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

This Week’s Meeting – Evening Social AND District Governor Visit: This week is the first of our third week of the month social get-togethers. Join us on Thursday night, 6:30 p.m., at Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew Street, as we enjoy fellowship with club members as well as members from the Forest Grove Daybreak Rotary Club.

This meeting will also serve as the official visit for our 2025-26 District 5100 Governor Susanne Holmberg. She will present a short program discussing her vision for the year. We will then have some fun with a trivia competition. Please be sure to join us for what should be a fun evening. We will not have a noon meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 19.

More About Our Third Week Social Meetings: Rotary is all about service and fellowship and we’re bringing both to life in a new way. Starting this August, our club will replace its noon meetings on the third Wednesday of each month a social evening on the third Thursday of each month in conjunction with our Satellite Club. These socials will take place at Zesti Carts, 2131 Yew St., at 6:30 p.m.

The hope is that these new social meetings will provide a chance for club members to bond better with one another, to better connect those who attend our Satellite Club meetings, and to align better with the fifth point of The Four-Way Test: Is it fun?

Bring your significant other, invite a friend and come ready to meet someone new. Let’s make these evenings a place for fun, connection and the shared purpose that makes Rotary meaningful. We can’t wait to see you there!

Upcoming Meetings: With the exception of the third Wednesday of the month, our regular meetings will return to its usual place in the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University.

Change To Lunch Procedures For Meetings At Pacific: As we return to Pacific, we will be taking lunch through the dining commons in the University Center. The university’s food service provider, Bon Appetit, had updated the way lunches are purchased for our meetings. Beginning on August 27, all members and guests will need to check in the treasurer before going through the commons to purchase a lunch voucher.

• If you are billed for lunch, you will still need to check in to receive your voucher.
• All guests will also need a voucher to enter the commons.
• The cost for lunch remains at $10.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we transition to this new process. If you have questions, please contact President Andrea Stewart or Treasurer Sharon Olmstead.

Club Community Service Coordinator Wanted: We are looking for a club member who would like to step forward to help coordinate community service opportunities for our club. Upcoming potential service events include the Corn Roast on Saturday, Sept. 20 and the Oktoberfest on Saturday, Sept. 27. If you are interested in helping to coordinate some great service opportunities, please see President Andrea.

Membership Committee: The club’s membership committee is looking for additional club members to assist with the committee. The Membership Committee not only works on identifying and welcoming new members to our club, but also helps to find ways to keep current members engage and feeling like they are part of something special. If you want more information or are interested, please contact President Andrea or Membership Chair Evelyn Orr.

Helped Wanted With Youth Exchange Students: Our Youth Exchange Committee is in need of help transporting our inbound youth exchange student to meetings from school. As part of their Rotary Youth Exchange experience, students are required to attend regular club meetings. If you are interested in being part of this process, please contact our Youth Exchange Chair, Sarah Barbour. NOTE: Anyone involved with transporting our exchange students must undergo a background check and the district’s youth protection training.

ShelterBox Hero Club: Once again, the Rotary Club of Forest Grove has been recognized as a ShelterBox Bronze Hero Award. The award, presented by ShelterBox USA, recognizes our club’s donation of $1,000 to assist ShelterBox’s disaster response efforts. Our club has been a longtime supporter of ShelterBox and two of our Rotarians, Jeannine Murrell and Pamelajean Myers, have served as ShelterBox ambassadors.

ShelterBox began as a project of the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard (England) in 2012. In 2012, ShelterBox became Rotary International’s first project partner and remains the only disaster relief charity. The international organization leverages Rotary partnerships to move disaster relief supplies into affected areas all over the world.

For more about ShelterBox and its mission, visit their website. You can also read more about the partnership between ShelterBox and Rotary.

Concours Merchandise: Our partners at Willow & Ash have a limited amount of Concours d’Elegance souvenirs available for purchase, including shirts and engraved vacuum-sealed coffee cups. Willow & Ash is located at 2036 Main Street in downtown Forest Grove.

Steaks Available For Purchase: Our club has a number of packages of steak left over from the Steak Feed available for purchase. Packs of two choice New York steaks are available for $20 each. If you are interested, please contact Janet Peters.

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.

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.

During the summer, the Food Pantry is open Mondays from 2-3:30 p.m. The pantry will be closed on Monday, July 28. 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
District Governor Town Halls: District Governor Susanne Holmberg will hold monthly town hall meetings for Rotarians (and those curious about Rotary) on the fourth Tuesday of each month this Rotary year. The Zoom meetings will have an open house flavor — come and go as you please — to hear concerns, ideas, suggestions, or to just visit. This is part of Susanne’s effort to bring Rotary to where Rotarians are. There is no requirement or expectation of attendance, but if you would like to visit with Susanne or other Rotarians across the district, this is an opportunity to do so.

The town halls will take place on the fourth Tuesday is each month, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. A Zoom link will be sent by the district by email prior to the meeting.

Susanne’s Storybook: Click Here to read the latest edition of Susanne’s Storybook, the Rotary District 5100 newsletter.

Last Week’s Program: Debrief of Steak Feed & Concours
Last week, our club members held a club assembly to debrief our two large fundraising events: the Steak Feed and the Concours d’Elegance. A full recap of the discussion was emailed out to club members in the club’s weekly newsletter, the Rototeller.

Club members with feedback on either event should contact President Andrea or the following committee members:

Steak Feed: Geoff Faris & Jeff Duyck
Concours: Tom Raabe

Club Calendar
Thurs., Aug. 21: Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St.

Thurs., Aug. 21: Social Event/Joint Meeting with Daybreak for District Governor Susanne Holmberg’s Official Visit, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St.
There will be no noon meeting on Wed., Aug. 20

 Wed., Aug. 27: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Keith Buckley, Pacific University Athletics

Wed., Sept. 3: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Anne Haynes, Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals

Wed., Sept. 10: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: PDG Renee Campbell, Rotary Foundation