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 on Wednesday in the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University. Our program will be Pete Bower, scoutmaster of our chartered Scouting America Troop 213.

Upcoming Meetings: All of our meetings in the month of May will take place at Pacific University except for Wednesday, May 14, when we will meet at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way (across from the university).

After our May 7 meeting, we will have catered lunches for the remainder of the month. A RSVP will be required to order a lunch for the meeting. Please sign up on the sign-up sheets distributed during our meeting meetings or email Secretary Claire Agner by no later than the Friday prior to the next scheduled meeting.

Board Elections – This Wednesday: As part of this Wednesday’s meeting, we will hold elections for four open positions on our Rotary Club 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 would like to nominate a member or would like to self-nominate, please contact Secretary Claire Agner via email. If you have questions on the duties and requirements of board members, please contact President Lucas Welliver.

Rotary Expo – This Saturday: We hope to have as many club members as possible attend the District 5100 business meeting prior to the Rotary Expo on Saturday, May 3 at 8:30 a.m. As part of the business meeting, we will be handing off the “Home of District Governor” banner from our club to the Rotary Club of Three Creeks Vancouver as Jeannine Murrell prepares to end her district governor year and Susanne Holmberg prepares to start hers. Club members should plan to meet at the Wingspan Event & Conference Center just after 8 a.m. For questions, please contact President Lucas Welliver.

There is still a need for volunteers, both for the club booth and general volunteers, for the Rotary Expo. See more information in the “Around District 5100” section.

Welcome To Rotary, Jordan Miller!: At last Wednesday’s meeting, we were honored to welcome Jordan Miller at the newest member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove! Jordan is sponsored for membership by Cole Thursam and works as a real estate agent for John L. Scott in Forest Grove. We look forward to serving with you, Jordan! Read All About Our Newest Member.

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.

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 mailed out to members who were not in attendance.

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. 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.

Pickleball Evenings – Presented By Rotary: We have reached the end of the 2024-25 indoor pickleball season at the National Guard Armory. A thank you to club members who supported the endeavor and participated throughout the year. Thank you to Steven Barnard for coordinating this popular community outreach program.

Proceeds from our sponsorship of 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 CALC to benefit the program.

Pickleball continues outdoors with evening sessions at Rogers Park (not sponsored by Rotary, but fun nevertheless). For more information, please visit the Forest Grove Pickleball Group page on Facebook.

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 Update At April 16 Meeting: At our April 16 meeting, David Tauber from Douglas Fir Productions introduced himself to the club as the contractor hired to assist Rotary with putting together the Concours d’Elegance. He reviewed some of the positioning of the show, emphasizing that this is a Rotary-sponsored event. He indicated that he will be emailing folks about upcoming opportunities to engage. 

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 – THIS SATURDAY!: A fun day of inspiration, entertainment, music and community service awaits attendees to the Rotary Expo on Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., at Hillsboro’s Wingspan Event and Conference Center.

Presented by Rotary District 5100, the Rotary Expo is designed to introduce the local community to service projects that are transforming lives around the world through the resources of Rotary International through a fun community festival. The vibrant, family-friendly celebration is an opportunity to explore the power of community service and global citizenship through interactive exhibits, engaging presentations and activities for all ages.

“This is more than just an event — it is a celebration of service and a call to action,” said Jeannine Murrell, Rotary District 5100 governor and a member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove. “Whether you are curious about Rotary, want to get involved in local service projects or just want a fun and meaningful outing with your family, the Rotary Expo is for you.”

The expo will include booths from 28 Rotary Clubs from Northern Oregon and Southwest Washington, presenting local and international service projects conducted by the clubs, plus booths from a number of Rotary’s community partners. Booths will also include games, cultural presentations and kids’ activities.

A centerpiece of the expo will be the Global Peace Village, presented by Portland’s Jubitz Family Foundation. The village allows attendees to immerse themselves in exhibits focused on building peace through education, understanding and action. It showcases inspiring peace efforts from around the globe and offers visitors a chance to learn how they can be part of the solution. In June, Global Peace Village will also be displayed at the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Alberta.

The district’s Rotary Youth Exchange students, representing 20 countries, will present about their home cultures through stories and displays. Youth Exchange students will also present a talent show featuring music, dance, speech and more, highlighting their experiences at home and during their year in the United States.

The Rotary Expo will also include the planting of a peace pole at the Wingspan Event & Conference Center beginning at 11 a.m. Presented by the Rotary Action Group for Peace, a peace pole is a monument featuring multiple languages that serves as a symbol of the universal aspiration for peace and is recognized worldwide as a symbol for peace.

Admission to the Rotary Expo and parking at Wingspan is free, but attendees are encouraged to bring easy-open, ready-to-eat foods and essential items for families with limited kitchen access that will be donated to the Family Justice Center of Washington County.Adjacent to the Hillsboro Airport/Fairgrounds stop on the Tri-Met MAX Blue and Red lines, the use of public transportation is encouraged.

Our club is signing up volunteers to man our booth. 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.

Last Week’s Program: Laurin von Orelli, Rotary Youth Exchange
At last week’s meeting, we had the pleasure to hear from our Rotary Youth Exchange inbound student, Laurin von Orelli, who introduced us to his home country of Switzerland and discussed the experiences of his year in Forest Grove.

Lauren came to us from Zug, Switzerland. He discussed how the country is famous for chocolate, cheese, watches, banks, mountains and neutrality. Switzerland has four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh.

When he arrived in Summer 2024, he traveled for 18 hours to arrive in Portland. He misses his family and friends at home and the public transport/freedom to go wherever he wants.

Laurin is grateful to the four host families he has had in his year in Forest Grove: Rus & Janet Peters & Fareeha Nayebare; Al Weiss, Sarah Barbour and Irene Barbour-Weiss; Dan, Melinda & Daniel Fischer; and Todd, Tammy & Aiden Rydman.

While in Forest Grove, Laurin competed in cross country, track and field and the ski team at Forest Grove High School. Participating on the teams has greatly helped him meet and get to know a lot of people during his exchange. His classes have included AP computer science, precalculus, American studies, English, leadership, guitar, jazz band and chemistry.

As part of being part of District 5100 Youth Exchange, he participated in a summer event for all exchange students at Twin Rocks Camp on the Oregon coast and a winter trip that included a visit to Pendleton and skiing at Anthony Lakes near Baker City. The inbounds also went on a West Coast tour in the fall that included stops in San Francisco (and a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge), Disneyland, Universal Studios and Redwoods National Park

Some of his favorite moments from his exchange include going to the Seattle and going up the Space Needle, going to FGHS prom, skiing at Mount Hood, going to a Portland Trail Blazers game, and climbing at Mt. St. Helens.

Laurin said that during his exchange, he has grown less shy and more extroverted and social. He feel like he is more mature and less scared of public speaking. He feels like he is more aware of different cultures and more perspectives. He also feels more secure in speaking English, despite being almost fluent when he arrived, and feels more self-confident.

When Laurin goes back to Switzerland, he will have two more years of high school. He will miss the most his friends, his host families, high school athletics and Dr. Pepper.

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

Sat., May 3: District Governor Banner Exchange at Rotary Expo, 8:30 a.m.
Wingspan Conference & Event Center, 801 NE 34th Ave., Hillsboro

Wed., May 7: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Kevin Barton, Washington County DA

Thurs., May 8: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Sat., May 10: Road Cleanup Project, 8:30 a.m.
Oregon Department of Forestry Offices, 801 Gales Creek Rd.

Wed., May 14: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way
Program: Youth Citizens of the Month, Banks & Gaston School Districts

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

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