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

This Week: We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, noon, in the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University. Join as our Rotary Youth Exchange inbound student, Lara Bekiroglu, talks about her home country of Turkey and her experience so far as an exchange student at Forest Grove High School.

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.

Upcoming Meetings: All of our Wednesday meetings in 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 social on Feb. 18 in lieu of our Wednesday meeting that week.

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!

Youth Citizens Of The Month: At Wednesday’s meeting, we honored our January Youth Citizens of the Month from the Forest Grove School District. Congratulations to Marisa Calvillo of Forest Grove High School, Isabelle Swendig and Rhyli Mason of Tuality Plains High School, and Conan Moore of Neil Armstrong Middle School. Read about these impressive youth on our website.

It’s Time To Start Planning For Crab Feed!: Club members are invited to join in the planning for our 2026 Crab Feed. The Crab Feed is an evening club meeting in the spring over a fresh crab dinner. During the dinner, we enjoy fellowship with our fellow Rotarians and families, and recognize our club’s newest Paul Harris Fellows. The date for this year’s Crab Feed is yet to be determined. If you want to take part, contact our Crab Feed chair, Julia Kollar.

Save The Date – Club Social With Daybreak & Hillsboro Clubs: Mark your calendars for an evening of fellowship with Rotarians from the Forest Grove Daybreak and Hillsboro clubs on Thursday, Apr. 30, from 5-7 p.m. The location of this social is still to be determined. If you are interested in being part of this social gathering, please let President Andrea know.

Save The Date – Steak Feed: Our annual Steak Feed is scheduled for Friday, May 29, 5 to 8 p.m., at the University Center at Pacific University. The Steak Feed is a fundraiser for our involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program and a great opportunity to show the local community what we do. More information on tickets and work assignments will be available closer to the event. In the meantime, please contact Geoff Faris or Jeff Duyck with any questions. See below to learn more about the discussion about the Steak Feed at last week’s meeting.

New Club Nametags Available: Our Membership Committee has reviewed and developed a new nametag for members of our club. The new tag is rectangular in shape with the Rotary logo at the top, the club member’s name, the year that they joined the club, and “Rotary Club of Forest Grove” at the bottom. The name tags are produced by Russell-Hampton, a licensed supplier of Rotary merchandise.

The new nametags will be presented to new members upon their induction into the club. Our Membership Committee chair, Evelyn Orr, will be taking orders for any current members who would like to upgrade their badge. Members will be responsible for the cost of their new badge. Badges cost $12.65 each, with quantity discounts available.

If you would like to purchase a new name tag, please contact Evelyn Orr via email no later than Saturday, Feb. 14.

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.

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, Feb. 10. 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.

Concours d’Elegance News
Concours Committee Meetings: Club members are invited to take part in the monthly online meeting of the Concours Steering Committee, which takes place every Tuesday at 9 a.m. The link to the online meeting is available in the Rototeller newsletter sent to club members.

Concours Committee Updates: Concours Chair Bruce Cummings provided the following updates at last Wednesday’s meeting.

• Over the last two weeks, the committee has looked at conceptual art for this year’s Concours poster. The committee will decide on a direct and concept to move forward with.

• The committee is deciding between two different programs to use for this year’s show, replacing the software we have used for many years.

• The Concours has been invited to participate in the Oregon International Car Show, Feb. 19-22 at the Oregon Convention Center.
  

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, eorr@centrocultural.org.

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.

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
Save The Date – Spring Training: This year’s District 5100 Spring Training event will take place on Saturday, Apr. 11. Location and time will be announced soon. Spring Training consists of a number of classes to help Rotarians learn more about how Rotary and the district works, as well as specialized training for presidents-elect, secretaries, treasurers and Rotary Foundation chairs. The event will also have required trainings for clubs that plan to participate in District Matching Grants, Global Grants, Youth Exchange and for any club involved with any initiatives involving youth. Look for registration and class offerings soon.

Save The Date – End Of Year Celebration: In lieu of a district conference, District Governor Suzanne Holmberg plans to visit each region in the district for an evening to celebrate our clubs over this Rotary year. The End of Year Celebration for the Western Region (clubs in Beaverton, Forest Grove and Hillsboro) will take place the evening of Wednesday, June 3. The time and location will be announced soon.

Area Governor Blake Timm is looking for a small committee of Rotarians to help with the planning and execution of the event. If you are interested in assisting, or would like more information, please contact Blake.

Last Week’s Program – Steak Feed Discussion
At last week’s meeting, we had an extended discussion about this year’s Steak Feed, which takes place on Friday, May. 29. The Steak Feed is the primary fundraiser for our club’s involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program. This will be the club’s 68th annual Steak Feed.

Over the past few years, the Steak Feed has been held on the first Friday in June. This year, it was moved to one weekend earlier in order to move the event off of Forest Grove High School graduation weekend.

The major gap in the Steak Feed is ticket sales, which have slowly declined over the last few years. Over the past, club members have been asked to sell 10 tickets each. Tickets have also been available for purchase at ACE Hardware, Van Dyke Appliance and at the Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce.

Our co-chairs, Geoff Faris and Jeff Duyck, asked for ideas to help promote the event better, have more participants, and make it more attractive for community members. Among the suggestions:

• Allow for online ticket sales, using the same system that we use for Concours
• Enhanced advertising on the club’s social media accounts
• Adding a vegetarian option
• Have our Rotary Youth Exchange students circulate through the crowd to talk about the program, rather than just welcome people at the front of the line
• Add entertainment, such as high school music groups
• Move the event from Pacific’s University Center to the west lawn adjacent to College Way

If club members would like to have a larger role in the planning and promotion of the event, there will be a Steak Feed meeting following the Rotary meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Club Calendar
Tues., Feb. 3: Concours Meeting, 9 a.m.
Online

Wed., Feb. 4: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Lara Bekiroglu, Rotary Youth Exchange

Tues., Feb. 10: Concours Meeting, 9 a.m.
Online

Tues., Feb. 10: Membership Committee Meeting, 4 p.m.
Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave., Forest Grove

Wed., Feb. 11: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Tanner Hoskins, Pacific Northwest Missing Persons Project

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

Tues., Feb. 17: Concours Meeting, 9 a.m.
Online

Thurs., Feb. 18: Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Thurs., Feb. 18: Monthly Social Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Friday, May 29: Steak Feed, 5 p.m.
University Center, Pacific University Forest Grove Campus

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