Our club honored its newest Paul Harris Fellows, and those attaining their next Paul Harris Fellow level, at our Crab Feed on April 2. From left: Pete Van Dyke, Duncan Stewart, Melissa Timm, Blake Timm, Andrea Stewart, Lara Bekiroglu, and club Rotary Foundation chair Michael Yakos. Honorees not pictured include Chuck Pritchard, Margie Davidson and Pamelajean Myers. Photo by Hector Mendez-Colberg.

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

This Week: For the first time in a while, we are back to our weekly Wednesday meetings. We hope you will join us this Wednesday at noon at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way (across the street from Pacific University). This is our Bring A Friend Challenge meeting, so plan on bringing a guest that you think would be interested in joining our club! We will also hear from Bassam Tarazi from Edward Jones, who will update us on our foundation’s new endowment account.

Upcoming Meetings: As per our regular schedule, we will have our monthly social meeting on Thursday, Apr. 16. Our Wednesday, Apr. 22 meeting will also be at the Forest Grove UCC. We will return to the Boxer Pause at Pacific for our April 29 meeting.

Bring A Guest Challenge: We’re kicking off our Bring a Guest Challenge! Join us on Wednesday, Apr. 8, and bring a friend to experience Rotary, to enjoy lunch on us, and meet fellow members. Guests will get a warm introduction to our club while we receive an update on our current endowment. One guest, one conversation, one invitation — let’s share the Rotary experience!

Crab Feed: We enjoyed a great evening of fellowship, food and celebration at our Crab Feed social on Thursday. Attendees enjoyed music by a jazz combo from Forest Grove High School during our social hour, the excitement of our annual dessert dash and the recognition of our latest Paul Harris Fellows. A special thank you to the Crab Feed Committee, chaired by Julia Kollar and Jeff Duyck, for putting together such a special evening for us.

Thank you to our members who were generous in the dessert dash, both in donating desserts and in purchasing desserts. The dash raised $1,075 to benefit The Rotary Foundation, helping to meet our club’s goals for giving to the foundation’s Annual Fund.

Saluting Our Paul Harris Fellows: At the Crab Feed, we honored our members and friends who have earned Paul Harris Fellows or have attained their next Paul Harris Fellow level. Paul Harris Fellows are presented to Rotarians who have donated at least $1,000 or more lifetime to The Rotary Foundation. Through recognition points or donations, individuals can also gift a Paul Harris Fellow to another individual.

This year, seven club members reached another level of Paul Harris Fellow recognition, and three friends of our club were gifted Paul Harris Fellows. Thank you to our club members for their continued support of The Rotary Foundation and congratulations to those friends who were honored.

Paul Harris Fellows (Gifted By Club Members): Lara Bekiroglu, Duncan Stewart, Melissa Timm

Paul Harris Fellow + 1: Pete Van Dyke
Paul Harris Fellow + 2: Margie Davidson
Paul Harris Fellow + 3: Michael Yakos
Paul Harris Fellow + 4: Pamelajean Myers & Chuck Pritchard
Paul Harris Fellow +4 and +5: Blake Timm
Paul Harris Fellow +7: Andrea Stewart

Thank You Michael Yakos: At the Crab Feed, our club also took time to salute our outgoing Rotary Foundation chair, Michael Yakos. In his eight years as chair, our club has exceeded its goals for both Rotary Foundation Annual Fund and PolioPlus Fund giving. Michael will be stepping down from that role at the end of the Rotary year and will be joining the district’s Rotary Foundation Committee, helping to oversee Paul Harris Society recognition. Thank you, Michael, for your leadership in this role and for your commitment to Rotary!

Lucas Welliver will become the club’s new Rotary Foundation chair on July 1.

Club Scholarship Applications Due This Friday: Applications for 2026 edition of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove’s Scholarship Program are due on Friday, Apr. 10. The program is open to graduating high school seniors who live in the Forest Grove, Banks and Gaston school attendance areas. The program is made possible with proceeds from our annual Concours d’Elegance car show. Visit the Scholarship Page on our club website for more details and to learn how to apply. For questions, please contact Scholarship Committee Chair Sharon Olmstead, sharon.olmstead8571@gmail.com.

Scholarships are awarded to help pay for the first year of college or vocational school. The scholarship may be used at any such school in the United States.

RYLA Applications Open: Do you know a young leader age 19 to 32 who could benefit from a weeklong inspiring leadership experience? Applications are now open for the 2026 District 5100 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), which takes place July 11-17 at the Menchua Retreat & Conference Center in Corbett. For seven powerful days, participants dive into immersive leadership training, relationship-building, and personal growth that has sparked countless Rotary journeys. It’s not just a program—it’s a launch pad.

To learn more about the impact of RYLA, read the recap of our Mar. 11 program presented by Mallory Hiefield, who attended RYLA last year. If someone is interested in applying, please contact Andrea Stewart.

Steak Feed Is On May 29: Our annual Steak Feed is scheduled for Friday, May 29, 5 to 8 p.m., at the University Center at Pacific University. The Steak Feed is a fundraiser for our involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program and a great opportunity to show the local community what we do.

There are changes coming to this year’s event in an effort to draw more interest, including a new branding, an expanded menu and possible local entertainment. More information on the changes, along with ticket sales and work assignments, will be available soon.

Club members are invited to participate in the planning for the event. Please contact Geoff Faris or Jeff Duyck for details.

Satellite Club Plant Sale – Pots Needed: Our Satellite Club is in the planning stages for a spring plant sale. They will be dividing up the bulbs that are currently in the Victory Garden at Tuality Plains High School and selling any excess bulbs to benefit the club. For the sale, we need a number of one-gallon flower pots. If you have some, please hold them aside. More details coming soon.

Forest Grove/Hillsboro Club Social: The scheduled club social with our club and the Hillsboro Rotary Club has been canceled. Please contact President Andrea with any questions.

Vision To Action Workshop – May 9: Help us shape the future of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove. Club members are invited to a Vision To Action Workshop, facilitated by District 5100, on Saturday, May 9, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., in the Boxer Learning Center in Pacific University’s Stoller Center (athletic complex). The workshop is designed to help us think about how we want our club to progress and grow into the future, and help shape our club’s three-year action plan (something that Rotary International is now requiring for all clubs). All club members are invited to participate. More details coming soon.

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, Apr. 14. For more information, or to get involved, please contact Evelyn Orr or Bruce Cummings.

Youth Exchange Drivers For Weekly Meetings Needed: One of the requirements of the Youth Exchange program is that both inbound and outbound students attend our Rotary meetings. The Youth Exchange Committee is still in need of someone who can pick up Lara and our outbound student, Sophie, from Forest Grove High School weekly at 11:30 a.m., and return them to the school after. While a consistent driver for the semester would be ideal, the committee is open to having people sign up for one-month shifts at a time.

If you are interested in helping out, please contact our Youth Exchange Officer, Sarah Barbour. NOTE: To assist with the transport of Youth Exchange students, you must complete the District 5100 Youth Protection Training and undergo a background check with the district.

Concours d’Elegance News
Concours Committee Meetings: Club members are invited to take part in the weekly online meeting of the Concours Committee, which takes place each Friday at 9 a.m. (note the change in time and frequency of meetings). The Google Meets link to the online meeting is available for club members in our email newsletter, the Rototeller.

Concours Sponsorships: Sponsorship procurement for the Concours is well underway. If you have leads on potential sponsors, please direct those leads to Amy Tracewell, Janet Peters or Stephanie Magoulas. Learn more about sponsorships, including partnership levels and benefits, On The Concours Website.

Merchandise At Willow & Ash: Are you interested in some Concours merchandise, like a poster, a coffee tumbler or a hat? Willow & Ash is offering some Concours merchandise available year-round! Current selections include Concours posters, hats, coffee tumblers and keychains. Items can be purchased online on the Concours website or purchased at Willow & Ash at 2036A Main Street, Forest Grove. Sorry, no shipping is currently available. Items purchased online will need to be picked up at Willow & Ash.

For More Information: If you have Concours-related questions or are interested in opportunities, please contact Concours Chair 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.

Volunteer Opportunities With TrackTown USA: Do you like track and field? Do you like being a part of a world-class sporting event? TrackTown USA is looking for volunteers to assist with several large-scale track and field meets to be held this year at Hayward Field in Eugene. Volunteer roles are open in several areas, including event operations, athlete services, partnerships, logistics, media operations and more. You can volunteer for one meet or all of them.

This year’s meet schedule includes:
• OSAA State Championships, May 28-30
• NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships, June 10-13
• USA Track & Field U20 Outdoor Championships, June 18-19
• Nike Outdoor Nationals, June 18-22
• The Prefontaine Classic, July 3-4
• World Athletics U20 Championships, Aug. 5-9

To learn more about volunteer opportunities, and to register to become a volunteer, visit the TrackTown USA Website.

Around District 5100
Spring Training – Volunteers Needed: We look forward to seeing many of you at the annual District 5100 Spring Training, this Saturday at Forest Grove High School. The district’s Learning & Development Committee, co-chaired by our own Amy Tracewell, has worked hard to bring this event together so we can deepen our knowledge of Rotary.

The committee is in need of a few more volunteers to help make the event run smoothly. Volunteers are needed for set-up (at 6 a.m.), take down (after 3:30 p.m.) and during the day to provide assistance for whatever might come up.

If you are able to provide a helping hand to put Forest Grove’s best foot forward, please contact Amy via email.

End Of Year Celebration Is On June 3: In lieu of a district conference, District Governor Suzanne Holmberg plans to visit each region in the district for an evening to celebrate our clubs over this Rotary year. The End of Year Celebration for the Western Region (clubs in Beaverton, Forest Grove and Hillsboro) will take place the evening of Wednesday, June 3, 5:30 p.m., at Rood Bridge Park in Hillsboro.

The event is designed to be a family-friendly picnic-style event. Bring yourselves, your family, and maybe a friend who is interested in Rotary. We will have food, games, a short presentation by District Governor Suzanne Holmberg and some awards. It’s a great opportunity to get to know fellow Rotarians from clubs across our region, which includes Rotarians from Beaverton, Columbia County, Forest Grove and Hillsboro.

More details will be coming soon. In the meantime, if you have questions or are interested in helping plan and execute this celebration, please contact Area Governor Blake Timm.

Club Calendar
Wed., Apr. 8: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way
Program: Bassam Tarazi, Foundation Endowment Account

Thurs., Apr. 9: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Fri., Apr. 10: Concours Meeting, 9 a.m.
Online

Sat., Apr. 11: District 5100 Spring Training, 8 a.m.
Forest Grove High School, 1401 Nichols Lane

Tues., Apr. 14: Membership Committee Meeting, 4 p.m.
Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave.

Thurs., Apr. 16: Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Thurs., Apr. 16: Social Meeting/Bring A Guest Challenge Social, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Fri., Apr. 17: Concours Meeting, 9 a.m.
Online

Wed., Apr. 22: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way
Program: To Be Announced

Sat., May 9: Club Vision To Action Planning, 9 a.m.
Boxer Learning Center, Stoller Center, Pacific University Forest Grove Campus

Friday, May 29: Steak Feed, 5 p.m.
University Center, Pacific University Forest Grove Campus

Sunday, July 19: Concours d’Elegance
Pacific University Forest Grove Campus