Alan Bazaaz of the Lake Oswego Rotary Club presented last week on its latest Global Grant project in Turkiye. Photo by John Schrag.

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 at our weekly meeting this Wednesday, noon, at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way (across the street from Pacific University). This week, we will be hosting a club assembly as our treasurer, Sharon Olmstead, presents the club’s 2026-27 budget.

This week’s lunch, and all of our Wednesday meeting lunches in August, will be catered. If you wish to have the catered meal, please RSVP to Parri Van Dyke via email by no later than Sunday prior to the scheduled meeting. If you do not RSVP, you are welcome to attend the meeting, but please provide your own lunch.

Upcoming Meetings: Our Wednesday meetings in August will be held at the Forest Grove United of Christ. We will return to Pacific University on Wednesday, Sept. 2. Our monthly social is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 19, at Zesti Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove.

Rotary Youth Exchange Host Families Needed: Our next Rotary Youth Exchange student will be here very soon, and we are still in need of a host family for later in the year. Our thanks to Amanda and Will Hartmann, who will be hosting our inbound student for her first three months.

Students stay with three families over the course of the year: from mid-August to early December, from early December to mid-March, and from mid-March to late June. Hosts must be able to provide a bed, a place to study, and a seat at your table. Hosting is a volunteer commitment, and your exchange student is a member of your family. Many host families develop close relationships with their students, and often stay in contact for life.

Single parents, child-free households, couples with kids of any ages, and LGBTQ+ families are all eligible and welcome. The only requirements are a bed and bedroom (a shared room with a child of the same gender is fine) and a study space.

Please contact Sarah Barbour, Youth Exchange Committee chair, at 503-597-9355 or ForestGroveRYE@gmail.com for an application form or to inquire about hosting.

9/11 Anniversary Remembrance Ceremony – Participation Opportunity: This year marks the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. To mark the date, Forest Grove Fire & Rescue will read the names of the 412 first responders who lost their lives in the attacks. The ceremony will take place on Friday, Sept. 11, 9 a.m., at the big flagpole at the east end of Forest Grove (adjacent to our MacDougall Garden).

The department is seeking members of the community to read five to 10 names at a time, followed by a bell ringing, to honor the fallen firefighters, EMTs and law enforcement officers. The event is expected to last an hour.

If you are interested in participating as a reader, please email Forest Grove Fire & Rescue Chief Jim Geering.

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, Aug. 11. For more information, or to get involved, please contact Evelyn Orr or Bruce Cummings.

Concours d’Elegance News
A Thank You From The Show Co-Chair: To all our amazing volunteers, thank you sincerely for the incredible work you put into our 2026 Concours d’Elegance. Your generosity, dedication, and willingness to give your time and energy made this event a success.

Every hour you volunteered, every task you took on, and every smile you shared made a real difference. It was inspiring to see everyone come together with a common purpose, working as one team to support our community and the people we serve.

Success like this does not happen by chance, it happens because of people like you who are willing to step up, work hard, and give back. I am grateful to be part of such an outstanding group of caring individuals.

Thank you for your commitment, your teamwork, and your servant hearts. I look forward to accomplishing even more together in the future.

With sincere appreciation,
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, 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.

Around District 5100
August Is Membership Month – Growing Rotary One Relationship At A Time (from the August 4 District Newsbyte): Last year, Rotary District 5100 experienced a net loss of 73 members. Nearly two-thirds of our clubs saw no membership growth or experienced a decline. While this has been a trend for several years, it does not have to define our future.

Every one of us joined Rotary because someone or something inspired us. Think back to your own Rotary journey. How did you first hear about Rotary? What motivated you to join? Was it the opportunity to serve, the friendships, networking, leadership development, or the chance to make a difference?

Now ask yourself another question: Why have you stayed?

For most Rotarians, the answer is not the meetings. It is the people. It is the friendships, the shared purpose, and the opportunity to serve alongside others. Fellowship is the foundation of member retention — and it is also our greatest tool for attracting new members.

Invite People to Experience Rotary
Today’s community members are not looking for another meeting on their calendar. They are looking for meaningful ways to connect and make a difference.

Instead of inviting someone to a club meeting, invite them to:

• Join a service project.
• Attend a club social.
• Volunteer at a community event.
• Participate in a family-friendly activity.

Let them experience Rotary before asking them to join Rotary.

Make Rotary Visible
Rotary should never be a best-kept secret.

Many future Rotarians don’t already know a member, so we need to make ourselves visible in our communities.

Ask your club:

• Is there clear Rotary signage where you meet?
• Do members wear Rotary apparel or pins at service projects and community events?
• Are your projects promoted before and after they happen?
• Would someone watching your club in action know who you are and what Rotary does?

Every service project is also a membership opportunity.

Create a Great First Impression
When guests attend your club, imagine seeing everything through their eyes.

Do they feel welcomed? Included? Do they leave knowing someone’s name—and does someone know theirs?

Small actions make a big difference:

• Welcome every guest personally.
• Provide a name badge or sticker.
• Introduce them to several members before the meeting begins.
• Invite members to share their own 60-second Rotary story.
• Follow up within a few days and invite them to another service project, social event, or meeting.

People join organizations, but they stay because they find community.

Last Week’s Program – Alan Bazaaz, Early Light: Saving Newborn Vision
At last week’s meeting, we were proud to welcome Alan Bazaaz of the Lake Oswego Rotary Club, who presented to us on Early Light, a global grant program designed to help save the vision of newborns in the Republic of Turkiye (formerly Turkey).

Born in Baghdad, Bazaaz emigrated to the U.S. to attend the University of Oregon, where he earned his degree in computer science in 1978, after which he started his own business. He is a past president of the Lake Oswego Rotary Club and is involved with the District 5100 Peacebuilder Committee.

The Early Light project is the latest in a series of projects that Lake Oswego has taken on in Turkiye since the region’s 2023 earthquake. At that time, the club donated four containers of bathroom stalls for use in refugee camps. Lots of Rotary International aid for disaster relief was available at the time. Since then, the club’s focus has been on meeting the needs of the Alanya State Hospital, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Alanya.

The club’s first Global Grant project for the hospital, Breath of Life, provided three mechanical ventilators and training on using the machines. Before then, the hospital only had manual ventilators and children with respiratory issues required a two-hour transfer to another hospital.

The club’s newest Global Grant project, Early Light, is designed to purchase two pieces of equipment to diagnose and treat a condition where blood vessels to the retina are not fully developed in a newborn child that is born premature. The equipment is estimated to provide impact for 43 babies each year. A total of $146,000 is needed to fund the project. Lake Oswego has provided $8,000, while 14 other District 5100 clubs have contributed $30,000. Local clubs and districts in Turkiye have also contributed.

Bazaaz noted that because international projects require at least two clubs to work together and get the support of RI, a relatively small local investment can leverage huge resources.  And, these projects take a lot of time – often years of planning before the first dollar is spent. That’s because RI wants to make sure the recipient community is involved in making decisions and is engaged in the project.

Club Calendar
Tues., Aug. 11: Membership Committee Meeting, 4 p.m.
Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave.

Wed., Aug. 12: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way
Program: Sharon Olmstead, Presentation of Club Budget

Thurs., Aug. 13: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Online

Thurs., Aug. 19: Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Thurs., Aug. 19: Monthly Social, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Wed., Aug. 26: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way
Program: Rotarian of the Month