Fox Valley clubs notes
To list your club's meetings, e-mail to foxvalley@dailyherald.com, or fax to (847) 608-0849.
Elgin Genealogical Society: The Elgin Genealogical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18 in the first-floor meeting room of the Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave. in Elgin. After a short business meeting, John Lamb, professor emeritus at Lewis University in Romeoville, will speak on "The Illinois and Michigan Canal and its Impact on the Midwest, Illinois, and Chicago." Visitors and guests are welcome. Visit elginroots.com for further information and helpful links for genealogical research.
Altrusa International Club: The Altrusa International Club of Elgin with the Covenant Women Ministries presents its third annual popular free "Night of Music Concert" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18 at the Evangelical Covenant Church, 1565 Larkin Ave. in Elgin. A variety of love songs will be performed by soloists Betty Brown, Jeorge Holmes, Rise Jones, and Julie Golden, accompanied by Murna Hansemann at the piano, with dance duo James and Mary Rees Freeman. A reception for attendees will immediately follow the concert. For information, call Murna Hansemann at (847) 742-6431.
McHenry County Women in Management: Certified financial planner Jennifer Dallas will be the featured speaker at McHenry County Women in Management's February luncheon. The luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 18, at the Shah Center for Corporate Training and Illinois Small Business Development Center, 4100 W. Shamrock Lane, McHenry, Dallas' presentation will encourage her audience to discover their money personality, provide basic investment strategies and ways to maximize retirement savings. She will also offer useful tips on saving and spending. Dallas is a Financial advisor and certified financial planner with Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Barrington and has worked in the financial services industry since 1999. Cost is $20 for members, $25 for guests. To make a reservation, call (815) 363-2693, visit www.wimonline.org or e-mail mchenrycounty@wimonline.org.
Plato Center HCE: The Plato Center Unit of Home and Community Education will meet at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19 at the Plato Township Hall, 10N924 Rippburger Road in Plato Center. The hostesses are Lorry DuSell, Harriet Bradley and Gina Kelm. The lesson is "Maintaining Your Household System," presented by Jackie Anderson, Nancy Haire and Joan Rossi. Theywill be making plans for the cough pillow workshop and discussing the International Luncheon being held in April. Guests are welcome. Call Joan at (847) 931-8120 to attend this meeting or to attend any of the 10 units in Kane County, call the Extension Office at (630) 584-6166.
Elgin Knights of Columbus: On Saturday, Feb. 20, the Monsignor Henry Schryer Council 654 Knights of Columbus will host their 12th annual Chili For Charity Cookoff and Dinner from 3:30 to 7 p.m. This fundraiser will be held at St. Thomas More School gym, 1625 W. Highland Ave., Elgin. There will be 50 different chilis to choose from as contestants compete for the number one chili and prizes. Proceeds will benefit Elgin Catholic Schools, Elgin Soup Kettle and Elgin Youth Sports. For information, visit kofc654.org.
St. Charles Singles: Singles age 40 and older of all communities are invited to social at breakfast at 8:15 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 20 at Randall Pancake House, McDonald and Randall roads, South Elgin. The club is nonprofit and is celebrating its 33rd year. Other activities also are scheduled. Visit stcharlessinglesclub.com or call Larry (630) 340-6647.
Audubon Society: The Kane County Chapter of Illinois Audubon Society invites the public to these programs and activities.
On Saturday, Feb. 20, join the "Gull Frolic" at the Winthrop Harbor Yacht Club. The Illinois Ornithological Society, celebrating its ninth year, is sponsoring this event which includes food (including "Sea Gull Stew"), booths and a view of lots and lots of gulls, ducks, and other water fowl in the harbor. A $10 registration fee covers breakfast and lunch. More information is available at the IOS Web site. Contact Bob Andrini at (630) 584-8386.
On Saturday, Feb. 27, take a bird walk at 8 a.m. at Les Arends Forest Preserve, Batavia. Local naturalist Jon Duerr will lead a walk, and share his extensive knowledge, along the river to view water fowl as well as other birds that winter-over in Illinois. Meet at Les Arends which lies along the Fox River, south of Main Street and north of Route 56. For information, call Jon at (630) 584-5891. Visit www.kanecountyaudubon.org. For information on Illinois Audubon Society, call Tom Clay at 217-544-BIRD (2473) or visit illinoisaudubon.org.
Fox Valley Beaux Arts: Fox Valley Beaux Arts will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23 at the home of Kathleen Mink. The evening's theme, "Potpourri and Silent Auction," has become an annual event for Beaux Arts. It gives members the opportunity to display their talent, or present a favorite work of art that inspires them. There will be a silent auction of items that members bring from home. All those who support the arts in the Elgin area are welcome to join Beaux Arts in an enjoyable evening. For infomation, call Marge Haefliger at (847) 697-7374.
Kane County Genealogical Society: The Kane County Genealogical Society will meet at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25 in the first-floor meeting room of the Geneva History Center, 113 S. Third St., Geneva. The guest speaker for the evening will be Sarah A.V. Kirby presenting "A Genealogist's Introduction to WorldCat." The presentation will detail the world's largest online library catalog, the resource, methods of access and information that can be obtained from the resource. Kirby has been researching her family since 1994 and has had a surname Web site since 1997. She obtained her masters in library and information science in 2003 and has since began moving towards professional genealogy certification. She is currently a member of Association for Professional Genealogists, National Genealogical Society, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, and several other local and regional societies. Kirby has been on the APG's publications advisory committee since early 2007. Her first career was as a NASA rocket scientist. She has a bachelor's in aerospace engineering and previously worked in Houston's Mission Control. For information, call (847) 697-1029 or visit www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ilkcgs.
Crystal Clear Toastmasters: Crystal Clear Toastmasters will host a "Speak-A-Thon" on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Panera Bread, 6000 Northwest Hwy. in Crystal Lake. This is an opportunity to make progress on your leadership and speaker manuals or finish an educational award before the end of the quarter. Toastmaster, speaker, evaluator, general evaluator, timer and grammarian roles are available. To register for this event and reserve your slot between 2 and 5 p.m., contact April M. Williams at aprilmwilliams@live.com. Include your speech information (speech length, manual name, project number and title) and desired leadership roles. All speakers will also participate as evaluators or other roles. All Toastmasters in good standing may participate. This session is open to the public and guests are welcome to attend. Bring your speech and/or leadership manuals, and be prepared to evaluate for someone else. All speakers to print their speech introduction and bring this to the session. There is no fee to participate. Attendees can purchase a meal, snack or drink from the sponsor, Panera Bread.
Lincoln State Cat Club: The Lincoln State Cat Club's 50th anniversary show will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Feb. 27-28 at Harper College in Palatine. See the best of the breeds in the Midwest compete for "Best in Show" among eight rings, talk with the breeders, listen to and ask questions at the education ring and shop for anything cat at more than 20 vendor booths. Admission is $8 per person with children under age 6 admitted free of charge. To print a coupon for a $1 off admission or for information, visit lscats.org.
AARP: The McHenry County Chapter of AARP will meet at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 11 at the Fountains of Crystal Lake, on Route 31, one mile north of Route 176. The speaker will be McHenry County Coroner Marlene Lantz. Refreshments will be served. For chapter information, call Glenn at (815) 477-1952 or Fran at (847) 658-7222.
Valley Model Railroad Association: The Valley Model Railroad Association will have a portable layout at the monthly DuPage Train show. The show will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays, March 14, April 11, May 2 and June 6 at the DuPage County Fairgrounds, County Farm and Manchester roads in Wheaton. Admission is $7 or free for children under 12. The layout is HO scale, runs Digital Command Control, and has working signals. The public is welcome to run trains on the layout. For information about the show visit www.dupageshow.com. The model railroad club invites the public to view the layouts from 8 to 10 p.m. on various Fridays of the month at the club house, 33W519 Kenyon Road, off Route 25 in South Elgin. See the HO layout in progress and watch the trains run. You can run one of the club members trains for a donation. Reservations are required by contacting Steve Foglio at (847) 530-6039 or fogs13@comcast.net.
Elgin American Legion: American Legion Post 57, 820 N. Liberty St. in Elgin, hosts a variety of activities and events which are open to the public. The American Legion Hall is available for rental for any event. For details, call (847) 741-1684.
Post 57 will host its popular "Second Wednesday Spaghetti Night" from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 10 at the post home. These spaghetti dinners are held the second Wednesday of the month from September through May. The cost is $6 per person, and the menu includes spaghetti with meat and mushroom sauce, meatballs, garlic toast, and salad.
The next "Second Sunday Breakfast" will be from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 14. It is held the second Sunday of the month from September through May. The menu and prices are: steak and eggs, $6; eggs to order, with sausage, bacon, and potatoes, $4.50 or with two pancakes/no potato, $5. Omelets are $5 and include cheese, mushrooms, green, red, or hot peppers. Also included are white or wheat toast, juice and coffee, as well as a few other beverage specials.
Stop by for its weekly Family Burger and Steak Night from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays. Or enjoy the weekly Friday Night Fish Fry from 4 to 7 p.m. at the post home. It features your choice of haddock, perch, catfish, and shrimp with all the trimmings.
The American Legion serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. There are miscellaneous lunch specials on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and spaghetti and roast beef sandwich lunch on Thursdays, and fried chicken or fish fry lunch on Fridays.
Post 57 also invites the community to bingo every Sunday starting at 1:30 p.m. with Early Bird Bingo, and regular bingo at 2 p.m. It is also offered on Fridays with Early Bird Bingo beginning at 7 p.m. and regular bingo at 7:30 p.m.
Stateline SHRM: On Thursday, March 11, Stateline Society of Human Resource Management will host a CEO Panel Discussion at McHenry County College in Crystal Lake. HR professionals and students are welcome to attend. The panel participants are CEOs and senior executives from leading local companies and organizations representing banking, nonprofit, healthcare, municipal government, manufacturing and education. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from locally recognized leaders a real world practical approach to differentiating between leadership and management. Presenters will offer guideposts for determining personal effectiveness and self-evaluation. The presentation will enable attendees to compare and contrast how external pressures affect internal decisions, how to evaluate the current state of a company's available resources, and where these leaders see the HR professional's opportunity exists to align human resources objectives with organizational goals.
A question-and-answer session will conclude the presentation. The meeting begins promptly at 8 a.m. and will adjourn at 10 a.m. at the McHenry County College Conference Center, 8900 Route 14, Crystal Lake. Cost to Stateline SHRM members is $15; cost for nonmembers is $25 payable by cash or check at the door or credit card payments can be made when registering online. The meeting is free to students with an ID. Reservations are required no later than Monday, March 8. Visit statelineshrm.org for information or to make your reservation. Tea and coffee will be available. Seating is limited.
Boy Scout Troop 18: St. Thomas More Boy Scout Troop 18 will host an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 13. Dinner will be served in the St. Thomas More School gym, 1625 W. Highland Ave. in Elgin. Tickets are available at the door. Tickets are $7 for age 13 or older; $6 for seniors; $5 for children, age 4 to 12, or $20 for a family of four.
Backyard Garden Club: Backyard Garden Club of Dundee Township, started in 1995, has designated a scholarship for students within Community Unit District 300. Individuals that apply for this scholarship must be a graduating senior, college freshman, sophomore or junior. Individuals that apply for the scholarship must submit an application that demonstrates educational or professional goals related to the environmental sciences. The scholarship is based on academic ability as well as financial need. Interested applicants should contact their District 300 guidance offices for details or e-mail Debbie Wollenberg, deb14119@msn.com. Application deadline is April 9.