Our April Youth Citizens of the Month from the Forest Grove School District were honored at our April 9 meeting. Clockwise from top left: Melissa Villanueva Avila from CALC, Lucas Christopherson from Forest Grove High School and Ahley Ayon Arroyo from Neil Armstrong Middle School.

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

This Week’s Meeting: We hope you will join us this week for our meeting in the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University. This week we will be joined by Andie Shepard of the Alzheimer’s Foundation and our own Amy Tracewell will provide an update on our annual Concours d’Elegance.

Upcoming Meetings: Our meeting on Wednesday, April 23 will take place in the Grove Room at the Forest Grove School District Offices, 1728 Main St. With the off-site location, RSVP will be required for catered lunch. If you want to have lunch ordered for you for that meeting, please fill out the sign-up sheet at Wednesday’s meeting or email secretary Claire Agner by no later than Friday, April 18.

Youth Citizens of the Month: At last Wednesday’s meeting, we honored our April Youth Citizens of the Month from the Forest Grove School District. Congratulations to Ahley Ayon Arroyo of Neil Armstrong Middle School, Lucas Christopherson of Forest Grove High School and Melissa Villanueva Avila of CALC. All three students received a certificate and a $50 gift card to Frye’s Action Athletics.

Satellite Club/Thirsty Thursday Meeting: This month’s Satellite Club meeting will take place this Thursday, April 17, 6:30 p.m., at Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove. Join us for an evening of fellowship and join us as we induct our newest members, Carla and TJ Kimzey. Satellite Club meetings are open to all Rotarians.

Steak Feed: Tickets are now available for our 67th Annual Steak Feed, which takes place on Friday, June 6, 5-8 p.m., at the University Center on Pacific University’s Forest Grove Campus. Tickets were handed out to members who were in attendance at our Apr. 2 meeting and sent in the mail to other members.

Each club member is being asked to support the cause by selling 10 tickets to the event. Each ticket is $25 and includes a barbequed New York Steak, salad, baked potato, roll, beans, beverage and dessert. To-go options will be available. Please sell tickets to your family, friends, enemies, acquaintances, anyone who would enjoy a good meal.

This fundraiser specifically benefits our involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program. This upcoming Rotary Year, we will be sending two students outbound to Mexico and Denmark. We will also have an inbound student this year from Turkey.

This is an all-hands-on-deck event for the club, with every member’s participation important to its success. A list of committee assignments has been made available to club members in the weekly Rototeller newsletter. If you will not be able to attend, or have questions about your assignment, please contact the designated committee chair you are assigned to. For more information, contact Steak Feed chair Geoff Faris.

Board Nominations: Our club is starting the process of nominating four new members of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove’s Board of Directors. There are three-year positions to replace outgoing board members Melinda Fischer, Hector Mendez-Colberg, Andrew Van Dyke and Parri Van Dyke. Board involvement usually involves meetings of one to two hours per month. Currently, the Board of Directors meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7 a.m. According to the club bylaws, membership of at least one year is required to be considered.

If you have questions on the duties and requirements of board members, please contact President Lucas Welliver. If you would like to nominate a member or would like to self-nominate, please contact Secretary Claire Agner via email.

Road Cleanup Scheduled: Our next road cleanup service project is scheduled for Saturday, May 10 at 8:30 a.m. We will begin at the Oregon Department of Forestry office, 801 Gales Creek Road, and will do our regular cleanup of Gales Creek Road between Thatcher Road and Forest Gale Drive, and Thatcher Road between Gales Creek Road and David Hill Road. For more information, please contact Andrea Stewart.

Change In Leadership For Youth Exchange: The club would like to thank Melinda Fischer for her years of service as our club’s Rotary Youth Exchange officer. She has decided to step aside from the role at the end of this Rotary year. This is an important role for our involvement in the Youth Exchange program and we are incredibly grateful for Melinda’s leadership.

We are excited to announce that Sarah Barbour has agreed to become the club’s new Youth Exchange Committee chair effective July 1 and will work with Melinda to ensure a smooth transition. Sarah and her husband, Al Weiss, have been involved with the Youth Exchange program through their daughters. Thank you, Sarah, for stepping into this role!

March Madness Updates: The madness is officially over. Congratulations to the Florida men and the UConn women on winning the Division I basketball championships. And congratulations to our winners in the club’s annual bracket challenge, who will receive points towards their first or next Paul Harris Fellow. And, of course, the biggest winner is The Rotary Foundation.

Men’s Tournament: 1, Fisher’s Brady’s Madness Bracket (the only one to pick Florida to win it); 2, Michael (not sure which one, but he picked Auburn as his national champ); 3, Pete Van Dyke.

Women’s Tournament: 1, Paul Waterstreet (who correctly picked UConn to win); 2, Blake Timm; 3, Pete Van Dyke.

Garden Cleanup & The Satellite Club: Beginning this spring, members of our Satellite Club are planning on taking a larger role in the maintenance of our McDougall Garden, located between Pacific and 19th avenues near the big flagpole. A planning and work session took place on Saturday, Mar. 22. Thanks to Satellite Club director Hector Mendez-Colberg and Garden Committee chair Geoff Faris for bringing the group together. We also thank the following Rotarians and friends for their work and service: Michael Yakos, Janet Peters and Rus Peters, and future Rotarians Carla and TJ Kimzey.

Pickleball Evenings – Presented By Rotary: The Rotary Club of Forest Grove is helping to sponsor indoor pickleball Monday through Thursday evenings at the Forest Grove National Guard Armory, 2950 Taylor Way. Coordinated by Rotarian Steven Barnard, the evenings run from 5:30 to 8 p.m. There is a $5 fee to help cover facility rental. Players of all ages and ability levels are welcome with reserved courts for beginners and intermediate-level players.

Proceeds from the pickleball evenings go to cover facility rental for the armory, but also to help fund the Forest Grove School District Community Alternative Learning Center’s (CALC) Career & Technical Education (CTE) Fridays. At our Jan. 29 meeting, our club presented a $5,000 check to Tim Graham, principal of CALC, to benefit the program.

For more information on the pickleball evenings, please contact Steven at 443-454-5177 or sbarnard@fgsd.k12.or.us.

Have A Program Idea? Let Hector Know!: Do you have an idea for a program presentation that you would like to see at our meetings? Let our incoming program director, Hector Mendez-Colberg know as he is setting up the schedule for 2025.

Greeters Are Back: President Lucas is bringing back the role of having greeters at our weekly meetings. This role will not be pre-assigned. Instead, the ninth and 10th Rotarians showing up a meeting each week will serve as greeters. Please be prepared to take on that responsibility and let President Lucas know if you have any questions.

Concours d’Elegance News
Concours Sponsorships: The Concours Committee is actively procuring sponsors for the 2025 show, which takes place on Sunday, July 20. If you know of a business or individual that might be interested in sponsoring our signature event, please contact Janet Peters at 503-679-6479 or rjlc4peters@msn.com, or Amy Tracewell at 541-844-9467 or amy.tracewell@pacificu.edu.

Concours Entries Now Open: If you or someone you know is interested in entering their classic car into the Concours d’Elegance, entries are now open. Visit The Concours Website for entry details and a list of this year’s judged and exhibition classes. There is a suggested donation of $100 per entry with proceeds benefitting the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove.

Service Opportunities For Club Members
Do You Know Of Service Opportunities?: 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.

CALC Volunteer Opportunities: Forest Grove School District’s Community Alternative Learning Center (CALC) has two volunteer opportunities for Rotarians and friends. The school is looking for volunteers to assist with interviewing students for mock job interviews. There will be another opportunity forthcoming on a victory garden that is being planted at school. Both opportunities will take place at a date to be determined.

If you are interested in either opportunity or if you have questions, please contact principal Tim Graham at 503-730-4490 or tgraham@fgsd.k12.or.us, or Steven Barnard at 443-454-5177 or sbarnard@fgsd.k12.or.us.

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.

The Food Pantry is open Mondays from 4-5:30 p.m. The pantry is located along Nichols Lane between the football field and the Basinski Center. Click Here for more information on the FGHS Food Pantry and on other resources for those experiencing food insecurity.

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.

Around District 5100
Rotary Expo – Saturday, May 3: Our club is among the many in District 5100 that will participate in the Rotary Expo. This exhibition of everything great about Rotary takes place on Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Wingspan Event & Conference Center in Hillsboro.

The Rotary Expo will feature 43 booths, showcasing projects from District 5100 Rotary clubs and partner organizations. The event will also have the Jubitz Family Foundation’s indoor Global Peace Village, which will be showcased at the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary in June. A peace pole will also be planted during the day.

The expo will also include entertainment from a number of local groups as well as the annual District 5100 Rotary Youth Exchange Talent Show.

Our club will be signing up volunteers to man our booth soon. We also plan to have a classic car on site to promote our annual Concours d’Elegance. Please download the event flyer to share with friends and on your social media platforms.

In addition to our booth, the district is in need of volunteers to help make the entire event flow well. If you can commit time, please visit the Volunteer Online Signup to see how you can help make the Rotary Expo a success. Event volunteers are needed for both Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3.

Around Rotary International
A Message From RI President Stephanie Urchick: Over the past few months, while we visited Rotary clubs worldwide and witnessed inspiring projects that are making a tangible difference in their communities, many have approached us with concerns about the current political and economic volatility, and its potential impact on the work that we do.  
We want to assure you that in times of uncertainty, one thing is certain – our mission and values remain unchanged. Rotary is a force for good in the world because we are deeply embedded in communities. We will continue to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace.
The ideals of service, fellowship, and diversity have enabled us to transcend boundaries of all kinds. We bring people of all backgrounds together, foster collaboration, and make our communities stronger. 
For 120 years Rotary has thrived through two World Wars, through the Cold War, and through multiple deadly pandemics. We have endured and strengthened because we adhere to our mission and to our values. In times like these, we are once again reminded of the strength of Rotary and the importance of supporting our organization. 
As a founding partner of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, we’ve helped reduce polio cases by 99.9 percent since our first project to vaccinate children in the Philippines in 1979. Regardless of what lies ahead, we will stay the course and keep our commitment to the world’s children by ending polio forever. At present, we’re coordinating with our global partners to closely monitor and assess the fast-evolving situation, proactively working with many governments to sustain their financial support and seek alternative funding sources. Now more than ever, your financial support of PolioPlus is critical.
We will continue to support our Areas of Focus to forge solutions and fulfill long-term goals. Through our programs, grants, and people-to-people diplomacy, we address the underlying causes of conflicts, creating an environment conducive to peace. We work with our partners to engage in sustainable projects that tackle poverty, inequality, and lack of access to education in our own communities and those around the world. Rotary’s recent peace conference in Istanbul, which attracted more than 1,000 Rotary members, peace builders, and scholars around the world is testimony to our commitment. 
At this moment, it is ever more important that we channel our concerns and uncertainties into action and share that vision of hope with others.

Sincerely,
Stephanie A. Urchick
President, Rotary International

Mark Daniel Maloney
Chair, The Rotary Foundation

John Hewko
General Secretary

Club Calendar
Wed., Apr. 16: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Andie Shepard, Alzheimer’s Association

Thurs., Apr. 17: Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Wed., Apr. 23: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Grove Room, Forest Grove School District Offices, 1728 Main St.
Program: Laurin von Orelli, Rotary Youth Exchange

Wed., Apr. 30: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Pete Bower, Scouting America Troop 213

Fri., June 6: Steak Feed, 5 p.m.
University Center, Pacific University

Fri., Jan. 18-Sun., July 20
Concours d’Elegance Weekend