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 you will join us this week for our meeting on Wednesday in the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University. Join us as our program will be Lora Dexheimer from the North Plains Food Bank.

This meeting will be catered. RSVPs for lunch were due 10 days in advance of the meeting to meet the deadlines for our caterers. If you did not RSVP, you are still welcome to attend the meeting, but please bring your own lunch.

Upcoming Meetings: All of our meetings in June and July will take place in the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University.

Steak Feed – This Is The Week!: Our 67th Annual Steak Feed is just around the corner! This year’s event, with proceeds benefitting the Youth Exchange program, takes place this Friday, June 6, 5-8 p.m., at the University Center on Pacific University’s Forest Grove Campus.

If you have not done so, please endeavor to sell at least 10 tickets to the dinner. Each ticket is $25 and includes a barbequed New York Steak, salad, baked potato, roll, beverage and dessert. Beer and wine will also be available for an added charge. To-go options will be available. If you have sold your tickets, please plan on turning in your money this week.

Tickets are also available at Ace Hardware, Van Dyke Appliance and the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce. Tickets will also be available on site the night of the dinner.

This fundraiser specifically benefits our involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program. This upcoming Rotary Year, we will be sending two students outbound to Mexico and Denmark. We will also have an inbound student this year from Turkey.

This is an all-hands-on-deck event for the club, with every member’s participation important to its success. If you will not be able to attend, or have questions about your assignment, please contact the designated committee chair you are assigned to. Please wear a Concours d’Elegance polo or t-shirt if you have one. If you do not, wear Rotary shirts if possible. For more information, contact Steak Feed chair Geoff Faris at 503-481-0736.

McDougall Garden Work Party: Thank you to everyone who came out to take part in the McDougall Garden cleanup work party to help get the garden ready for summer! Participants in the service event included Carl Heisler, Steven Barnard, Parri Van Dyke, Hector Mendez-Colberg, Melinda Fischer, Amy Tracewell, Carla Kimzey, Janet Peters, Rus Peters and Javin Frelin.

As Seen In Rotary Magazine: Have you seen the June 2025 edition of Rotary Magazine yet? If not, you probably haven’t seen our club’s Concours d’Elegance featured in the magazine’s events calendar on page 57. The mention puts our annual fundraising event in front of thousands of Rotarians across the country and around the globe! The Rotary Club of Lake Oswego also received a mention, giving District 5100 two mentions in the same magazine.

Hillsboro Rotary Fourth of July Parade: Mark your calendars for Friday, July 4 as our club will once again be marching in the Hillsboro Rotary Fourth of July Parade to promote the annual Concours d’Elegance. A sign-up sheet for parade volunteers is being circulated at weekly meetings. The parade is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. More details will be coming closer to the event.

Save The Date – End Of Year Celebration: Be sure to save the evening of Wednesday, July 2 for our annual End of the Year Celebration at the home of Sharon Olmstead. Details to come soon. Join us as we celebrate our accomplishments in Lucas Welliver’s year as president and welcome Andrea Stewart for her presidential year.There will be no noon meeting on Wednesday, July 2.

In Memoriam – Herb Drew: Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends of Herb Drew, who passed away on April 25. Herb was a member of our club from 1978 to 2016 and served as club president during the 1983-84 Rotary year. A 1960 graduate of Pacific University, Herb was a longtime insurance and owned Herb Drew & Associates Insurance in Forest Grove. In addition to Rotary, Herb was involved with Kiwanis and the Forest Grove Chamber of Commerce, and was a past member of the Forest Grove City Council and the Pacific University Alumni Association Board of Directors. Click Here To Read The Full Obituary.

A celebration of life service for Herb will be on Saturday, June 14, 11 a.m., at the Forest Grove United Methodist Church.

Greeters Are Back: President Lucas is bringing back the role of having greeters at our weekly meetings. This role will not be pre-assigned. Instead, the ninth and 10th Rotarians showing up a meeting each week will serve as greeters. Please be prepared to take on that responsibility and let President Lucas know if you have any questions.

Concours d’Elegance News
Concours Sponsorships: The Concours Committee is actively procuring sponsors for the 2025 show, which takes place on Sunday, July 20. If you know of a business or individual that might be interested in sponsoring our signature event, please contact Janet Peters at 503-679-6479 or rjlc4peters@msn.com, or Amy Tracewell at 541-844-9467 or amy.tracewell@pacificu.edu.

Concours Entries Now Open: If you or someone you know is interested in entering their classic car into the Concours d’Elegance, entries are now open. Visit The Concours Website for entry details and a list of this year’s judged and exhibition classes. There is a suggested donation of $100 per entry with proceeds benefitting the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Do You Know Of Service Opportunities?: 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.

CALC Mock Interview: Forest Grove School District’s Community Alternative Learning Center (CALC) is looking for volunteers to assist with interviewing students for mock job interviews. There will be another opportunity forthcoming on a victory garden that is being planted at school. Both opportunities will take place at a date to be determined.

If you are interested in either opportunity or if you have questions, please contact principal Tim Graham at 503-730-4490 or tgraham@fgsd.k12.or.us, or Steven Barnard at 443-454-5177 or sbarnard@fgsd.k12.or.us.

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 Mondays from 4-5:30 p.m. The pantry is located along Nichols Lane between the football field and the Basinski Center. Click Here for more information on the FGHS Food Pantry and on other resources for those experiencing food insecurity.

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.

Around District 5100
Rotary Night At The Portland Timbers: Join District 5100 for a night of fun with the Portland Timbers on Sunday, June 8, against St. Louis City SC at 3 p.m. Inspired by the global spirit of our Rotary Youth Exchange Students, Rotary District 5100 and the Portland Timbers are teaming up to support international fellowship. For every Rotarian ticket sold, $5 will be donated to PolioPlus.

The Timbers are off to one of their best starts in club history. Our Rotary group will have seating near the famous Timbers Army, where the “wall of sound” energy is nonstop. Rotary will be featured on the jumbo screen, we’ll have a table in the entry area, and you’ll meet Youth Exchange students who helped inspire this international celebration. Bring your family, wear your Rotary blue, and show your spirit.
The first club to buy 10 tickets gets $110 in meal vouchers. Why $110? You’ll find out if you win. Let’s fill the stadium with Rotary pride!

Link to purchase tickets: https://bit.ly/4mxtLH6

Last Week’s Program: David Tauber, Concours d’Elegance
At last week’s meeting, we were joined by David Tauber of Douglas Fir Productions, who is helping produce the 2025 Concours d’Elegance for the club. The 51st edition of the show in on Sunday, July 20, on Pacific University’s Forest Grove Campus and David spoke to the club specifically about volunteer opportunities for the show.

David would like to find more volunteer opportunities and ways to get more of the community involved. What the show has been is a great car show that has put on by a Rotary family. Our show, he said, has morphed into what many car shows have turned into, which is one with an aging demographic where it is getting harder to find support to operate the show.

David’s goal is to make the Concours the community event that it has always been but to emphasize that it is the community that helps put it on. You don’t have to have a massive role and make a difference on the Concours.

The Concours is an event where people bring out vehicles that people just don’t see every day, from Duesenbergs to steam-powered cars. It shows off automotive history in a day and age where automotive activations are gaining in popularity. David wants to draw out the demographics and show it is not just the stuffy, old boys club.

What is the Concours really about? It is about raising funds for the Rotary club and scholarships for local students. It also showcases Pacific University and the City of Forest Grove on a grander scale. The more people that we can get involved, David believes, the more we can spread the work out among not only club members but also community members.

David wants the Concours to be the envy of every Rotary club in the country and demonstrate year-after-year growth.

Immediate volunteer needs include helping with social media, car spotters, runners, ticket scanners and photographers. There are also week-to-week needs with administrative duties, public relations and logistics.

If you are interested in taking on a role, contact David at dtauber@douglasfirproductions.com or contact Amy Tracewell or Janet Peters.

Club Calendar
Wed., June 4: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Lora Dexheimer, North Plains Food Bank

Fri., June 6: Steak Feed, 5 p.m.
University Center, Pacific University

Wed., June 11: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Scholarship Presentations

Thurs., June 12: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Wed., June 18: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Izzy Rodriguez, Youth Exchange Experience In Argentina

Thurs., June 19: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Fri., Jan. 18-Sun., July 20
Concours d’Elegance Weekend