St. Charles East grad inspired to help in AIDS prevention

It took all of one day on the campus of UCLA for Kelsey Balance to get inspired about helping others in her future.

Balance, a 2007 graduate of St. Charles East, is now a sophomore at UCLA, but her first day as a freshman last year opened her eyes to an exciting opportunity.

"My first day of my freshman year I met my mentor and close friend in my sorority," Balance said. "She had just gotten back from Africa with Support for International Change and told me all about her trip. I was so amazed and inspired, I knew that I wanted to do something like that."

So she is. Balance will leave next month with nine other UCLA students who will team up with students from universities around the country for a two-month trip to Babati, a rural city in Tanzania. The goal is to spread the word about AIDS prevention in a region of Africa that suffers greatly from the disease.

"I have always been intrigued by different cultures and countries around the world, and my previous traveling experiences have allowed me to be exposed to many different areas and I have become very interested in important global issues," said Balance, who is majoring in communications, film and global studies.

Before learning about the SIC trips, Balance felt she wanted to do something to change lives for the better.

"I have always known that in my future I want to help people in some way, whether it be a doctor or a psychiatrist or making films that would change people's lives," she said. "I wasn't sure what I wanted to do exactly, but I knew it had to involve working with people to make a difference in the world, however large or small."

Balance is getting help from family and friends to spread the word locally and sell Stop AIDS bracelets that will help fund her trip.

"When deciding how to best raise funds for my trip, I began brainstorming other ways just to spread awareness about the cause," Balance said. "I began to doodle over Christmas break, and found myself designing a symbol, which led to making bracelets."

Those bracelets are available for $10 each on the helpstopaids.net Web site or locally at Amy James, It's a Girl Thing, My Girlfriends Closet, Denim Loft and Prana Yoga.

Still on course: It's hard to believe that it has been about 10 years since Mike O'Neal of Geneva and Nick Schenk of Batavia battled each other on the golf course as two of the area's better prep players.

I ran into Dave O'Neal, the pro at Royal Hawk Country Club in St. Charles, and he mentioned that his son Mike, a graduate of the University of Illinois, has recently earned a spot on the professional tour in Canada.

And golf instructor Rich Flores tells me that Schenk, one of his longtime students, was most recently playing on the Hooters Tour in Texas.

"But Nick, just in the last year, decided to stop playing competitively, and he has begun work as an accountant," Flores said. "He'll still play to qualify for certain events, like the Illinois Open and such, but he's just not doing it all of the time now."

Flores also mentioned that another standout from that era, Brandon Lawson, who attended Marmion Academy and was a state champion, is a part of the Canadian Tour as well.

Turf added to surf: Meat lovers have to join seafood lovers in keeping June 20 open on their calendars. That's the day to pick up Lobster Fly-In orders this year at the old Kane County Courthouse parking lot on James Street.

To go along with the traditional lobster orders for this TriCity Family Services fundraiser, participants can now fill up on 8-ounce beef fillets from Blue Goose Market, loaves of French bread from Breadsmith and cupcakes from The Latest Crave.

That seems to cover all of the bases for food lovers who can place orders by June 15 at tricityfamilyservices.org.

Tough to phone bistro: It wouldn't be accurate to say the Venice Tavern in Batavia was one of my favorite nightspots, but a night of live music on its back patio overlooking the Fox River was fun.

Because this spot has great potential as an entertainment and dining venue, it was good to hear that the shuttered Venice Tavern has reopened as Shawn Michael's Bistro.

Word on the street was that the new business, owned by Bob Finnen and his son Shawn, did well when it opened last month - even before a marketing or advertising campaign.

As with any new business, sometimes an unexpected problem can arise - such as not having a working phone number. The bistro appeared to be suffering from that problem last week when I tried a couple of different phone numbers, but none, including one the Batavia Chamber of Commerce had, connected me with the restaurant.

Hopefully that problem can be resolved quickly, because it sounds as if the remodeling and changes in the menu for Shawn Michael's Bistro will please customers.

Here's to hoping the new bistro on River Street enjoys a long and successful run in the Windmill City.

dheun@sbcglobal.net