If you didn’t make it to this week’s Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here is what you missed.

Concours d’Elegance: Thank you to all club members who helped make the 2019 Concours d’Elegance another great success. The financial numbers are still coming in (and will be for a while), but it sounds like the returns are coming in well to support our community even more this year!

Golf Tournament: The annual club Golf Tournament will be on Wed., Aug. 21, at the Sunset Grove Golf Course. Mark the date, come out and have fun! A sign-up is being distributed at meetings. You can also contact Tim Schauermann tim0215@live.com, to get signed up. NOTE: This will be our weekly meeting, If you do not plan on golfing, please be at Sunset Grove at noon to enjoy lunch.

Satellite Club Meeting: Our next Satellite Club Meeting and Thirsty Thursday is scheduled for this coming Thursday, Aug. 15, 6:30 p.m., at David Hill Winery. All are welcome to attend.

District 5100 International Service Committee: The District 5100 International Service Committee will have their first meeting of the year on Wed., Aug. 21, 4 p.m., at the District 5100 Office in Beaverton. The purpose of the meeting is to broaden the participation in global grants, create more opportunities for collaboration, share project ideas and resources, share success stories and build partnerships so that any club who wants to participate in international service, at whatever the level, will have a way to do that. If you cannot participate in person, a Zoom Meeting connection is available. For more information, contact President Tim Pearson.

 Have A Program Idea?: If you have an idea for a program or would like to present something yourself, let our program chair, Julia Kollar, know. She will also have a program planning board at meetings so you can see what is on deck and what dates may be available.

Next Week’s Duty Roster: Make note of your assignment!
Greeters: Marge Johnston & Richard Kidd
Thought for the Day: Tara Cirlincione
Rototeller Article: Josh Shinoda
Raffle Prize: Ed Becker

Last Week’s Program: Daniel Fischer, Rotary Youth Exchange
Daniel Fischer, the son of Rotarian Melinda Fischer, shared some slides about his experience as our 2017-18 Rotary Youth Exchange outboard student to Turkey. Daniel spent his exchange in Ismir, Turkey with two families. Ismir is the third largest city in Turkey and situated on the Aegean coast. With a population of over 4 million, Ismir has more people living in the city than in all of Oregon. It is the most progressive city in Turkey with many citizens embracing a western lifestyle.

The school he attended in Turkey was a small private school consisting of students in kindergarten through 12th grade. He wasn’t too fond of having “a bunch of kids running around” but enjoyed his time there for the most part. All of the classes, with the exception of his English class, were taught in Turkish, which he found challenging. He was able to receive credits for his time at school in Turkey to go toward his graduation at Forest Grove High School. Half of the students spoke English, so that was a bonus, and many embraced his western ways.

Fifteen exchange students were a part of his cohort and these are now what he considers “friends for life.” They travelled on several trips to places such as Greece where they also encountered some of the tensions between the Greeks and the Turks.

During his exchange, Daniel said he learned that he can be more independent and that “Rotarians are everywhere.” He also learned that you can’t judge a book by its cover and despite the fact that many people thought that Turkey would be a dangerous place, he felt very welcome there. He enjoyed the cuisine and also the fact that Turkish teenagers aren’t as “clicky” as American teenagers.

Club Calendar
Wed., Aug. 14: Weekly Meeting, Noon, Pacific University
Program: Amanda Yakos, My 360 Project
Thurs., Aug. 15: Board of Directors Meeting, 7 a.m., FG Chamber Office
Thurs., Aug. 15: Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m., David Hill Winery
Wed., Aug. 21: Rotary Club Golf Tournament, Sunset Grove Golf Course