District 5100 Governor Susanne Holmberg points to her destination of Forest Grove on her specially-wrapped car for her 2025-26 district governor year. Photo by Blake Timm.

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

This Week’s Meeting: Be sure to join us this Wednesday at noon in the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University. This week, we will hear from Pacific Athletic Director Keith Buckley, who will provide us an update on Boxer Athletics.

Upcoming Meetings: All of our Wednesday meetings through the end of September will take place in the Boxer Pause room in the University Center at Pacific University. Please remember that we will not have a noon meeting on the third Wednesday of the month (Sept. 17).

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.

District Governor Visit/First “Third Thursday” Social Meeting: Thank you to the 23 club members who came out to Zesti Food Carts last Thursday night for our first Third Thursday social of the year and an our official visit by District Governor Susanne Holmberg. We were also joined by members of the Forest Grove Daybreak Rotary Club as this was also their official visit with Susanne.

We appreciated everyone’s patience as we dealt with the noise and confusion of one of the busiest nights in Zesti’s history. We were able to receive a message from Susanne and ask questions afterwards about her vision for District 5100 in the 2025-26 Rotary Year. The trivia contest did not go forward as scheduled, but everyone enjoyed great conversation and fellowship.

Because of the noise, Susanne also dispensed with the presentation of her “Epic Tale Award.” Reflective of her theme of “Storytelling” for the Rotary year, the award recognizes a club member whose work tells a story of lasting a change, a member who has excelled at using digital platforms to share their Rotary story, a member who tells their personal story in a way that resonates with others, or a member whose story has never been told, but who has left a legacy with their club and community. The award will be presented by President Andrea at a future meeting.

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!

Welcome To Our Inbound Youth Exchange Student, Lara!: Our club’s 2025-26 Rotary Youth Exchange inbound student, Lara Bekiroglu from Turkey, is scheduled to arrive at Portland International Airport on Saturday, Aug. 30. Club members are invited and encouraged to be part of the greeting party at PDX to give her a warm welcome to Oregon and the United States. As flight times can and do change, please contact our Youth Exchange Officer, Sarah Barbour, if you plan on joining the welcoming party.

Youth Exchange Driver 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. This would begin on Wednesday, Sept. 3. 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 undergone a background check with the district.

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.

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
Vibrant Club Workshop: All Rotarians are invited to take part in District 5100’s Vibrant Club Workshop on Saturday, Sept. 27, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The pod for the Western Region clubs (Forest Grove, Hillsboro & Beaverton) will take place at All Saints Episcopal Church, 372 NE Lincoln St., Hillsboro.

This year’s Rotary Vibrant Workshop will provide hands-on club integration of funding, public image and membership. Membership grows and retains Rotarians when clubs have meaningful service projects that are well-promoted and provide meaningful community contributions. The workshop will share successful strategies that clubs in our district have used to grow their membership.

Club executive leaders and board members are highly encouraged to attend, but all Rotarians are welcome. There is a $15 per Rotarian fee to cover facility rental and light refreshments. Rotarians can sign up for the workshop on DacDB.

For questions or more details, please contact Area Governor Blake Timm.

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.

Club Calendar
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

Thurs., Sept. 11: Executive Board Meeting, 7 a.m.
via Zoom

Thurs., Sept. 18: Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St.

Thurs., Sept. 18: Monthly Social Meeting/Satellite Club Meeting, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St.