Photo: Melinda Fischer, Rus Peters & Janet Peters conducted a cleanup of our McDougall Garden over the weekend in anticipation of Sept. 11 memorial ceremonies that will take place on Friday. Photo by Janet Peters.

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

This Week: We hope to see you for our weekly meeting this Wednesday at noon as we return to the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University. We will have our next Rotarian of the Month program, where we will get to know our secretary, Claire Agner. We look forward to seeing you there!

New Pacific Lunch Process – Read Carefully!: With the return of our weekly meetings to Pacific University, the club is changing the process of how members will pay for their lunch in the university’s dining commons.

Club members will pay directly for their lunches as they enter the commons. The cost for the all-you-care-to-eat meals is $9.75 per person, the same as what Bon Appetit charged the club under the previous system. Corporate members and guests will still receive vouchers for lunch.

The goal for this change is to streamline the relationship between the club and Bon Appetit, and to ease the burden of our treasurer, who managed this process simply as a pass-through from the club.

Please contact President Hector Mendez-Colberg and/or treasurer Sharon Olmstead with any questions.

Upcoming Meetings: All of our weekly meetings in the fall, with the exception on Oct. 14 and Dec. 2, will take place at Pacific University. Remember that on the third week of the month, we do not meet on Wednesdays. That week, we encourage everyone to attend our monthly social on Thursday, 6:30 p.m., at Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St.

Welcome Beth Hardy & Derrick Sturgill!: At last week’s meeting, we were honored to welcome our two newest members of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove, Beth Hardy & Derrick Sturgill. Beth joins after four years of service with the Hillsboro Rotary Club. She operates a Farmers Insurance agency in Hillsboro and resides in Cornelius.

Derrick is a health unit coordinator at OHSU Hospital. He is very involved with the community, serving as cubmaster for Cub Scout Pack 169 in Forest Grove, and holds membership in several Masonic organizations.

Welcome, Beth & Derrick! We look forward to serving with you! Read More About Our Newest Members.

New Member Orientation: All members are invited to take part in the club’s next scheduled New Member Orientation on Friday, Sept. 11, 5 p.m., at the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave. This session is for new members, for guests who are thinking about joining Rotary, and current members who would like a refresher on the basics of Rotary or haven’t has an opportunity to attend an orientation before. For more information, please contact membership chair Evelyn Orr.

Meal Coordinator For Off-Campus Meetings Needed: We thank Parri Van Dyke for generously coordinating lunches for our off-campus meetings over the summer. As Parri is no longer able to serve in this role, we are looking for a volunteer to coordinate meals for meetings held away from the Boxer Pause and for occasions when the Boxer Pause Café is unavailable. Responsibilities include arranging meal orders, coordinating with the club treasurer on payments, and getting head counts for lunches. Training will be provided.

If you are willing and able to take on this role, please contact President Hector Mendez-Colberg.

Participate In Daybreak’s Inaugural Road Rally: Ready for a different kind of adventure? Join the Forest Grove Daybreak Rotary Club for its first Road Rally on Saturday, Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Bring your favorite vehicle, follow the route and enjoy scenic local roads while exploring beautiful destinations and fun stops.

The event includes a chance to win prizes from several local businesses, along with lunch and the opportunity to meet new friends along the way. Registration is $40 for a vehicle driver and passenger, and $10 for each additional passenger. Proceeds from the event benefit the Forest Grove Daybreak Rotary Foundation.

To learn more and to register, visit the Road Rally Registration Website.

Garden Cleanup – Oct. 3: It is time to be thinking about getting our McDougall Garden ready for the fall and winter months. Thanks to Rus & Janet Peters and Melinda Fischer who went out over the weekend to do some cleanup on the garden before Friday’s September 11 remembrances.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, Oct. 3, when we will get together for a more extensive work party to get the garden ready for winter. More details will be available soon, but please plan on joining us! Our McDougall Garden is located between Pacific and 19th Avenues, across from the big flagpole.

Outbound Youth Exchange Applications Still Open: Our club is still looking for its 2027-28 Rotary Youth Exchange outbound student. Opportunities are available for both long-term and short-term exchanges for the upcoming Rotary year.

For more information, and to fill out an application, please visit the Rotary Youth Exchange page on the Rotary Club of Forest Grove website.

Looking For Our Next Treasurer And Bookkeeper: After years of service as treasurer for our club, Sharon Olmstead is looking to find her replacement so that she can move forward in her Rotary journey. The treasurer manages the finances of the club and ensures that the club is in compliance with state, federal and Rotary International financial responsibilities. The finances of the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove are handled by our fundraising treasurer.

Additionally, the club is looking to identify a new bookkeeper. Julie Schmidlkofer, who has served the club in that role for many years, is reducing her client load as she moves towards retirement.

The treasurer is a club officer and must be a member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove. The bookkeeper is a hired position and that person does not need to be a member of the club. If you have interest in either position, or know someone who might be, please contact Sharon.

Community Forum On Pacific/Willamette Merger: Rotarians and members of the community are invited to join fellow Rotarian and Pacific University President Jenny Coyle on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 4 p.m., for a virtual forum on the upcoming merger between Pacific and Willamette University.

This forum is tailored for local civic, government, and business stakeholders, and will share key insights into the vision driving this merger, provide an update on the transition process, and discuss how Pacific aims to deepen its partnership with local leadership to serve Washington County and the greater region.

The forum will take place via Zoom and is free, but registration is required. For more information and to register, please visit the Pacific University Alumni Association website.

Membership Committee: The club’s Membership Committee meets the second and fourth Tuesday, 4 p.m., in the conference room at the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce. Its next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8. For more information, or to get involved, please contact Evelyn Orr or Bruce Cummings.

Concours d’Elegance News
The Numbers Are In!: We worked hard to make our annual Concours d’Elegance car show a success, and now we get to reap the awards.

Fundraising treasurer Janet Peters reported at Wednesday’s meeting that the net profit from the 2026 edition of the show is $69,048. The proceeds will benefit our club’s annual scholarship program, our scholarship fund at Pacific University, and our club’s service outreaches.

This year, the show welcomed 264 cars and over 2,600 paid attendees. We exceeded our projected income by 2.6%, while expenses came in approximately $5,900 under budget.

The club extends a great thanks to the steering committee, co-chaired by Bruce Cummings and Amanda Hartmann, for their exceptional work in making the Concours d’Elegance a success.

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.

Theatre In The Grove – Lobby Volunteers: Theatre In The Grove is looking for volunteers to serve in multiple capacities during its upcoming run of Cabaret, Sept. 11-27. Volunteers are needed to work as ushers (usually five per show), working the box office, selling concessions, and serving at their bar (OLCC server’s permit required).

Volunteer training is provided. If you are interested in being a bar server, TITG will pay for permit and the required OLCC training. All volunteers get to watch the show at they volunteer at for free and receive a free concession or non-alcoholic drink. Concessions, bar and box office volunteers also receive a complimentary ticket to a future show.

For more information, and more details on volunteer roles, please visit the volunteer page on the TITG website or contact volunteer coordinator Victor Cina, volunteer-coordinator@titg.org. To sign up for a volunteer spot, visit the TITG volunteer sign-up page.

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, Fridays 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 some 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.

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, eorr@centrocultural.org.

Rotary Basics
With so many new members joining the club in the last couple of years, the Rototeller is bring back its Rotary Basics section. This section is designed to educate all of us on some of the basics functions of Rotary, and to demystify some of the things that make Rotary (sometimes) confusing. Have something that you want to know about Rotary? Drop a line to Rototeller editor Blake Timm, blakertimm@gmail.com, and he will try to track it down.

Who Is Paul Harris & Why Should I Care?
Without Paul Harris, there is no Rotary. Born in 1868 in Racine, Wisconsin, Harris moved to Vermont at age 3, where he was raised by his paternal grandparents. He attended both the University of Vermont and Princeton University and received his law degree from the University of Iowa in 1891, In 1896, Harris moved to Chicago and opened a law practice.

Four years later, Harris met a fellow attorney for dinner on Chicago’s North Side. He was impressed that his friend, Bob Frank, was friendly with so many of the shopkeepers. It reminded Harris of growing up in Vermont and wondered if there was a way to channel that camaraderie among businesspeople.

Harris kept the idea and in 1905, he persuaded three other businessmen to join him in such an endeavor. The first meeting of what became Rotary International took place on February 23, 1905. He became president of the Rotary Club of Chicago in 1907 and the first president of the National Association of Rotary Clubs, now Rotary International, in 1910.

Paul Harris died on January 27, 1947, proud of what the organization had grown into. Upon his death, Rotary created the Paul Harris Memorial Fund to solicit donations in memory of its founder. Today, Paul Harris Fellows are bestowed on individuals in honor of lifetime donations to The Rotary Foundation of $1,000 or more.

Learn more about Paul Harris at the Rotary Website.

Rotary Glossary
PolioPlus: Rotary International’s effort to eradicate polio. Launched in 1985, the effort has seen more than 2.5 billion children immunized against polio and seen the incidence of polio decrease by 99.9%. Not to be confused with End Polio Now, a tagline used by Rotary International to promote the polio eradication initiative.

Around District 5100
Vibrant Club Workshop: If you are interested in learning more about the inner-workings of Rotary and using your knowledge to put together a service project, then the 2026 District 5100 Vibrant Club Workshop is for you.

This year’s workshop takes place on Saturday, Sept. 26. The West Region pod will take place in the conference room at the Hillsboro Airport, 3355 NE Cornell Road. Registration is now open on DacDB. There is a nominal $15 per person charge to cover room rental fees and refreshments.

This year’s workshop is being reimagined to provide a more hands-on approach for attendees. Important Rotary education on membership development, Rotary Foundation and public image will be offered, but attendees will put that knowledge to use to plan a service project for the region.

While strongly encouraged for club leadership and board members, the Vibrant Club Workshop is open to all Rotarians who want to learn more, be more involved and create lasting impact.

If you have questions, please contact Area Governor Blake Timm or district Learning & Development Chair Amy Tracewell.

Last Week’s Program: Kelly Daily, Mrs. Claus Cares
At last week’s meeting, we were honored to welcome Kelly Daily, also known as “Kelly Claus,” to introduce us to her recently-formed nonprofit, Mrs. Claus Cares.

The goal of Mrs. Claus Cares is to bring holiday joy and gifts to youth ages 11 to 18 by fulfilling meaningful wishes identified through the Forest Grove School District’s Family Resource Center. Youth of middle school and high school age, she said, often are beyond the age range served by other holiday organizations, such as Toys for Tots.

Daily had her husband, Lance (a.k.a. Santa Lance), first started playing the role of Santa and Mrs. Claus in the late 1980s when Lance, while stationed back east with the military, made appearances as the jolly couple for a childrens’ hospital in West Virginia.

The Dailys moved to Forest Grove in 1996. In 2019, Lance was approached by the local Elks Lodge and asked if he would perform the role of Santa for their functions. That moment kindled a love of working with children once again, and the Santa Lance & Kelly Claus was born.

At the same time, the Dailys started working with Forest Grove High School, where Kelly was employed in the cafeteria, to help youth have a brighter holiday. Last year, the Dailys worked with the Forest Grove School District to provide gifts for 50 youth, but had to turn 20 to 30 others away. This inspired Kelly to form Mrs. Claus Cares as a nonprofit.

This year, Mrs. Claus Cares has the goal of supporting 100 students this year. In addition to holiday gifts, she hopes that, in the future, they will be able to provide for back-to-school clothes, athletic participation fees, and homecoming and prom tickets.

Mrs. Claus Cares will be holding a fundraising tea party on Saturday, Sept. 12, 12-2 p.m., at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ. Tickets can be purchased online at the organization’s website.

To learn more about Mrs. Claus Cares, please visit their website or Facebook page.

Club Calendar
Tues., Sept. 8: Membership Committee Meeting, 4 p.m.
Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave.

Wed., Sept. 9: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Rotarian of the Month

Thurs., Sept. 10: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Online

Thurs., Sept. 17: Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Thurs., Sept. 17: Monthly Social, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Tues., Sept. 22: Membership Committee Meeting, 4 p.m.
Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave.

Wed., Sept. 23: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Forest Grove Police Chief David Marzili

Wed., Sept. 30: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Rotarian of the Month