Fox Valley clubs notes

To list your club's meetings, e-mail to foxvalley@dailyherald.com, or fax to (847) 608-0849.

McHenry AARP: The McHenry County Chapter of AARP will meet at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9 at The Fountains of Crystal Lake on Route 31, one mile north of Route 176. A guest speaker will present genealogy information. Refreshments are served. For information, call Glenn at (815) 477-1952 or Fran at (847) 658-7222.

Compassionate Friends: The Fox Valley Chapter of The Compassionate Friends, will discuss "Creative Use of Grief"at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 10 in the Dunleavy Conference Room at Mercy Center Hospital 1325 N. Highland Ave., Aurora. The support organization for families following the death of a child of any age, from any cause, welcomes all bereaved parents and adult family members to its meetings the second Friday of each month. Park in the east parking area and enter through the three-story brick building facing Lake Street. For details, call Sherry Stewart at (630) 553-2132.

Kane County Audubon Society: The Kane County Audubon Society will host a bird walk at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 11, at Sauer Family Farm, Lasher and Harter Road near Elburn. Attendees will be looking for shorebirds. For information, call Nancy Schnaitman at (630) 365-9595.

On Saturday, April 18, enjoy a bird walk at 8 a.m. at Elsen's Hill DuPage Woods Forest Preserve, off Route 59, half-mile north of Route 38 in West Chicago. This forest preserve offers migrants and early nesters. For information, call Rhonda Nelson at (630) 479-1384. Visit www.kanecountyaudubon.org.

Hampshire Girl Scouts: The Hampshire Girl Scouts will "Rock The House" for PADS homeless shelter. The Girl Scout Daisies, Brownies and Juniors have selected PADS of Elgin as the recipient of their annual communitywide service project with a door-to-door scavenger hunt the week of April 5-11. The Girl Scouts will be collecting items needed by PADS including: coffee; laundry detergent (powdered or liquid); toilet paper; plastic spoons; foam cereal bowls, luncheon and dessert plates; jam or jelly; peanut butter; tea bags; creamer; Kool-Aid packets; powdered milk; bulk sugar; 8 oz. foam coffee cups; napkins; batteries (D, AA and AAA); disposable razors; facial tissue; rain ponchos; and shampoo (travel size only). From April 13-15, drop boxes will be located at: the Red Ox Restaurant on Route 72; Citizens Bank on Warner Street; and the Hampshire Park District Office on South Street.

Elgin American Legion: The Elgin American Legion Post 57, 820 N. Liberty St., will host its annual Easter brunch from 9 to 11 a.m. Sunday, April 12. It is open to the public. Cost is $8 or $4 for children under 11. On Sunday, April 19, enjoy breakfast from 9 to 11 a.m. Call (847) 741-1684 for details.

Fox Valley Computing Professionals: The Fox Valley Computing Professionals meet on a monthly basis at the Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave., to provide free and open presentations on technology. At 7 p.m. Monday, April 13, they will discuss the "Social Networking of Business." Six members will provide examples of how they use social technologies for their business. These will include Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Linked and POSI, a new social tool being developed. The club alternates each month between a technical presentation and a business presentation. Last month, they hosted an engineer from VMWare. In previous business presentations, they have offered demonstrations on CRM packages, content management packages and a series on search engine optimization. For details, visit www.foxvalleycp.com or www.meetup.com/foxvalleycp.

Sierra Club: The Valley of the Fox Group of the Sierra Club will welcome the Illinois director to address current environmental and energy legislation at 7 p.m. Monday, April 13 at the Batavia Public Library, 10 S. Batavia Ave. The public is invited. Sierra Club Illinois Director Jack Darin will discuss the upcoming environmental bills in the Illinois House and Senate. Chief among them is the Clean Care Act, which will require pollution standards, including those for carbon dioxide, for cars sold in Illinois to be similar to those sold in California. Coffee and refreshments will be served. For information, call (630) 466-1808.

McHenry County Historical Society: Continuing each week through April 20, the McHenry County Historical Society, 6422 Main St. in Union, presents its annual lecture series. Called the "Sampler Series," each program will focus on something or some one making history from McHenry County. At 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 13, the focus will be on an area businessman, John Betts, who produces giant-sized limited edition all-metal classic vehicles. Participants will see some of these models and learn about Betts' consumer design career. To round out the lecture series comes a look into the world of "Magic" with a panel of longtime magicians at 2 p.m. Monday, April 20. Magicians will do some tricks and tell stories of performing in famous sites like Riverview Park and Chicago's Treasure Chest Club. Join Marshall Brodien as Wizzo, Lake in the Hills resident Fred Drehobl as Freddy Fredricks, and Don Theobald as T-Bone the Clown. Programs are $10. To register, call (815) 923-2267. Visit www.mchsonline.org.

Henpeck Unit: The Henpeck Unit of Kane County Association for Home and Community Education will meet Tuesday, April 14 with Betty Rylko as hostess at the Burlington United Methodist Church. Guests are welcome; call Betty at (630) 669-5295 for details and directions.

At the March 10 meeting, the subject is about being "down in the dumps" and how long it lasts and what should be done about it. Six members answered roll call by naming a recipe from "Lessons for Living" that they have tried and liked. Community outreach director Mary Ebert shared an article regarding parcel track notices being circulated which police consider a "scam on seniors."

Dues of $15 for year 2009-10 were collected from members present.

Items for the Hampshire/Burlington Food Pantry were collected at this meeting. It was suggested that deodorant be collected for the Community Crisis Center at the April meeting.

The lesson titled "Blues, Blahs and Bouncing Back" was presented by Mary Ann Harter. It covered the difference between regular "blues" versus depression, techniques for bouncing back, and insights on helping others. In a lively discussion, members identified their own experiences with the blues and depression. For information about the organization or a free one-year membership in the Henpeck Unit, call Peggy Gross at (847) 683-3826 or Mary Ann Harter at (847) 683-3632.

NARFE: The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association local chapter 2181 will meet at 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 14 at the American Legion meeting room, 820 N. Liberty St. (Route 25) in Elgin. Lunch is available at the Legion's lunchroom before the meeting. The guest speaker is Roger Searle. Membership is open to all who are or will be eligible to receive an annuity or survivor annuity from the federal retirement programs including current employees, retirees, and spouses and widows of those eligible to join NARFE. Get up-to-date information at www.narfe.org and call Greater Fox Valley Chapter 2181 membership chairman Nick Hyser at (847) 741-5772.

Golden K Kiwanis: The Elgin Golden K Kiwanis will meet at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 15 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 357 Division St., Elgin. The program will be by Ron Blake on "Auto Parts Industry." Visitors are welcome. For information, call (847) 741-7176.

Dundee Township Garden Club: The Garden Club of Dundee Township is accepting applications for scholarships from students of Community Unit District 300. Qualifying applicants must be a graduating senior, college freshman, sophomore, or junior. Eligible students must be pursuing a career in horticulture or other environmentally related studies. The deadline is April 15. For details about deadlines, eligibility and other requirements, call one of the District 300 high school guidance departments or call (847) 428-1315.

Elburn American Legion Auxiliary: Everyone is invited to the Elburn American Legion Auxiliary spaghetti supper from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 16 at the American Legion Hall, 112 N. Main St., Elburn. All-you-can-eat spaghetti with homemade meat sauce, green salad, garlic bread, lots of desserts, coffee and punch will be served. Carryout is available. Cost is $7 or $3 for children, age 6 to12. Children, age 5 or younger, eat free. Proceeds will support community and auxiliary programs. It is sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 630.

Dundee Township Historical Society: The Dundee Township Historical Society will present its annual Historical Tour on Sunday, April 19. After a brief presentation at the museum, 426 Highland, West Dundee, guests will board a bus for the magical history tour through the township. The theme is "Dundee and the Civil War." Stops along the way will give riders an opportunity to meet with costumed interpreters who will portray some of the people who played a role in the Great Rebellion and hear their stories of the war. When President Lincoln called for volunteers, Dundee men were quick to answer the call. The 52nd Illinois Infantry Volunteers were engaged in many important battles of the war and their stories of heroism will be told on the tour. Advance tickets will be available at Family Pride Cleaners, 537 S. Eighth, West Dundee or at the museum the day of the event. Tours are scheduled at 1 and 2:30 p.m. A $7 donation is requested. For information, call the museum at (847) 428-6996.

Elgin VFW: The Elgin Veterans of Foreign Wars Post will host a free public dance from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, April 19. Music will be provided by Les Pace and the Pacemakers. The guys play just for the fun of it for dancing, singing along or simply listening to music mainly from the Big Band era. Light food service and refreshments are available for purchase. The VFW post is at 1600 Weld Road. For details, call Les at (847) 742-3879.

St. Charles Mothers Club: The St. Charles Mothers Club will hold its monthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday April 20, at Autopractor Auto Repair, 1820 Production Drive, Unit G in St. Charles. After a brief business meeting, members will be participating in a Women's Auto Clinic to learn the basics of car operation and maintenance. It should be a fun and informative meeting. Any prospective member is invited to this meeting. For details on the St. Charles Mothers Club, call (630) 217-MOMS or visit www.stcharlesmothersclub.org. For information on Autopractor Auto Repair, call (630) 444-1414 or visit www.autopractor.com.

Fox Valley Beaux Arts: The Fox Valley Beaux Arts will hold its regular monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 21 at Taylor YMCA, 50 N. McLean Blvd., Elgin. The program will be theater sketches presented by local entertainer, Matt Fox and Friends. Guests are welcome to join members in a fun-filled evening. For information about programs and/or membership, call Marge Haefliger, (847) 697-737. Beaux Arts is an organization that supports the arts in the Elgin area through its programs and scholarships. On April 15, Beaux Arts members and guests are invited to meet for lunch at noon at Crumpets, a charming restaurant in Genoa. For reservations and directions, call Barb McGee at (815) 784-5186.

Zonta Club: Join the Zonta Club of St. Charles-Geneva-Batavia at an open house from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 21 at Private Bank, 501 W. State St., Suite 101 in Geneva. Refreshments will be served. Open doors to friendships and associations with other executives and share a commitment to enhance the status of women worldwide. The club provides community service to individuals and their families and raises funds to support important local and international service projects. To RSVP, call (630) 545-4832 by April 15. For information, contact Bobbie Gerbrecht at (630) 248-9949 or visit www.zonta-stcharles-geneva-batavia.org.

Aurora Charter Chapter of the American Business Women's Association: Accepting applications for its 2009 college scholarships. Any high school senior within the Tri-City area or an already enrolled college student may apply for the scholarships. Applications may be obtained at high school counselor's offices or by calling (630) 879-3744. The deadline for the receipt of the completed applications is April 21. Scholarships are announced in May with recipients receiving an invitation to the June chapter meeting.

Batavia American Legion: The Batavia American Legion Post 504 meets at 7 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Batavia VFW Post 1197 Canteen, 645 S. River St., Batavia. The next meeting will be Tuesday, April 21. The Batavia American Legion Post 504 is currently looking for additional new members. If you were in the military or are currently serving in the military and would be interested in joining, call Don Nallenweg at (630) 406-9331 or visit www.bataviapost504.org.

LWV of Geneva/St. Charles: The League of Women Voters of Geneva/St. Charles will host an environmental presentation, "Energy and the Environment," at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 22 at the Geneva Public Library, 127 James St. It will be presented by Chuck Brown, staff physicist of Fermilab and Geneva alderman. Brown will make a short presentation on energy production and its inevitable impact on the environment. The presentation will be followed by a discussion session on steps that citizens can take to impact the new directions in energy production and the environment. For information, contact environmental@lwvgenstc.org or call Linda Roberston at (630) 377-1508.

South Elgin Lions: The South Elgin Lions Club will be hosting a Smelt Fry Dinner on Friday, April 24. Dinner will be served between 5 to 8 p.m. It will cost $7 for smelt, fries, coleslaw and dinner roll. There will be free hot dogs for the kids. The meal does not include the beverage, but a cash bar will be available. Carryout dinners are also available. The DJ and music will begin at 7 until closing. Come for the food but stay for the fun. For details, call Lion Joe Groth at (847) 888-9575.

Prairie State Leather Guild: The Prairie State Leather Guild is hosting the spring leather show the weekend of April 24-26 at The Oaks Hotel, 300 S. Frontage Road, Burr Ridge. The guild has been in operation for 54 years and is the oldest guide in Illinois with 32 members presently meeting in Downers Grove.

The show opens to the public at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 25. The show will be an exhibit of hand-carved and tooled leather for competition comprised of clocks, pictures, horse gear, purses, jewelry, wallet, belts, gun and knife cases, and other items.

This is an open show; you need not be a member of a guild to compete. The divisions are: Open, Advanced and Master. Deadline for entries is April 10.

At 9 a.m. Saturday, Jim Linnell of Tandy Leather Company will instruct a "free" beginners leather class for children, age 5 (when accompanied by a parent or guardian) up to adults of any age.

It's a lot of fun and you will take-home a finished leather piece and the basic tools you used to help you get started in the art of leather work. Reservations are needed for materials and space by April 17. Call Bob Chambers at (708) 895-5511 or Linda Zavala at (847) 451-7697.

Sunburst Corvette Club: Sunburst Corvette Club will hold its regular monthly meetings on the first Wednesdays of April and May at a new location. The meetings will be held at Wool Street Grill and Sports Bar, 800 Feinberg Court in Cary. Meetings begin at 7:30 p.m., but many members meet at 6 p.m. for dinner. Visit www.sunburstcorvetteclub.com