The Rotary Club of Forest Grove’s Plates for Passports dinner (formerly the Steak Feed) takes place this Friday from 5 to 8 p.m.

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

This Week: Be sure to join us for our weekly meeting on Wednesday at noon in the Boxer Pause Room in the University Center at Pacific University. We will honor our final Youth Citizens of the Month for the year from the Banks School District. We will also spend time wrapping silverware in preparation for Plates to Passports on Friday.

Lunch for this meeting was catered with RSVP due last week. If you did not RSVP, you are always welcome to attend the meeting, but you will need to bring your own lunch.

Upcoming Meetings: Our summer weekly Wednesday meetings are scheduled to be in the Boxer Pause in the University Center at Pacific University with the exception of June 3, which will be held at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ.

Catered Meals Over The Summer: With Pacific University on summer break, our weekly meetings will be catered through late August. Club members should watch their email for a call to RSVP for lunch and deadlines, which will typically be a week and a half ahead of each meeting. If you do not RSVP, you are always welcome to attend the meeting, but you will need to bring your own lunch.

Summer Closure Of College Way: Between now and July 31, College Way (the road on the western edge of the Pacific University campus) is closed while the City of Forest Grove installs a water main. During the closure, the following Pacific parking lots are closest to our meeting area in the University Center.

• Lot A, at the corner of Pacific Avenue and College Way (accessed from Pacific Avenue(
• Lot C, at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Cedar Street (Taylor-Meade Performing Arts Center)
• Lot O, at the corner of Cedar Street and 21st Avenue
• Lot P, accessed from Main Street across from Parr Lumber

View Pacific’s Forest Grove Campus map to plan parking for our meetings at the university.

Plates For Passports – This Friday: The week is here! Our annual Plates for Passports Dinner (formerly known as the Steak Feed) is this Friday, 5 to 8 p.m., at the University Center at Pacific University.

We need everyone’s help to make this a successful event to benefit our involvement in the Rotary Youth Exchange program.

Tickets: If you have extra tickets that you have not sold yet, please sell them by Friday or turn in any unsold tickets, and money for tickets sold, to Janet Peters at Wednesday’s meeting.

If you have people who still want to purchase tickets, they can purchase from any Rotarian or through our Online Purchase Link. Tickets will also be available at the event for the same price of $30.

Dinners include either a barbecued New York steak of veggie burger, salad, roll, baked potato, beans, non-alcoholic drink and dessert. Beer and wine will be available for purchase for an additional fee.

Work Assignments: Click Here To View Committee Work Assignments. If you have questions about your shifts on the day of the event, please contact the committee chair before Friday.

Social Media: Our next social media posts advertising Plates for Passports will go out on Facebook and Instagram on Tuesday. Please like and share the posts so that we can attract as many people as possible to the event.

If you have not read it yet, check out the feature on Plates for Passports and the Youth Exchange program that was published recently by the Forest Grove News-Times.

Thank you, as always, to Geoff Faris and Jeff Duyck for their work to make Plates for Passports happen year after year.

Habitat For Humanity Work Project – June 6: Our service project with West Tuality Habitat for Humanity has been rescheduled for Saturday, June 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Our project will involve a yard cleanup in the Forest Gale Heights area through Habitat’s Home Repair Program. The exact address will be provided to those who sign up within a day of the project. This is a great day to get out, roll up our sleeves, and help someone in our community.

The last scheduled Habitat project was postponed because of a lack of signups, so let’s show up and show the Power of Rotary! Pre-registration is required for all participants on the Habitat Website (follow link for a specific sign-up for this event).

Rotary Youth Exchange Applications Open: The Youth Exchange Committee is currently accepting applications for the long-term and short-term exchange programs. The application deadline has been extended until Friday, June 12, so please let anyone know that you think might be interested in this exciting study abroad opportunity. Application information is available on the club’s Youth Exchange webpage.

There is also a need for host families for the 2026-27 school year. Families host an international exchange student for about 3.5 months, during which they learn first-hand about another culture and often form life-long bonds. Host families do not need to be Rotarians, but do need to go through Rotary’s Youth Exchange application, background check, and training process.

Please contact Sarah Barbour, Youth Exchange Committee chair, at 503-597-9355 or ForestGroveRYE@gmail.com for an application form or to inquire about hosting.

Board Member Elections: Congratulations to the five Rotarians who have been elected to the club and foundation board of directors: Sarah Barbour, Kevin Harmon, Amanda Hartmann, Mackenzie Johnston Carey and Carla Kimzey. These five will begin their terms of July 1. Thank you all for your commitment and dedication to our club and to Rotary.

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, May 26. For more information, or to get involved, please contact Evelyn Orr or Bruce Cummings.

Have An Idea For A Speaker? Let Mallory Know: Our president-elect nominee and program chair, Mallory Hiefield, is interested in your ideas for great programs that will pique the interest of the club. If you have ideas, please contact Mallory.

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. The Google Meets link to the online meeting is available for club members in our email newsletter, the Rototeller.

Concours Volunteer Sign-Ups Open: It is time to start lining up our volunteer teams for the 2026 Concours d’Elegance! This event takes many hands to make work light, and we count on the support of all Rotarians to make the Concours a success. And, of course, we welcome friends and community volunteers to help make this a great event and raise funds for our scholarship program.

If you volunteered last year, there is a good chance that you will already see your name listed for the same role this year. It is okay to remove yourself if you want to take on another role. If you remove yourself, SignUpGenius will notify the volunteer coordinator.

Club members were provided a link for Rotarian Concours duty signups in the club’s weekly newsletter, the Rototeller. Members of the community and Rotarians who wish to volunteer can sign up at 2026 Concours d’Elegance Public Group. 

For specialized volunteer positions selected by Mackenzie Carey or Tom Raabe, please email them directly to confirm. This includes car spotters and judges/assistant judges.

If you have questions, or do not see a volunteer role that you are interested in, please contact our volunteer coordinator, Stephanie Magoulas, at smagoulas@pacificu.edu.

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.

Around District 5100
End Of Year Celebration — June 3: Make your plans to join Rotarians from Beaverton, Columbia County, Forest Grove, and Hillsboro at our West Region End of the Year on Wednesday, June 3, 5:30 p.m., at Rood Bridge Park in Hillsboro.

The event is a family-friendly picnic-style event. Food will be provided 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 district 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. One of our games will also include a drawing for a Paul Harris Fellow!

A sign-up link was provided to all club members via email. The registration deadline is Thursday, May 28. For questions, please contact Area Governor Blake Timm at 503-320-3915 or blakertimm@gmail.com.

Rotary Friendship Exchange Next April: A Rotary Friendship Exchange (RFE) has been arranged between Rotary District 5100 and Rotary District 6840!  You ask: Where in the world is District 6480!!  It’s New Orleans and surrounding areas of Louisiana.

We are expecting a contingent from District 6840 to visit our district in September of this year and a group from our district to visit Louisiana in April of 2027.

District 6840 includes New Orleans, but also adjacent areas!  New Orleans is known for the French Quarter, fabulous restaurants, museums, and a wonderful aquarium!  Parts of the district outside of New Orleans include plantations and bayou country. 

RFE is short for Rotary Friendship Exchange.  This is a program of Rotary International where Rotarians travel to another Rotary district where they are hosted by Rotarians of that district.  While in that district, they stay in the homes of Rotarians and explore the district as arranged by local Rotarians.  It is a true exchange because Rotarians that initially visited that district later arrange the adventure of Rotarians of that district when they come to visit.  These exchanges are not just for Rotarians as they also usually include partners of Rotarians and/or other family members.

The length of an RFE is anywhere from 10 to 14 days and are at no cost to Rotary.  With this RFE, participants will cover their own expenses while visiting the other district.  Expenses will include round-trip airfare to New Orleans, fees for attractions, restaurants, museums, and local transportation.  Also, those wishing to participate as a member of an RFE team should also be willing to host members of the inbound team of District 6840 and have the support of their club with hosting and arranging the visit of the inbound RFE members.

If you are interested in participating in this adventure, an application was sent via email to district Rotarians. Applications to participate are due by May 31. With questions, please contact PDG Dennis Wickham via email.

Club Calendar
Tues., May 26: Membership Committee Meeting, 4 p.m.
Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave.

Wed., May 27: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Youth Citizens of the Month (Banks), Plates For Passports Prep

Fri., May 29: Concours Steering Committee Meeting, 9 a.m.
Online

Friday, May 29: Plates For Passports (Steak Feed), 5 p.m.
University Center, Pacific University Forest Grove Campus
Website | Order Tickets

Wed., June 3: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Forest Grove United Church of Christ, 2032 College Way
Program: To Be Announced

Fri., June 5: Concours Steering Committee Meeting, 9 a.m.
Online

Tues., June 9: Membership Committee Meeting, 4 p.m.
Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave.

Wed., June 10: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Rotary Scholarship Recipients

Sunday, July 19: Concours d’Elegance
Pacific University Forest Grove Campus
Website | Order Tickets