., Nov. 5: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: David Noyes, Shelterbox

Wed., Nov. 5: Wreath Orders Due To Janet Peters

Sat., Nov. 8: Road Cleanup Service Project, 8:30 a.m.
Oregon Department of Forestry, 801 Gales Creek Road, Forest Grove

Tues., Nov. 11: Membership Committee Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove

Tues., Nov. 11: Concours Committee Meeting, 7 p.m.
via Zoom

Wed., Nov. 12: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: PDG Larry Hatch, PolioPlus

Thurs., Nov. 13: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Thurs., Nov. 20: Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Third Thursday Social Meeting/Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove
There will be no Wednesday meeting on Nov. 19