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 to see you at our weekly meeting on Wednesday at noon in the Boxer Pause room of the University Center at Pacific University. This week our program will be Donna Gustafson speaking about the City Club of Forest Grove.

Upcoming Meetings & Lunches: All of our meetings through Wednesday, Aug. 6 will take place in the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University. Our meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 13, will take place at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ.

Please note that our meetings through Wednesday, Aug. 13 require catered lunches. Deadlines for ordering lunches for those meetings are as follows:

Wed., Aug. 6 – RSVP by Wednesday, July 30

Please RSVP indicating that you will take lunch to secretary Claire Agner via email. If do you not RSVP, you are still welcome to attend the meeting, but you will need to bring your own lunch.

Change To Third Wednesday 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?

Our first social meeting will take place on Thursday, Aug. 21 with District Governor Susanne Holmberg (see below).

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!

New Member Orientation – This Monday: We will hold our quarterly New Member Orientation meeting on Monday, July 28, 4 p.m., at the offices of Moore & Welliver, 2002 Pacific Avenue. All Rotarians are welcome to attend and bring someone that they think might be interested in joining Rotary.

Concours d’Elegance: Another year is in the books! It was perfect weather and while there were a few hiccups, our annual Forest Grove Concours d’Elegance was another success. Thank you to our club members and our friends and community volunteers who made it all happen. And thank you to all who purchased tickets and our sponsors. Your contributions help fund our Scholarship Program and our service projects for the next year.

For club members, we will have a debrief meeting to go over both the Concours and our Steak Feed during our weekly meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 13. Please plan on attending and providing feedback on how both events can be better.

Save The Date – District Governor Susanne Visit: Mark your calendars for Thursday, Aug. 21, when we will have a special evening meeting for the official visit from District 5100 Governor Susanne Holmberg. This will be a join meeting with the Daybreak Club and will involve a fun, social activity for all of us to enjoy together. Time and location will be announced soon.

In lieu of the special meeting, there will be no regular weekly meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 20. This will also serve as the August meeting for our Satellite Club.

Club Survey Now Available: Club members, please take a few minutes to fill out the survey that was sent out by President Andrea earlier in July. The survey will remain until the end of July to make sure all members have a chance to voice their opinion.

The goal of the survey is to try and reinvigorate our club. While we have 72 members, only 20 to 30 show up to our meetings on a regular basis. So far, 24 members have participated in the survey.

This survey is 10 questions and is designed to help shape the future of our meetings and activities — more energy, more connection, more of what makes Rotary meaningful and fun.

A link to the survey was made available to members in the Rototeller newsletter sent via email. If you prefer a paper version, please contact President Andrea via email.

You can fill out the survey anonymously or you can feel free to add your name if you want to leave additional comments or discuss items with club leadership. Let’s make this year one where we reconnect, reimagine, and maybe even reignite the joy of being in Rotary.

DacDB Updates: If you have not responded to the email asking for updates to your current information for DacDB (District & Club Database), which our club uses for club operations. Please take the time to review the email and confirm that we have the most up-to-date information for you.

If you did not receive an email, or need assistance in updating your information, please contact Secretary Claire Agner.

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.

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
Rotary Friendship Exchange Scheduled: District 5100 is pleased to announce that during this Rotary year, a Rotary Friendship Exchange has been arranged with Rotary District 4640 in southern Brazil.  Our district had an exchange with this Rotary district in 2019.  Those who went on the exchange had a wonderful experience and made lasting friendships!

Rotary Friendship Exchanges are open to Rotarians and Rotaractors as well as their family members and traveling companions.

District 4640 borders on Argentina and Paraguay and includes Iguazu Falls.  Tentatively, the team from here will travel to Brazil in November of this year and the inbound team from Brazil will visit in the March/April timeframe.  Brazilian Visas will be required. While in District 4640, RFE team members from here will be hosted by Brazilian Rotarians in their homes.  Rotarians of our district will provide home hosting when the inbound team is here in the spring. 

Participants cover all of their own expenses, which include airfare, Visas fees, cost of any required vaccinations or medications, and independent travel.  Costs of meals outside of those provided in host homes, transportation, activity fees, and meals in restaurants are paid by team members.  There will also be costs for items such as gifts for hosts, business cards, pins, and a banner.  This list is not intended to be all-inclusive.

Independent travel before and/or after the exchange is optional, but it is typically better for the team to travel together to the country being visited.

RFEs are a wonderful opportunity to learn about Rotary in another country, that country’s culture, and to make life-long friendships!  Clubs can participate in hosting inbound RFE team members even if a member of their club is not part of the outbound team.

If you are interested in participating in this Rotary Friendship Exchange, please contact PDG Dennis Wickham.

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
Mon., July 28: New Member Orientation, 4 p.m.
Moore & Welliver, 2001 Main St.

Wed., July 30: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Donna Gustafson, City Club of Forest Grove

Wed., Aug. 6: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Amanda Hartmann, Children’s Heart Foundation

Wed., Aug. 13: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way
Program: Club Assembly – Steak Feed & Concours Debrief

Thurs., Aug. 21: 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