If you didn’t make it to our last Rotary Club of Forest Grove meeting, here’s what you missed…

Next Week – Combined Noon & Satellite Club Meeting: Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, August 18, when we will have the first of our combined evening meetings with the noon club and the satellite club. The meeting will take place at the home of Pete & Parri Van Dyke, 1336 Rosearden Drive, and will begin at 6:30 p.m. There will be no noon meeting on Wednesday.

The Van Dykes will provide pulled pork and other members are asked to bring a side dish or dessert. The program will be our president, Bryce Baker, who will talk about his journey through Rotary and our goals and visions for the 2021-22 Rotary Year.

You can RSVP either by filling out the Google Form Linked Here or by contacting President Bryce by phone or text.

Upcoming Meetings: Our August 25 meeting will take place at Rogers Park while the location of our September 1 meetings is yet to be determined. It is the intent of the club to start regularly in person at Pacific University in September. The club is also looking into how to make the meetings hybrid, allowing people to continue to attend online. Watch the Rototeller for more details.

New Steak Sale: In time for Labor Day, we are starting another round of steak sales with proceeds benefiting our club’s many service outreaches and our Scholarship Program. As in the past, we will offer packs of two Columbia Empire Meats sirloin steaks for $15 per pack.

All orders are due by Monday, August 30 with pick-up scheduled for Thursday, September 2. Submit orders to President Bryce Baker.

Online Dues Payments: Our club is now equipped to take dues payments online! We can now process credit card or debit card payments for quarterly dues. Information on how to pay online was sent out with the quarterly billing that went out earlier in July.

With the transition to billing with Quickbooks, some members may not have received their quarterly invoice. If you did not, please contact treasurer Lucas Welliver at 971-241-7426 or lucaswelliver@gmail.com.

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. Our club is currently contributing $1,000 per month of toiletry items, cleaning supplies and feminine hygiene products.

Distribution events for these items take place on the first Monday of each month. If you are interested in assisting with the next distribution event, please contact President Bryce or Michael Yakos.

The Food Pantry is open on Mondays from 2- 4 p.m. Donations are accepted on-site on Mondays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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.

Additionally, Rotarian Gwen Hullinger has put together an Amazon wish list of items that can be purchased and donated. Click Here To View That List.

Rotary Phone Tree: Keep up the good work on the Rotary phone tree, helping to check in our members and keep them up to date on the happenings in the club. If you have questions about the phone tree, or if your information on the Phone Tree is not correct, contact Paul Waterstreet.

The goal of the phone tree is to reach out and check on every member of the club to make sure they are doing all right and to provide updates on club announcements and activities (Hint: You have a great list to draw from here). The plan is for the tree to be activated every Tuesday. The idea is that for each person to call the next one on the list. The last person on the list should call the team captain to make sure the list is complete.

Past Programs: Did you miss a meeting or want to go back and check out a program again? Most of our programs since May 2020 are archived on our club’s YouTube page. Visit https://bit.ly/fgrotaryprograms.

Around District 5100
Save The Date: District 5100 Rotary One Conference: Mark your calendars for May 19-22 as District 5100 will present its first combined Spring Training Event and annual conference in Seaside. The combined conference will provide Rotary training opportunities, inspirational speakers and a celebration of what is hoped to be a great year in District 5100.

District 5100 Youth Exchange Update (by Bill Paulsen): With the new Rotary year, I will replace Dan Boldt as the chairman of the District 5100 Youth Exchange
Committee. I am Bill Paulsen of the White Salmon/Bingen club and have been involved in youth exchange at the club level since 1985 and for the past 13 years on the district committee. My wife and I have hosted 10 students over the years. Dan has done a magnificent job shepherding the program through this unprecedented difficult time so provides me an example to try to match. Further, starting much before my time, our district youth exchange program has for many years regularly received accolades and awards nationally and from afar – a record I am determined to continue.

Fortunately, I will have the help and support of our committee, which has 17 dedicated Rotarians and several enthusiastic ROTEX. The committee has a world of experience and knowledge – some members with over 20 years on this district committee. Hopefully, we can resume in-person committee meetings soon – we are like family!

To quickly review the current youth exchange situation for any who are not aware, the entire 2020-21 and 2021-22 Rotary year youth exchange programs were canceled by the Rotary International board. Only after June 30, 2022, can there be inbounds or outbounds – long term or short term (STEP). Does this mean there is currently nothing for clubs to do in youth exchange? NO! Fully anticipating we will be sending students the summer of 2022, now is the time to be recruiting and interviewing both short and long-term students. Nomination forms are due by October 1st. We are planning on application seminars in October, an outbound orientation in January and our eastern Oregon trip for long terms in February. Details, forms and contact information available at http://www.youthexchange5100.org.

In addition to Rotarians from clubs who are youth exchange proponents and cannot wait until the program resumes, I am hoping there are some Rotarians reading this from clubs who have not participated for some time or ever. Our committee is available to assist clubs to experience the many benefits of Rotary Youth Exchange. If clubs are just wanting to “get a toe in the youth exchange water” they should look at the STEP program where there is no cost to the club and the host family is “built-in.” Details are at the above website and by contacting Tina Scheible, our STEP coordinator. There is no limit on how many STEP students a club can sponsor.

I hope to always be available should any club or Rotarian have any questions, suggestions, issues, great ideas, etc. concerning Rotary youth exchange. I welcome your participation.

Around Rotary International
Being A Role Model For “Each One, Bring One” (By Elizabeth Usovicz, Rotary International Zone Director, Zones 30 & 31): Rotary connections are powerful, for both current and future members. After 16 months of lockdown, online business and virtual Rotary meetings, I recently met a longtime client for lunch. The restaurant we chose was quiet that day, and the dining area was empty except for one table.

Our fellow diners were two young men of different races. They seemed to be talking about business as my client and I were seated at a nearby table. We didn’t focus on their conversation until our ears perked up like hyper-alert terriers when we heard one of them say, “Rotary.”

Expanding the conversation
My client is a past president of her Rotary club, and we both began to listen in on the young men’s conversation. One was explaining the motto of Rotary, Service Above Self, and the service projects of his local Rotary club. “I have to introduce myself,” I told my client excitedly. She laughed as I slid out of my chair and moved toward their table.

They looked up, surprised, when I approached them. “Excuse me,” I smiled. “My colleague and I heard you say “Rotary” and we wanted to introduce ourselves.” I pointed to my lapel pin. “We are both Rotary members too!”

Each One, Bring One – and beyond
As it turns out, one of the men, Jeff, is a member of the Rotary Club of Lee’s Summit, Missouri. He was discussing Rotary with Jordan, a prospective member.

Jordan grinned in amazement at our Rotary connection, which happens every day for Rotary members across the globe. “Wow!” he said. “You mean people in Rotary just find each other like this?” My client, Jeff, and I each smiled. “We all serve,” I replied. “We are people from all backgrounds, all walks of life, and we all serve our communities.”

That brief exchange was a simple, yet powerful moment of Rotary pride and purpose for three Rotary members. For Jordan, it was an impressive example of the strength of the Rotary network and our capacity to connect people across communities.

Each one of us is a role model for growing Rotary
Since that lunch meeting, Jordan has visited Jeff’s club twice and is on the path to becoming a member. Jeff’s support of the Presidential Initiative, “Each One Bring One” prompted me to reach out to three prospective members.

What if each of us did the same? What if each of us encouraged the formation of a new club? By this time next year, our Rotary network and our capacity to connect people across the globe will be even more powerful. All we need to do, like Jeff, is to be a role model for Each One, Bring One. Find your Jordans and invite them to lunch.

Last Week’s Program: Golf Tournament
Last week was fun and games we had our annual golf tournament at the Sunset Grove Golf Course. Thank you to Tim Schauermann for his work in putting this event together year after year, which also serves as a fundraiser for The Rotary Foundation. Tim will have results and prizes at next week’s meeting.

Club Calendar
Wed., Aug. 18: Joint Noon Club/Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Home of Pete & Parri Van Dyke, 1336 Rosearden Dr.
RSVP To Bryce Baker

Wed., Aug. 25: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Rogers Park, Forest Grove
Program: Mark Kittelson, Hagg Lake

Wed., Sept. 1: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Location TBD
Program To Be Announced

Thurs., Sept. 2: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
Via Zoom