President Andrea Stewart and Rus Peters prepare to receive during the club’s second annual “Build Better Friendships” Pickleball Tournament at the Forest Grove National Guard Armory. Photo by Blake Timm.

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

This Week: We hope that you will plan on joining us for this week’s meeting on Wednesday at noon in the University Center at Pacific University. Our program will be a Concours discussion focused on identifying and recruiting key volunteers for the show.

We’ll be outlining the core responsibilities required to produce a successful Concours and establishing lead roles for each area. These leads will then build teams to help carry out the work needed to make the event a success. The Concours is a cornerstone fundraiser for our club and plays a critical role in supporting the programs and organizations we serve. We look forward to sharing how members can get involved and help ensure its continued success.

Upcoming Meetings: All of our Wednesday meetings in January and February are scheduled to take place in the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University. We will have our monthly Third Thursday socials on Jan. 21 and Feb. 18 in lieu of our Wednesday meetings those weeks.

Remember that the program part of our meetings (announcements, club discussion, etc.) will begin at 12:05 p.m. Please arrive in plenty of time to socialize and grab lunch before the meeting begins.

Announcements At Meetings: If you have an announcement that you would like to give at a meeting, please let President Andrea know in advance. This will assist her in planning out our full meetings better. Thank you!

Build Better Friendships Pickleball Tournament: Thank you to all of our Rotarians and friends who joined us on Saturday for our second annual “Build Better Friendships” Pickleball Tournament. All participants competed in three matches, all with different partners. That not only allowed players to get to know others, but to match up novices with experienced players. Thank you bracket-master Lucas Welliver for organizing and putting together this fun social event!

Pickleball Evenings: Our club is sponsoring the weekly indoor pickleball gatherings for the second straight year. The evening weeknight games (5:30-8 p.m., Monday-Thursday) are in full swing. Follow The Forest Grove Pickleball Facebook group to get all of the details. The armory is located at 2950 Taylor Way, Forest Grove.

Youth Citizens of the Month: On Wednesday, we honored our November and December Youth Citizens of the Month after the meetings where they were scheduled to be honored had to be changed. Out congratulations to Elisabeth Huntington of Banks High School, Kamilah Robles of Banks Middle School, Lucas Getzendaner of Gaston High School and Kiera Worst of Gaston Junior High. Read More About Our Honorees.

Our Club’s Social Media – Help Us Connect!: Social media is a great way to spread the word about our club and the great things we do in our community. Our club is active on both Facebook and Instagram, but we need your help to expand the reach of our message to both current and future Rotarians.

Here is how you can use social media to help us spread our message to more people:

Like & Follow Our Pages: If you are on either Facebook or Instagram, and you have not done so already, like our pages and check out the content that we have posted recently.

Comment On Our Content: If you see something that you like, or a recent club meeting or project that we posted about, leave a comment and let the world know! Interaction with our pages helps not only shows that we like what we do in Rotary, but also lets the algorithms know that our pages are active and spreads our message to more feeds.

Share Our Content: Sharing a post on your Facebook wall or Instagram story helps increase the reach of our storytelling. It is the most important way of spreading the word across both platforms. If someone asks you more about our club or Rotary, tell them to check out our pages (in addition to giving them your elevator speech on the good things we do).

Direct Links To Our Club’s Active Social Media Accounts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FGRotary
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fgrotary

If you want to learn more about our social media platforms, or to get involved in helping keep our presence active, please contact our club’s public image chair & social media manager, Blake Timm.

Membership Committee: The club’s Membership Committee meets the second and fourth Tuesday at noon in the conference room at the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce. Its next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 13. For more information, or to get involved, please contact Evelyn Orr or Bruce Cummings.

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 undergo a background check with the district.

Have A Program Idea? Let Javin Know!: Our 2026 program chair, Javin Frelin, is looking for ideas for engaging programs for January and beyond. If you have an idea for a program, contact Javin.

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, Jan. 13. The link to the online meeting is available in the Rototeller newsletter sent to club members.

Concours Committee Updates
Merchandise At Willow & Ash: Are you interested in some Concours merchandise, like a poster, a coffee tumbler or a hat? Willow & Ash is offering some Concours merchandise available year-round! Current selections include Concours posters, hats, coffee tumblers and keychains. Items can be purchased online on the Concours website or purchased at Willow & Ash at 2036A Main Street, Forest Grove. Sorry, no shipping is currently available. Items purchased online will need to be picked up at Willow & Ash.

For More Information: If you have Concours-related questions or are interested in opportunities, please contact Concours Chair Bruce Cummings.

Service Opportunities
Share Your Volunteer Opportunity With The Club: 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.

West Tuality Habitat For Humanity: West Tuality Habitat for Humanity is looking for volunteers to assist both with construction projects at its Countryman Estates build site on 23rd Avenue and at Habitat’s ReStore. The construction site is open most Tuesdays, Thursdays, Friday and Saturdays. The ReStore is looking for both single volunteers and pairs of volunteers Monday through Saturday.

If you are interested in volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, please visit their online Volunteer Application. You can also visit Habitat’s Website for more details on the opportunities available. If you are already registered as a volunteer with West Tuality Habitat for Humanity, visit their Volunteer Calendar to see what shifts are currently available.

Questions? Please email volunteer@westualityhabitat.org or call 503-359-8459.

Centro Cultural Volunteer Opportunities: Centro Cultural, located in Cornelius, is in need of volunteers for two ongoing projects.

Centro Mercado Volunteer: Centro Cultural’s Mercado is a free food pantry set up like a grocery store, providing the community a welcoming and dignified space to get free, fresh and local food. Volunteers are needed during the Mercado’s open hours, Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m., and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., to help staff and maintain the pantry. The Mercado is located at 1216 E. Baseline St., Cornelius. Visit SignUp Genius To Register & See Available Shifts.

Lunar New Year Dinner: The Forest Grove Senior & Community Center will be holding a community Lunar New Year dinner on Friday, Feb. 6, 6 to 9 p.m., at the center located at 2037 Douglas Ave., Forest Grove. Volunteers are needed for set-up and takedown, serving the dinner, dishwashers, kitchen support and to sell raffle tickets. Visit SignUp Genius To Register.

Volunteers for Centro Cultural must sign-up for opportunities through SignUp Genius and must be pre-approved before the event. Walk-up volunteers are no longer allowed by the organization. Information on how to register can be found on those pages or by contacting Evelyn Orr.

Family Resource Center: The Forest Grove School District’s Family Resource Center, located at Cornelius Elementary School, is in need of volunteers to assist with sorting donations and preparing food boxes to go out to families in need in our community. The center is generally open and available for volunteers Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you want to volunteer or have questions about volunteering, please contact Melissa Timm at Cornelius Elementary.

Volunteers are required to complete a volunteer application through the Forest Grove School District. Visit the District’s Website (Linked Here) To Complete The Application.

If you do volunteer (or have already volunteered) at the Family Resource Center, please report your hours to club secretary Claire Agner. We are working on tracking hours for reporting to Rotary International.

Around District 5100
District Rotary Foundation Midyear Update: Rotarians in District 5100 are generous in their support to The Rotary Foundation (TRF). But the more our Rotarians can provide financial support to TRF, the more good we can do in the future within the district.

Rotarians are asked to give something to The Rotary Foundation every year. It is cleverly called “Every Rotarian Every Year,” signifying an annual donation of $25. Sustaining members give at the $100 level. Paul Harris Society members pledge contributions of $1,000 per year.

Rotarians can check out this week’s Rototeller for some statistics for giving within the district and in our club.

If you are a newer member of Rotary or just beginning your giving journey, you are encouraged to sign up for Rotary Direct, which allows you to give electronically and to set up recurring monthly, quarterly or annual gifts. The minimum recurring gift amount is $10 per month.

To learn more about The Rotary Foundation’s impact, financial structure and more, visit The Rotary Foundation’s page on the Rotary International website. To learn more about the foundation and how you can give, please contact our club’s Rotary Foundation chair, Michael Yakos.

Last Week’s Program: Club Community Service Discussion
At last week’s meeting, our club’s community service chair, Amanda Hartmann, led us through a discussion to learn more about what club members are looking forward to in terms of community service in 2026. While no decisions on any projects were made, there was great discussion on possibilities and direction.

Club members were asked which projects that we did in 2025 seemed to have the most community impact. The Concours d’Elegance was singled out as a large community event that draws hundreds of people from the area to Forest Grove, and the fundraising for our scholarship program and service outreaches. Also specifically singled out were our Youth Citizen of the Month recognition program and our Scholarship Program.

As we look forward to 2026, how do we want to be involved? Members said that they want our club to be known for direct service to the community and to be the place the community looks to for service. In terms of specific projects, ideas include a more formal relationship with the FGSD Family Resource Center, opportunities with West Tuality Habitat for Humanity, the Tuality Plains High School victory garden, the Rotary labyrinth at Pacific University and continued maintenance of our McDougall Garden.

When asked how we can it easier to serve, ideas included using SignUp Genius for registering for service activities, more volunteer opportunities on evenings and weekends, more advance notice for when projects happen (allowing for publishing notice on social media and in the Rototeller). Club members would like to see the club partner with other service groups for projects, including our Scouting America Troop 213, Forest Grove School District, Pacific University, and the Daybreak Rotary Club. Club members would also like to see more social opportunities attached to service projects.

If you have thoughts on our service projects or have ideas you would the club to consider, please contact Amanda Hartmann.

Club Calendar
Tues., Jan. 13: Membership Committee Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove

Tues., Jan. 13: Concours Committee Meeting, 7 p.m.
via Zoom (see Rototeller for Zoom link)

Wed., Jan. 14: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Concours Discussion

Thurs., Jan. 15: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Thurs., Jan. 22: Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Thurs., Jan. 22: Monthly Social, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Friday, May 22: Steak Feed, 5 p.m.
University Center, Pacific University Forest Grove Campus

Sunday, July 19: Concours d’Elegance
Pacific University Forest Grove Campus