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

Online Meetings Continue: We will continue to meet virtually using the Zoom Meeting platform for the foreseeable future. Our meetings will begin at our normal meeting time, Noon on Wednesday. All Rotarians are welcome and participating will count towards meeting attendance. Here are the login details (will be the same for all of our online meetings moving forward)…

Direct Link: https://zoom.us/j/183084884

Meeting ID: 183 084 884

To join by phone, dial 669-900-6833 or 346-248-7799 and enter the meeting ID number when prompted.

Zoom App Downloads
Zoom Cloud Meeting App For Android
Zoom Cloud Meeting App For iPhone
Download Zoom Meeting App For Desktop

Steak Fundraiser: Good News! Our steaks from our Steak Sale Fundraiser will be in next week! Steaks may be picked up on Thursday, May 28 from 4-5 p.m., and on Friday from 3-5 p.m., at Jeff Duyck’s warehouse along 19th Avenue (between Main Street and Ash Street). Any steaks not picked up by Friday will be frozen and you will need to make arrangements with either Jeff or Tim Pearson to pick them up.

PLEASE BRING YOUR MONEY! So far only $1,000 has been turned into the club. If you can, please bring your money for the steaks to the pickup so we can make the payment in full. Funds can also be sent to Marge Johnston at the address listed on the invoice.

In case there is any confusion with club members, steaks will be delivered in shrink-wrapped packages of two. The cost for each shrink-wrapped package is $15.

Jeff is working with Columbia Empire Meats to do a second sale with steaks to arrive around Father’s Day. Those orders already on the wait list will have first priority. Contact Tim Pearson if you want to add to the wait list.

Youth Citizens of the Month: Congratulations to our club’s May Youth Citizens of the Month, Haley Gibson of Banks High School and Josie Kimmel of Banks Middle School! We were joined on Wednesday’s Zoom meeting by Josie and her parents along with Banks High School principal Jacob Pence and Banks Middle School principal Darla Waite-Larson. Haley could not join us due to work. Both of our students received a certificate and a $50 gift certificate to Frye’s Action Athletics.

Read More About Our May Youth Citizens Of The Month
Click Here To Watch The Presentation From Our Zoom Meeting

Satellite Club Meeting: Thank you to everyone who took part in the May Satellite Club Zoom meeting! We will have updates from the meeting, along with video from presentations from the Pacific University Rotaract Club and from District Governor-Elect Jo Crenshaw over the next week and in next week’s Rotary Rewind.

First Responder Meals: The first delivery of meals to first responders from our club was a success. Howard Sullivan delivered 21 meals to Tuality Community Hospital in Hillsboro on April 30. The meals were purchased locally from Diversity Café.

We are in the process of raising funds for a second round of meals to go to police officers and firefighters in Forest Grove and Cornelius. These 88 meals will be delivered from Higher Taste of Cornelius on Thursday, May 28. The plan is to raise $240 to provide for those meals. For more information on this initiative, contact Howard for more details, 503-680-1537.

Concours Meeting: The next meeting of our Concours d’Elegance Committee will take place on Zoom this Tuesday, May 26, at 7 p.m. All club members are invited to take part as we start the planning for our 2021 show. For meeting join information, please contact Ken Cunningham.

Grants Coming For FGHS Food Pantry: In response to the needs of local food banks, Rotarian Kevin Harmon, who is a Farmers Insurance agent in north Portland, has coordinated an effort for our club to receive grants from the “Farmers Gives Back” program to go towards contributions to the Forest Grove High School Food Pantry. At least five Farmers agents, including Harmon and Jeannine Murrell and Rotarian Joe Gilles of the Hillsboro club, have committed to the effort, which will provide at least $7,500 for the Food Pantry. Additional information on these grants will be available in the near future.

Our sincere thank you to Kevin for coordinating this effort and to the Farmers agents whose contributions will make a difference through our club.

Youth Exchange Update: At long last, our inbound Youth Exchange student, Gabriella Cuadra, has arrived home in Chile after dealing with a month-and-a-half of flight cancellations due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We are so sorry that her exchange was cut short but we are so glad that she was here.

Our 2020-21 outbound student, Melanie Schneider, has had her exchange to Denmark canceled. She had decided to delay her exchange for one year and go to Denmark for the 2021-22 academic year. Read More On How District 5100 Is Handling Youth Exchange During Pandemic

Rotary Phone Tree: We Care Committee has started a Rotary Phone Tree that will be utilized once per week. 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. For more information or questions, or if your information on the Phone Tree is not correct, contact Paul Waterstreet.

FGHS Community Food Pantry: Even with schools closed, the need for resources at the Forest Grove High School Community Food Pantry continues. The pantry continues to need the following items to serve the community that is depending on it…

Food: Pasta, Canned Sauces, Tortillas, Rice, Beans, Canned Fruit, Jelly, Peanut Butter, Boxed Milk, Canned Vegetables, Bread, Applesauce, Granola Bars, Fruit Snacks, Macaroni & Cheese, Tuna, Crackers, Maseca and Vegetable Oil.

Hygiene Items: Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Tampons/Pads, Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Deodorant, Hair Brushes, Toilet Paper.

If you can donate any of the above items, please contact Brian Burke, bburke@fgsd.k12.or.us. If you wish to make a cash donation to the pantry, Click Here.

Congratulations To Our ShelterBox Ambassadors: A big congratulations to Rotarians Jeannine Murrell and Pamelajean Myers, who were recently named as ShelterBox USA’s Couple of the Year. The duo is very active in the Northwest as ShelterBox ambassadors, educating about the important work of this international Rotary-partnered disaster relief organization.

The Rotary Club of Forest Grove is a bronze-level ShelterBox USA HERO Club, committing to help continue the funding of the organization’s efforts.

 Concours d’Elegance Canceled: With the uncertainly on the COVID-19 situation, the Rotary Board of Directors, at the unanimous recommendation of the Concours Steering Committee, has canceled the 2020 Concours d’Elegance, scheduled for Sunday, July 19. The committee will refocus its efforts on the 2021 show. The club board will be talking in the coming weeks to find avenues that we can fundraise for our scholarship fund with the absence of our top fundraising event of the year. Click Here For The Complete Announcement From The Concours Committee

 World Of Speed To Close: An ardent supporter of the Concours d’Elegance since its opening in 2015, the World of Speed museum in Wilsonville is closing permanently as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. The museum, founded in 2015, offered visitors a behind-the-scenes view of the car racing world though exhibits and hands-on activities. Read The Oregonian Article On The Museum’s Closure

 Quarterly Dues: You should have received by now your quarterly dues statement from the club. Please note that this statement will not include any prepaid meals expenses. This reflects the decision of the board in March to put all members on a “pay as you go” status for this quarter since we are currently unable to meet in person.

We understand that this is a challenging time for all of us and that some of our members are affected more significantly than others. If you are able, please pay your dues invoice as soon as possible so that we can continue to meet our RI and District obligations. If you believe that your situation will make it hard or impossible to make a payment, please contact President Tim Pearson. The club will consider and work with those hardships on a case-by-case basis.

Helping The Forest Grove School Community: At the request of Rotarian and Forest Grove School District Superintendent Dave Parker, our Youth Funding Committee donated $3,000 to the school district to help in making supplemental learning items available to students as supplemental and distance learning. In addition, our committees have banded together for a $2,000 donation to the Banks Community Food Bank to help with the purchase of food from the Oregon Food Bank.

Take Out Locally!: There are many local restaurants and coffee shops that are continuing to operate for take-out during the stay-at-home order. Those local businesses are seeing a significant drop in business and could use our support. Could you commit to patronizing one of these eateries at least once per week to help stimulate the local economy? Click Here For A List Of Places That Are Opened For Takeout (updated on May 18), courtesy of Court Carrier and Jeff King at the City of Forest Grove.

District Announcements
RYLA Canceled: With the uncertainty of when stay at home orders will be lifted, the difficult decision was made to cancel the District 5100 RYLA program for 2020. The program will be back stronger than ever in 2021. Click Here For More Details

Rotary International Announcements
Virtual Rotary Convention 2020: Mark your calendars for 20-26 June for an exciting opportunity to gather online with the family of Rotary for our first online convention.

Now More Than Ever, Rotary Connects the World: The 2020 Rotary Virtual Convention will join you with Rotary participants around the world during a time of unprecedented challenges. A schedule of sessions and times are now posted. If you have ever wanted to attend an international convention, or wanted to go back, this is a great chance to experience it.

Together, we’ll still experience the spirit of Rotary, be inspired by innovation, celebrate our resilience, and explore how clubs are addressing COVID-19. Experience Rotary in action during our Flag Ceremony, witness the power of connection during our general sessions, learn new ways to engage with Rotary during our breakout sessions, find inspiration from our global speakers, and much more.

We have never needed Rotary — and we have never needed each other — more than we do now. We hope to see you online, because Now More Than Ever, Rotary Connects the World.

Disaster Response Fund: Rotary International has a Disaster Response Fund that is drawn from to help clubs provide disaster recovery and support rebuilding efforts. This includes efforts related to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Contributions are combined into one fund and made available through Rotary Disaster Response Grants. To make a donation to the program, Click Here.

Last Week’s Program: Nadine Gartner, Boost Oregon

Click Here To Watch The Full Presentation

Boost Oregon is a parent-led independent non-profit organization that educates parents and the public about the benefits of childhood vaccines. Their mission is to minimize vaccine-preventable childhood diseases in Oregon through peer advocacy. Gartner’s experiences as a parent led her to create the organization. She loves children and is concerned about the health of children in our community.

The organization is entirely funded by individual donors and community grants. Boost Oregon does not accept contributions from pharmaceutical companies.

Trained as an attorney, Gartner started Boost Oregon after having her children. Before then, she was unaware of the thorny topic that childhood vaccination was until talking with other friends who were mothers that either limited vaccinations or refused vaccinations. She found that there are few parent voices in the debate about childhood vaccinations.

Boost Oregon disrupts the dangerous cycle of misinformation that is proliferated online and shared among parents. Parents want to make the best possible decisions for their children’s health. If you give parents evidence-based information, without fear or degradation, they will make the best decisions for their families. The group works to educate parents and medical providers and develop parent advocates.

What are Boost Oregon’s motives? The organization does not tell parents what to do. They listen and provide evidence-based information.

To learn more about Boost Oregon, visit boostoregon.org.

 Club Calendar
All Club Activities Are On Zoom Unless Otherwise Noted
Tues., May 26: Concours d’Elegance Meeting, 7 p.m.
Contact Ken Cunningham for Zoom Meeting information
Wed., May 27: Weekly Club Meeting, Noon
Program Chelsea Peterson, Knight Cancer Institute
Wed., June 3: Weekly Club Meeting, Noon
Program: Sharon Olmstead, FG Rotary Scholarship Committee