If you didn’t make it to our last Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here’s what you missed…

 Online Meetings Continue: We will continue to meet virtually using the Zoom Meeting platform for the foreseeable future. Our meetings will begin at our normal meeting time, Noon on Wednesday. All Rotarians are welcome and participating will count towards meeting attendance. Here are the login details (will be the same for all of our online meetings moving forward)…

Direct Link: https://zoom.us/j/183084884
Meeting ID: 183 084 884

To join by phone, dial 669-900-6833 or 346-248-7799 and enter the meeting ID number when prompted.

Zoom App Downloads
Zoom Cloud Meeting App For Android
Zoom Cloud Meeting App For iPhone
Download Zoom Meeting App For Desktop

 Rotary Foundation Giving: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and not being able to meet in person, our club came through in terms of finishing its Rotary Foundation giving strong for the 2019-20 Rotary Year. The club finished with $9,841 raised towards its annual fund contributions and $3,512 towards its Polio Plus giving. Thank you all for doing your part to help push Rotary’s local and international missions forward!

 Quarterly Dues: By now, club members should have received the July quarterly club dues billing in your mailbox or inbox. At the June Board of Directors meeting, it was agreed to extend pay-as-you-go for meals for all members through the end of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, this dues billing reflects only quarterly club dues, district dues and Rotary International dues.

Please do your part and make sure that invoices are paid in a timely fashion.

We understand that this is a challenging time for all of us and that some of our members are affected more significantly than others. If you are able, please pay your dues invoice as soon as possible so that we can continue to meet our RI and District obligations. If you believe that your situation will make it hard or impossible to make a payment, please contact President Julia Kollar. The club will consider and work with those hardships on a case-by-case basis.

Attendance Makeups: If you participate in a Rotary function outside of our regular club meetings, please send that information club secretary Claudia Yakos. Attendance at an official Rotary function, in-person or online, or a club service project can count as a make-up for a missed meeting.

Thirsty Thursday/Satellite Club Meeting: Thank you to all of our members who came out for our Satellite Club/Thirsty Thursday meeting. It was our first in-person club activity since March at Pat’s Corner at McMenamins Grand Lodge on July 16. Information about our August Satellite Club will be coming soon.

 Steak Fundraiser: Our Steak Sale fundraisers have been such a success for the club this summer that wee will be doing it again! A new sale will start up in August with steaks arriving in time for the Labor Day weekend.

With the first two steak fundraisers, we sold over 2,000 total steaks with a final net proceed of $6,145 to benefit the Youth Exchange Program. To put it in perspective, last year’s Steak Feed netted $5,300 for the club.

A big thank you to Jeff Duyck for coordinating this effort with Columbia Empire Meats and past president Tim Pearson for coordinating the sales.

Golf Tournament Update: Even with social distancing guidelines, we will be able to have our annual golf tournament. The tournament will take place on Wednesday, August 26, at 1 p.m., at Sunset Grove Golf Course. A sign-up sheet will be sent out via email in the coming days to sign up for golfing for both individuals and foursomes. Note that we will not have our regular weekly Zoom meeting that day.

McDougall Garden: The McDougall Garden, near the big flagpole, is looking good. But just like any garden, weeds will pop up. Rotarians are welcomed and encouraged to stop by and pull a weed or two, even if it is just for a few minutes. Many hands make for light work. Once again, thank you to our garden committee and especially Rob Foster, Geoff Faris and Lucas Welliver for their work in this visible community project.

 Rotary Phone Tree: Thank you to everyone who has made our Rotary Phone Tree such a success in caring for our members. Paul Waterstreet shuffled the list and was sent out as part of last week’s Rotary Rewind.

The goal of the phone tree is to reach out and check on every member of the club to make sure they are doing all right and to provide updates on club announcements and activities (Hint: You have a great list to draw from here). The plan is for the tree to be activated every Tuesday. The idea is that for each person to call the next one on the list. The last person on the list should call the team captain to make sure the list is complete. For more information or questions, or if your information on the Phone Tree is not correct, contact Paul Waterstreet.

FGHS Community Food Pantry: Even with schools closed, the need for resources at the Forest Grove High School Community Food Pantry continues. The pantry continues to need the following items to serve the community that is depending on it…

Food: Pasta, Canned Sauces, Tortillas, Rice, Beans, Canned Fruit, Jelly, Peanut Butter, Boxed Milk, Canned Vegetables, Bread, Applesauce, Granola Bars, Fruit Snacks, Macaroni & Cheese, Tuna, Crackers, Maseca and Vegetable Oil.

Hygiene Items: Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Tampons/Pads, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Deodorant, Hair Brushes, Toilet Paper.

Over the summer, the Food Pantry will be open on Mondays and Thursday from 2-4 p.m.

If you can donate any of the above items, please contact Brian Burke, bburke@fgsd.k12.or.us. If you wish to make a cash donation to the pantry, Click Here.

Food Pantry Need: The Food Pantry is looking for a 20-square-foot freezer that could be donated to help with keeping more perishable foods. If you know of one that might be available, please contact wither Brian Burke (contact information above) or Bryce Baker.

Take Out Locally!: There are many local restaurants and coffee shops that are continuing to operate for take-out during the stay-at-home order. Those local businesses are seeing a significant drop in business and could use our support. Could you commit to patronizing one of these eateries at least once per week to help stimulate the local economy? Click Here For A List Of Places That Are Opened For Takeout (updated on May 18), courtesy of Court Carrier and Jeff King at the City of Forest Grove.

Around District 5100
A Cup Of Jo Podcast: As part of her outreach to District 5100 in this socially-distanced time, District Governor Jo Crenshaw had started to produce a podcast. The first edition of “A Cup Of Jo” introduces her to our district along with some of her ideas and goals for the 2020-21 Rotary Year. The podcast also includes audio from RI President Holder Knaack about his presidential theme, Rotary Opens Opportunities. Click Here To Listen To The Podcast

Save The Dates: The annual District 5100 Training Assembly is scheduled for the weekend of April 17 and 18. The exact date, location and delivery method is to be determined. The annual District 5100 Conference is scheduled for April 29 through May 2 at the Vancouver Hilton.

Around The Rotary international WorldNigeria Now Polio Free: The quest to free the world of polio is one step closer. The World Health Organization announced in June that polio is no longer endemic in Nigeria, leaving the devastating disease endemic in only two countries in the world.

“The outstanding commitment and efforts that got Nigeria off the endemic list must continue, to keep Africa polio-free,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan. “We must now support the efforts in Pakistan and Afghanistan so they soon join the polio-free world.”

Nigeria has not reported a case of wild poliovirus since 24 July 2014, and all laboratory data has confirmed that a full 12 months have passed without any new cases. Read More

Supporting The Environment – New Rotary Focus: The Rotary Foundation Trustees and Rotary International Board of Directors have both unanimously approved adding a new area of focus: supporting the environment.

More than $18 million in Foundation global grant funding has been allocated to environment-related projects over the past five years. Creating a distinct area of focus to support the environment will give Rotary members even more ways to bring about positive change in the world and increase our impact.

Supporting the environment becomes Rotary’s seventh area of focus, which are categories of service activities supported by global grants. It joins peacebuilding and conflict prevention; disease prevention and treatment; water, sanitation, and hygiene; maternal and child health; basic education and literacy; and community economic development.

Grant applications for projects will be accepted beginning on July 1, 2021. Gifts and commitments from Rotarians and others will be sought to provide global grant support for the new area of focus.

More information about this new cause will be announced soon.

Last Week’s Program: Debby Garman, Tualatin Valley Beekeepers

Click Here To Watch The Full Program

 In last week’s Zoom meeting, Debby Garman of the Tualatin Valley Beekeepers presented an informative program on honeybees and on bees that are native to the Pacific Northwest. Debby is the current president of the Tualatin Valley Beekeepers and has been an amateur beekeeper for the last 10 years (after a swarm of bees decided to call her yard home in the summer of 2010).

Honeybees are not native to North America. Most were brought to the continent from Europe, Africa and Asia and have been here for several centuries. In the United States and Canada, most of the honeybees came from Europe and as a group are called European honeybees. There are over 800 species of native bees that exist in the state of Oregon. Most native bees are solitary bees that don’t live in large groups.

All bees use pollen and nectar for their food. In the process of obtaining the nectar and pollen, they pollinate plants and trees. The nectar provides bees with carbohydrates (in the form of simple sugar) while the pollen provides amino acids, fats, vitamins and minerals. Honeybees are the only type of bee that can store food.

Three types of honeybees: Workers (females), several thousand per hive that live from several weeks to several months. Queen bee – one per hive, lives from 1-5 years, can lay over 1,000 eggs per day. Drones (male) – Several hundred per hive and live for several weeks to months. Workers: guards, foragers.

Honey is made from nectar. It is a concentrated form of simple sugar and water. In most cases it is less than 18 percent water.

All flowers and 75 percent of plants require pollination by bees in order to survive. Ninety percent of commercial crops require pollination. Thirty percent of our food supply, including fruits, nuts and vegetables, require pollination.

There are summer honeybees and winter honeybees. The summer bees live about six weeks while the winter bees can live up to six months. Summer bees are the ones that pollinate and make the honey.

Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted
Wed., July 29: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: Alita Ostapkovich, Washington Country Emergency Services, Reopening From COVID-19
Wed., Aug. 5: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Program: To Be Determined