Annual furnace giveaway helps St. Charles mom

By Dave Heun

Daily Herald Correspondent

Tom Wangler Jr. calls his annual furnace giveaway the “Ultimate Energy Transformation,” but the president of Confident Aire Inc. in Batavia learned something unpleasant after giving out his prize this year.

After getting nominated by Salvation Army as a worthy candidate, a St. Charles single mom was chosen to receive a new energy-efficient furnace from Confident Aire to replace the broken one in her home. But more about that broken furnace in a moment.

The woman was thrilled when she found out she was chosen, Wangler said, mainly because “she had never won anything in her life.”

In addition to recently providing the new furnace, Wangler and his crew also discovered the woman's dryer was not working because it was plugged up, causing lint to build up for some time in the walls where the dryer hose broke. So the crew cleared that out and fixed the dryer hose.

“It's tough for a single mom to stay on top of these things,” Wangler said.

As for that broken furnace the woman was told she would have to replace? Turns out, Wangler could not find the broken part that another serviceman had declared would cause the unit to need replacement.

“It wasn't really broken at all, but it was old and the one we put in is much more efficient, so she really could use it,” Wangler said.

“But I really learned how some people can try to take advantage of a single mom.”

That was quick: Eagle Brook Country Club in Geneva is 20 years old? Those years went by in a blink of an eye.

That passage of time is right up there with someone asking me the other day if I remembered when Venture operated a store in Geneva on Randall Road.

That store was located in the site that is now Gander Mountain.

But who remembers this? Some residents of Randall Square living near that Venture complained the store parking lot lights were too bright. They were, after all, about the only parking lot lights along Randall Road at that time. Believe it or not, Venture toned down the lights.

Can you cook?: Organizers of the 60 Men Who Cook fundraiser have a significant task at this time of year — making sure they have 60 men who can cook for the May 11 event at the Kane County Fairgrounds.

I took the plunge a couple of years ago by making some excellent fudge, with the help of my wife, for the event.

I can't participate this year, but I can encourage others to consider it because this event draws a big crowd, and it's a lot of fun to see people and let them try your specialties.

Anyone interested in participating by making 200 bite-size portions of a main dish, side dish, appetizer or dessert, should contact Terry Emma at (630) 244-8896.

The event raises money for the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Geneva Lions, Geneva Rotary and Geneva History Center.

What's up, Tiger Lily?: That was the name of a great Woody Allen comedy in 1966. Knowing that, it made me curious as to what a place called Tiger Lily on Randall Road in Geneva was all about. The curiosity stemmed from walking by the place a few months ago, when it was first taking shape. I'm talking about the building, not what happens to the ladies inside of it.

It didn't take long to figure out what this place was all about, especially when its full name was revealed: Tiger Lily Vertical Fitness and Dance. In short, pole dancing.

It's being touted as Geneva's “first and only sensual dance and fitness studio for women.”

This, I can assure you, is probably true. So, ladies of the Tri-Cities, there you have it. Sixty-minute classes to learn pole or chair dances and, of course, build strength and flexibility in the process.

And for the men? No peaking when walking by Tiger Lily at 1749 Randall Road.

Looking dapper, big smiles: The St. Patrick's Day parade in St. Charles last weekend was full of parade participants donning green, but I have to pull this out of my parade notebook: St. Charles Third Ward Alderman Ray Rogina may have looked the most dapper with his green shirt, green pants, black vest, black driver hat and slick walking cane.

But the biggest smiles along the parade route belonged to Jennifer Farwell and Gary Doty, while sitting in a horse-drawn carriage. They were dolled up, as if they were about to be married, which, it turns out, is exactly what was about to happen. They were getting a rare trip down Main Street because it was the only way they could get from Hotel Baker over to their wedding at Francesa's restaurant during the parade. Parade organizer Julie Farris turned what would have been an uncomfortable situation for the young couple into a wedding dreamland by offering that they become part of the parade to make it easier to cross the street.

A worthy handout: Participants along the St. Patrick's Day parade route on Main Street in St. Charles handed out plenty of brochures, fliers and, of course, candy for kids.

One of those fliers reminded me the second annual Dustin Villareal benefit concert will be held at 7 p.m. April 28 at the Arcada Theater in St. Charles.

Villareal was an up-and-coming Geneva High School freshman football player when he died of a heart attack at the age of 15 on May 5, 2006. He was goofing around with buddies at the Sam's Club in Batavia while waiting for another friend to pick him up. He challenged his friends to see who could run around the outside of the building the fastest. When he took off, he never made it entirely around. His friends found him on the ground, unresponsive, after the fatal attack.

The concert, which costs $20 per person, features Elvis impersonator Rick Saucedo, singer Rick Lindy, and the Back Country Roads band.

Proceeds fund the Dustin Villareal Memorial Scholarship Foundation.

dheun@sbcglobal.net