Assistant governor Tom Raabe presents the Rotary Citation and a PolioPlus fundraising recognition certificate to past president Bryce Baker. The two awards honor our club’s efforts during the 2021-22 Rotary year.

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

Mobility Assistance: If you have mobility issues and would like assistance on the Pacific University campus to get to and from parking areas to our meeting location, please contact Amy Tracewell at 541-844-9467 or amy.tracewell@pacificu.edu at least one day before our scheduled meeting. She will work to make sure you can make it to the University Center. Please give one day’s notice for assistance.

Hope For The Holidays: We are looking forward to continuing our Hope for the Holidays service project this December with a new format. Instead of offering shopping sprees to needy families, we will be partnering with the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry to provide food boxes for a holiday meal. Our distribution event is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 12, 4-5:30 p.m., at the Food Pantry building on the Forest Grove High School campus.

There is a need for committee members to help with the execution of the event. There be work prior to the event shopping for food and packing the boxes and preparing them for distribution. For those shopping, funding is provided by the club through our foundation and through a District 5100 Matching Grant. For more information and to get involved, please contact President Janet or Parri Van Dyke.

Holiday Pledge Cards: Happy Holidays! November is here and along with that comes our annual pledge drive.  President Janet has chosen Hope for the Holidays, Gardens of Hope (our international project), The Rotary Foundation and our Scholarship Fund as the focus for this year.  As you plan your end of the year giving, we hope that you will consider one of these options. A pledge card is available by Clicking Here.

Hope for the Holidays will be a bit different this year. We have partnered with the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry and will be providing 80-90 holiday food boxes for the families that they serve weekly. We have received a $2,500 grant from the district and have matching funds earmarked from our very successful Concours for this project, but your donation would be greatly appreciated.

Gardens of Hope: Our International project in Aguascalientes, Mexico is in its third year. Mike and Claudia Yakos provided an overview of the project on Sept. 28. It is available to view on our YouTube channel. This project has helped impoverished families learn to prepare the soil, provided kits for irrigation and seed and grow their own organic food. There are technical experts who help them get started and see success in this project. The kits and technical support cost about $290 per family for startup.

The produce that they are growing helps provide a more balanced diet for these families.  They started with 40 families in 2021, added a Home for Girls with 8 gardens (this provided fresh produce for the girls and additional produce that was sold to restaurants with the proceeds going to educational and vocational programs for the girls) and an additional 20 more families and 40 new gardens during 2022.   The goal for 2023 is 100 new families and a global grant. Please consider this project in your giving.

Dollars for Scholars (Scholarship Committee): Our club has been providing scholarships to local high school seniors for many years,  having awarded over $225,000 since recordkeeping began in 2013. The funds for scholarships primarily come from the Concours d’Elegance, but if education is important to you, then this is a great cause to donate to!

Thank you for considering donating to Rotary and our projects!

Wreath Sales – Thank You!: Thank you to everyone who either purchased wreaths or sold wreaths to friends during our annual wreath fundraiser. Orders are now closed. Wreaths will be delivered on Friday, Nov. 25 and Saturday, Nov. 26. Contact President Janet with any questions.

New Treasurer: Lucas Welliver will be stepping aside as club treasurer at the end of December as he transitions to program chair as part of the officer’s rotation. We are happy that Sharon Olmstead has agreed to step into that role beginning in January. Thank you, Sharon, for your continued service to the club!

Rotary Citation: Once again, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove was recognized with the Rotary Citation and also received a certificate recognizing the club for meeting its fundraising goals for the 2021-22 Rotary year. Assistant governor Tom Raabe presented past president Bryce Baker with certificates honoring both accomplishments. Congratulations to Bryce and our club for reaching both milestones.

Concours Update: Last July was our first Concours d’Elegance in three years and it could not have been better. The final net proceeds from the 2022 show was a record of $75,608! This includes gate receipts, advertising receipts and proceeds from the Friday night concert event. The funds will go a long way towards funding our Scholarship Program and our club’s other community outreach projects.

Thank you to all of our club members for helping make the Concours last not only in 2022 but every year! A special thank you to last year’s Concours Committee, which was chaired by Ryan Garcia, for their exceptional work, and to Tim Pearson for his work in securing $38,000 of advertising proceeds and along with $5,000 for a VIP Tent which was secured for the event.

The planning for the 2023 Concours is well underway. To find out more about how you can be involved, please contact one of our four co-chairs for the show: Tom Raabe, Geoff Johnston, Alisa Johnston and Allen Stephens.

Concours Concert Event – Help Wanted: The Concours Committee has given the green light to go ahead with another concert event linked to the annual show. The concert is tentatively scheduled for Friday, July 14 with the Concours taking place on Sunday, July 16. If you are interested in helping plan and execute the concert event, please contact Court Carrier.

Steak Feed: In addition to our proceeds from the Concours, our annual Steak Feed brought in a net profit of $7,457! Thank you again to all of our club members for their work in making this a great community event and to Geoff Faris for his longtime service as the chair.

Caterers For Future Meetings: President Janet is looking for one to two more members to serve with herself, Howard Sullivan and Court Carrier in identifying local caterers that could serve the club at future meetings. We will have a number of meetings coming up where we will meet at the Forest Grove School District offices and will need catering for those meetings. If you would like to assist, please let President Janet know.

Holiday Meetings: Note that our club will not meet on the following Wednesdays around holidays: Wed., Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving), Wed, Dec. 21 and Wed., Dec. 28 (Christmas).

December 14 Joint Meeting: We will hold our annual joint meeting with the Forest Grove Daybreak on Wednesday, Dec. 14 at the Forest Grove School District offices. This meeting will include our annual concert with musical groups from Forest Grove High School. We will require a head count in advance for this meeting. More details coming soon.

ShelterBox HERO Club: We have once again been recognized as a bronze ShelterBox HERO Club, recognized for a continual gift to the organization of $1,000 per year. The Rotary Club of Forest Grove has been ShelterBox HERO Club since 2018.

ShelterBox is an international relief organization that began as a Rotary centennial project in England. The organization utilizes the resources and connections of Rotary to help bring shelter and disaster relief supplies to those who are suffering from the effects of natural and man-made disasters. To learn more about ShelterBox, Click Here or speak with our club’s ShelterBox ambassadors, Jeannine Murrell and Pamelajean Myers.

Youth Exchange Updates – Host Families Still Needed: For the first time since 2020, our involvement in Youth Exchange is back! Our outbound exchange student, Blue Barbour-Weiss, will leave for Ecuador on Aug. 25. We wish her all of the best on her journey this year!

Our inbound exchange student, Juan, arrived from Ecuador on Aug. 20. For the first four months of his exchange, Juan will stay with the Barbour-Weiss family. We will hear from Juan and learn more about him during our meeting on Wed., Nov. 9.

Host families are still needed that can host Juan during the winter (December through March) and the spring (March through June). If your family is interested, and for information on the requirements for hosting, please contact Youth Exchange Committee chair Melinda Fischer, dancorntopper@aol.com.

Additionally, our outbound student for the 2022-23 Rotary year has been selected! We will have information on our new outbound in a future issue.

New Member Orientations: Our club held the first of four scheduled new member orientation sessions on Wednesday, September 7, ahead of the club’s potluck social. The other orientations are scheduled for December 7, March 1 and June 1. Watch the Rototeller for times and locations. All Rotarians are welcome to take part. If you know of someone who you believe might be interested in joining us, this is a perfect opportunity to introduce them to our club.

Past Programs: Did you miss a meeting or want to go back and check out a program again? Most of our programs since May 2020 are archived on our club’s YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Holiday In The Grove: The City Club of Forest Grove has approached our club asking if we might be willing to conduct an activity as part of the annual Holiday in the Grove celebration on Saturday, Dec. 3. If you are interested in leading this for the club, please let President Janet know.

There are also volunteer opportunities that will be available both during the daytime event and the Holiday Light Parade that evening. You can up for a volunteer shift by Clicking Here.

Additionally, President Janet is gauging if there is interest in the club putting a float in this year’s Holiday Light Parade. If you are interested in spearheading this for the club, please let her know.

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 on Mondays from 4-6 p.m. The pantry is now open in its new site in the building along Nichols Lane between the football field and the Basinski Center.

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.

Additionally, Rotarian Gwen Hullinger has put together an Amazon wish list of items that can be purchased and donated. Click Here To View That List.

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

Around Rotary International
A Capital Destination – Melbourne: The vibrant and stately city of Melbourne is an Australian capital city in every sense of the word. Now, I understand that Canberra is Australia’s federal political capital and Sydney its financial center. But if you dig into Melbourne’s rich history and look closely at its many tourist attractions, you will discover that the home of the 2023 Rotary International Convention might easily claim the crown as Australia’s culinary, cultural, sports, and shopping capital, in addition to being the capital of the state of Victoria.

In the leadup to the 2023 convention, we asked two Australians — Rotary Down Under magazine Editor Meagan Martin and her husband, creative director Rhys Martin — to test those claims. They got a friendly assist from several local Rotary members, who provided insider intel on their much-loved city on Australia’s southeast coast. If their generosity is any indication, Melbourne may very well deserve another accolade: the capital of hospitality. Join us in Melbourne 27-31 May 2023 and find out for yourself.

The Culinary Capital
Victoria’s economic hub, Melbourne has been defined by decades — no, make that centuries — of immigration. The city says it is home to some 140 cultures, from the state’s original Indigenous population to a multitude of migrants from countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa. As of 2021, about 36 percent of Greater Melbourne’s residents had been born overseas.

Such diversity has contributed to a lively, varied, and ever-evolving culture, which you notice most in the city’s dining and drinking scene. Melbourne has more than 2,000 cafes and restaurants. Mix in lofty rooftop cocktail lounges, congenial Aussie pubs, and hidden bars found in basements and alleyways, and you get an embarrassment of riches.

In South Melbourne, Amanda Wendt, governor of District 9800 and a member of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, recommends a long lunch in the chic European bistro Bellota. Adjoining the Prince Wine Store, the restaurant says it has one of Melbourne’s longest wine lists. Ask a knowledgeable staff member to walk you through the 3,000-some options to find the perfect selection. Lounge the day away over boards of charcuterie and cheese, platters of oysters, and larger plates spanning European cultures.

“Bellota never disappoints,” Wendt says. “Everything on the menu is amazing.”

We’ll let that whet your appetite. Watch for more on the city’s foodie finds in an upcoming issue and on rotary.org. Read More

Last Week’s Program: Dr. Jim Moore, November 2022 Election

Click Here To Watch The Complete Program

While this week’s Rototeller is late coming out (it usually publishes over the weekend), we still encourage you to check out what Pacific University political science professor had to say at last week’s meeting. Dr. Moore provided his analysis of the local and state candidates and issues on the November 2022 ballot. His analysis included the race for local state legislature races, country races, the Oregon governor’s race and ballot measures.

Club Calendar
Wed., Nov. 9: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Juan David, Our Inbound Exchange Student

Thurs., Nov. 10: Executive Board Meeting, 7 p.m.
Via Zoom

Wed., Nov. 16: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Raziah Roushan, Tualatin Valley Creates

Thurs, Nov. 17: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Via Zoom

Wed., Nov. 23: No Meeting – Happy Thanksgiving!