S. Elgin mom enjoys her 15 minutes of fame on show
Tiffany Henderson can tell you a few things about the TV show, "Wheel of Fortune."
First off, hostess Vanna White looks as pretty in person as she does on TV.
Next, host Pat Sajak is just as witty off air as he is during the broadcast.
And finally: "The wheel is very heavy."
Henderson, a South Elgin mother of two, appeared on the long-running game show last month.
She won $3,200 after solving one puzzle and another short game.
Henderson said the show was taped Nov. 16 after a long process in which she applied online in 2006 and auditioned in downtown Chicago over the summer.
Henderson only told her immediate family that her episode would air in December, but she was deluged by calls from friends and members of her church when it hit the airwaves.
"It really is America's favorite game show. Everybody watched it," she said.
Most of her friends called to congratulate her -- and to ask why she spent so much money buying vowels to solve the puzzle phrase "Recording a live album."
Contestants regularly buy vowels to give themselves clues on which consonants to guess next.
Henderson, a former Kane County prosecutor, and her two competitors were only separated by about $1,000 going into the final round.
She had a chance to solve the final puzzle, but guessed "count" instead of "chunk" for the phrase "A nice chunk of change."
The woman next to her solved the puzzle and won a Mini Cooper car in the grand prize round.
"I've been kicking myself ever since," she said with a laugh. "I couldn't figure out 'chunk' to save my name."
Henderson's winnings won't arrive until mid-April, and she plans to use them for a cruise to celebrate her 30th birthday in May.
"The neatest part was getting to meet Pat and Vanna in person and seeing how the show works," Henderson said.
Contestants must pay their own travel expenses, so Henderson, her husband, Larry, and friends Johnny and Tammy Jackson of Carpentersville made a long weekend of it.
Calming colors, indeed
Sherman Health Care's newest immediate care facility is slated to open Monday at 2000 McDonald Road in South Elgin.
Visitors at the 16,000-square-foot facility might notice the warm earth tones used for the carpeting, walls and artwork.
Rick Floyd, Sherman president and chief executive officer, said the colors will be incorporated into the new $310 million, 255-bed hospital slated to open at Randall and Big Timber roads in Elgin in late 2009.
"Let us know what you think," Floyd said. "I hope you'll find them very soothing."
In addition to seeing patients during non-business hours, doctors at the newest immediate care center also can treat broken bones, give stitches and perform mammograms.
The South Elgin location will be open from 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. For details, call (847) 429-5000.
Sherman also operates centers in Crystal Lake, Elgin and Algonquin.