Claudia Yakos was among several Rotarians to participate in Forest Grove Fire & Rescue’s remembrance of first responders who died in the September 11, 2001 attacks. Photo courtesy of Forest Grove Fire & Rescue.

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

This Week – Monthly Social: It is the third week of the month, which means it is time for our monthly club social! Join us on Thursday, 6:30 p.m., at Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew Street, for an evening of fun, food and fellowship with your fellow Rotarians. If you have a friend or colleague that you think would be interested in Rotary, this is a great time to bring them to learn more about the club. We hope to see you there! NOTE: There will be no regular weekly meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

New Pacific Lunch Process – Read Carefully!: With the return of our weekly meetings to Pacific University, the club is changing the process of how members will pay for their lunch in the university’s dining commons.

Club members will pay directly for their lunches as they enter the commons. The cost for the all-you-care-to-eat meals is $9.75 per person, the same as what Bon Appetit charged the club under the previous system. Corporate members and guests will still receive vouchers for lunch.

The goal for this change is to streamline the relationship between the club and Bon Appetit, and to ease the burden of our treasurer, who managed this process simply as a pass-through from the club.

Please contact President Hector Mendez-Colberg and/or treasurer Sharon Olmstead with any questions.

Upcoming Meetings: All of our weekly meetings this fall will take place at Pacific University with the exception of the following dates, when we will meet at the Forest Grove United Church of Christ: Oct. 14, Nov. 11, Dec. 2 and Dec. 9. Remember that on the third week of the month, we do not meet on Wednesdays. That week, we encourage everyone to attend our monthly social on Thursday, 6:30 p.m., at Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St.

September 11 Remembrance: The Rotary Club of Forest Grove was well represented among the 69 readers who participated in Forest Grove Fire & Rescue’s remembrance of the first responders that died during the attacks on the U.S. on September 11, 2001. Thank you to Melinda Fischer, Blake Timm, Claudia Yakos, Jenny Coyle, Doug Thompson, Howard Sullivan, Michael Cook, Willow Oelke, Steve Mann & Parri Van Dyke for taking time to participate and remember those who gave their lives helping others.

Garden Cleanup – Oct. 3: It is time to be thinking about getting our McDougall Garden ready for the fall and winter months. Thanks to Rus & Janet Peters and Melinda Fischer who went out over the weekend to do some cleanup on the garden before Friday’s September 11 remembrances.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, Oct. 3, when we will get together for a more extensive work party to get the garden ready for winter. More details will be available soon, but please plan on joining us! Our McDougall Garden is located between Pacific and 19th Avenues, across from the big flagpole.

Meal Coordinator For Off-Campus Meetings Needed: We thank Parri Van Dyke for generously coordinating lunches for our off-campus meetings over the summer. As Parri is no longer able to serve in this role, we are looking for a volunteer to coordinate meals for meetings held away from the Boxer Pause and for occasions when the Boxer Pause Café is unavailable. Responsibilities include arranging meal orders, coordinating with the club treasurer on payments, and getting head counts for lunches. Training will be provided.

If you are willing and able to take on this role, please contact President Hector Mendez-Colberg.

Outbound Youth Exchange Applications Still Open: Our club is still looking for its 2027-28 Rotary Youth Exchange outbound student. Opportunities are available for both long-term and short-term exchanges for the upcoming Rotary year.

For more information, and to fill out an application, please visit the Rotary Youth Exchange page on the Rotary Club of Forest Grove website.

Looking For Our Next Treasurer And Bookkeeper: After years of service as treasurer for our club, Sharon Olmstead is looking to find her replacement so that she can move forward in her Rotary journey. The treasurer manages the finances of the club and ensures that the club is in compliance with state, federal and Rotary International financial responsibilities. The finances of the Foundation of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove are handled by our fundraising treasurer.

Additionally, the club is looking to identify a new bookkeeper. Julie Schmidlkofer, who has served the club in that role for many years, is reducing her client load as she moves towards retirement.

The treasurer is a club officer and must be a member of the Rotary Club of Forest Grove. The bookkeeper is a hired position and that person does not need to be a member of the club. If you have interest in either position, or know someone who might be, please contact Sharon.

Community Forum On Pacific/Willamette Merger: Rotarians and members of the community are invited to join fellow Rotarian and Pacific University President Jenny Coyle on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 4 p.m., for a virtual forum on the upcoming merger between Pacific and Willamette University.

This forum is tailored for local civic, government, and business stakeholders, and will share key insights into the vision driving this merger, provide an update on the transition process, and discuss how Pacific aims to deepen its partnership with local leadership to serve Washington County and the greater region.

The forum will take place via Zoom and is free, but registration is required. For more information and to register, please visit the Pacific University Alumni Association website.

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, Sept. 22. For more information, or to get involved, please contact Evelyn Orr or Bruce Cummings.

Concours d’Elegance News
The Numbers Are In!: We worked hard to make our annual Concours d’Elegance car show a success, and now we get to reap the awards.

Fundraising treasurer Janet Peters reported at Wednesday’s meeting that the net profit from the 2026 edition of the show is $69,048. The proceeds will benefit our club’s annual scholarship program, our scholarship fund at Pacific University, and our club’s service outreaches.

This year, the show welcomed 264 cars and over 2,600 paid attendees. We exceeded our projected income by 2.6%, while expenses came in approximately $5,900 under budget.

The club extends a great thanks to the steering committee, co-chaired by Bruce Cummings and Amanda Hartmann, for their exceptional work in making the Concours d’Elegance a success.

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.

Help Pack 169 With Assisted Living Carnival: Cub Scout Pack 169, of which one of our newest members, Derrick Strugill, is the cubmaster, has been asked to assist with a carnival at one of Forest Grove’s assisted living center on Sunday, Sept. 27, from noon to 3 p.m. The pack is looking for 10 to 15 volunteers to assist with running the event, which is for the staff and residents of the community.

Volunteers are needed to help run games, coordinate a bounce house, assist with making and serving snow cones, cotton candy and popcorn, running a photo booth, and more. If you are able to help out, please contact Derrick.

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.

Rotary Basics
With so many new members joining the club in the last couple of years, the Rototeller is bring back its Rotary Basics section. This section is designed to educate all of us on some of the basics functions of Rotary, and to demystify some of the things that make Rotary (sometimes) confusing. Have something that you want to know about Rotary? Drop a line to Rototeller editor Blake Timm and he will try to track it down.

The Four-Way Test
Perhaps the most important guiding principle of Rotary, the Four-Way Test does not have its origins in Rotary itself but in a Rotarian who sought to save his company in the midst of the Great Depression.

In 1932, Herbert Taylor took over Chicago’s Club Aluminum Company, charged with saving the company from bankruptcy. He knew that changing the company’s fortunes meant changing the ethical climate of the company. A Christian, Taylor penned the 24 words that all Rotarians know today.

Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will to build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

After testing on himself for 60 days, Taylor shared The Four-Way Test with four of his department heads, all of whom were of different religious faiths. All agreed with his credo. With The Four-Way Test as the guiding principle, Club Aluminum went from $400,000 in debt to generating $1 million in dividends in just a few years’ time.

Taylor gave rights to use The Four-Way Test to Rotary International in the 1940s and the copyright in 1954. In addition to Rotary, a number of businesses use The Four-Way Test as a guiding principle. That includes Walgreen’s, introduced to the company by Charles R. Walgreen, Jr., in 1955.

Rotary Glossary
District Grant: District grants fund small-scale, short-term activities that address needs in a club’s community and communities abroad. District grant programs are administered by each respective Rotary district and can support humanitarian projects, scholarships, youth programs, vocational training teams and more.

Around District 5100
Vibrant Club Workshop: It’s time to sign up for this year’s Vibrant Club Workshop, which will take place on Saturday, Sept. 26, at the conference room at the Hillsboro Airport, 3355 NE Cornell Road.

This year’s workshop is being reimagined to provide a more hands-on approach for attendees. Important Rotary education on membership development, Rotary Foundation and public image will be offered, but attendees will put that knowledge to use to plan a service project for the region.

If you are interested in learning more about the inner-workings of Rotary and using your knowledge to put together a service project, then the 2026 District 5100 Vibrant Club Workshop is for you.

While strongly encouraged for club leadership and board members, the Vibrant Club Workshop is open to all Rotarians who want to learn more, be more involved and create lasting impact.

Registration is now open on DacDB. There is a nominal $15 per person charge to cover room rental fees and refreshments.

Additionally, all Rotarians who sign up for the Vibrant Club Workshop between now and Wednesday, Sept. 16 will be entered into a drawing for a Paul Harris Fellow. The club with the highest percentage of its members attending the workshop will also receive 1,000 Paul Harris Fellow points to be used at the president’s discretion.

If you have questions, please contact Area Governor Blake Timm or district Learning & Development Chair Amy Tracewell.

Committee Spotlight – District Learning & Development Committee (from District 5100 Newsbyte): District committees are an important resource for our clubs. They bring together Rotarians with experience, ideas, and a willingness to help others succeed. By highlighting one committee each month, we hope you will gain a better understanding of the resources available to you and your club—and perhaps discover a place where your own talents and passions can make a difference beyond the club level.

At the district level, the Learning & Development Committee helps us prepare, encourage, and develop the leaders who make Rotary stronger.

The committee works with the district governor, governor-elect, and district leadership team to provide meaningful learning opportunities for club and district leaders. These experiences are designed not simply to convey information, but to help Rotarians deepen their understanding of Rotary, develop leadership skills, build relationships, and gain the confidence and resources they need to serve effectively.

District Learning & Development Chair Amy Tracewell and her committee work throughout the year to create opportunities that:

• Expand awareness of the breadth of Rotary through service, membership, fellowship, leadership, and engagement.
• Prepare new and continuing club leaders with the knowledge, tools, and Rotary resources they need to strengthen their clubs.
• Develop our annual Vibrant Club Workshop, bringing Rotarians together by area to create meaningful, practical outcomes that strengthen membership, public image, service, and support for The Rotary Foundation.
• Assist with the Pre-Presidents-Elect Learning Seminar, helping prepare our presidents-elect for Pacific Northwest PELS each February.
• Coordinate Spring Training, also known as our District Training Assembly, with learning opportunities for both new and experienced Rotarians.

Spring Training is intentionally broad. Some sessions are designed specifically for incoming and continuing club officers as they prepare for the new Rotary year. Others provide opportunities for every Rotarian to explore service, engagement, membership, fundraising, vocational service, leadership development, and the many ways we can build healthy, welcoming, and vibrant clubs.

Rotary International provides an extensive curriculum through the Learning Center in My Rotary. Our district committee helps bring that learning to life by creating in-person, district-specific opportunities where Rotarians can ask questions, exchange ideas, learn from one another, and enjoy the fellowship that makes Rotary special.

Making these opportunities successful takes many hands. We need Rotarians willing to help develop programs, identify learning needs, facilitate conversations, coordinate logistics, promote events, and welcome participants.

We need many kinds of experience.

You do not need to consider yourself a professional trainer to contribute. Sometimes the most effective learning happens when one Rotarian shares a lesson learned, asks a thoughtful question, or helps another leader discover a resource at exactly the right moment.

Our goal is to build a culture of continuous learning throughout District 5100. Clubs benefit when they provide leadership development and new-member orientation, and our members benefit when they are continually encouraged to deepen their Rotary knowledge and develop new skills.

Ultimately, the Learning & Development Committee is helping build our district’s leadership pipeline—preparing today’s leaders, encouraging tomorrow’s leaders, and supporting our clubs along the way.

If this work speaks to you, I encourage you to learn more about the committee or consider joining it. Committee and chair contact information is available through DACdb.

Last Week’s Program: Rotarian of the Month
At last week’s meeting, the spotlight was shined on our club secretary, Claire Agner, who was featured as our Rotarian of the Month! It was great to learn more about Claire and appreciate why she is so committed to Rotary and our club.

Our next Rotarian of the Month program, on Wednesday, Sept. 30, will be Sarah Barbour. Mark your calendars and join us!

Club Calendar
Thurs., Sept. 17: Board Meeting, 5:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Thurs., Sept. 17: Monthly Social, 6:30 p.m.
Zesti Food Carts, 2131 Yew St., Forest Grove

Tues., Sept. 22: Membership Committee Meeting, 4 p.m.
Forest Grove/Cornelius Chamber of Commerce, 2417 Pacific Ave.

Wed., Sept. 23: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Forest Grove Police Chief David Marzili

Wed., Sept. 30: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Rotarian of the Month

Sat., Oct. 3: Time TBD
McDougall Garden Work Party
Between Pacific and 19th Avenues at Big Flag

Wed., Oct. 7: Weekly Meeting, Noon
Boxer Pause Room, University Center, Pacific University
Program: Green Grove Cohousing Community