Geneva Community Chest’s ‘Black and Blanc’ gala to raise funds for local agencies

OK, a raise of hands.

Who knows what the Geneva Community Chest is all about and what makes it different from a service club?

Truth is, they are similar in that they both help agencies in need, but the Community Chest doesn’t have a national cause it focuses on. It’s strictly about helping local organizations.

To that end, the GCC, which celebrated its 50th anniversary two years ago, is preparing for one of its key fundraisers — the “Black and Blanc” gala event at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, at Eagle Brook Country Club in Geneva.

“We focus on keeping every dollar local that we can,” said organization member Tara Moen, a co-chair for the fundraising gala. “We believe if you want to fix the problems in the world, start in your backyard.”

Because federal or state funding is often unreliable, Moen views the Community Chest as being able to “fill a gap for a lot of organizations.”

Geneva has the only Community Chest organization in the area, which is good news for plenty of service agencies.

In 2023, GCC distributed more than $200,000 in grants to 29 local charities serving the needs of children, people with disabilities, as well as seniors and families, many providing emergency services and aid to those at the end of their lives.

“The organizations often come to us with a specific request,” Moen said, citing the GCC grant to Joshua Tree Community, an organization serving intellectually disabled young adults older than 22, for the agency to purchase a van for taking clients on outings.

“Basically, we give organizations enough money to be able to do something that federal or state funding doesn’t cover,” Moen added.

The GCC, which currently has 35 members, is not unlike other service organizations that see a need to engage younger residents to establish a strong future. To that end, GCC started “Vikings for our Community,” an organization at Geneva High School in which students learn about community needs and how to organize fundraisers through the guidance of GCC members.

“It’s not something we do as a major source of funding, but a way to engage the younger generation,” Moen explained. “We helped them with their fundraisers, we mentor and guide them, and they take on projects during the year. We want to instill those values in the younger generation.”

Part of the program includes community organizations making presentations to the students about what services they provide and what they need to do that job.

“They get a lot out of it, for them to hear what is out there in the community and what the needs are,” Moen noted. “It was really cool and fun to be part of that.”

In addition to the upcoming dinner fundraiser, the GCC also organizes a golf outing and 5K run in the summer and partners with Little Traveler owner Mike Simon during the Festival of the Vine event in the fall. GCC members work at the tables to sell products on the Traveler lawn during the festival. In turn, Simon donates all profits from those sales to GCC.

Kristie Dienst has been president of the GCC for the past four years. Moen, Dienst and Jessie Kenny are organizing the dinner fundraiser.

Board members generally commit to raising $1,000 for the organization each year, whether as a personal donation or through engaging community members to donate or buy tickets for fundraising events.

“The financial commitment on our board is really reasonable. You don’t have to shell out a lot of money,” Moen said. “Basically, the $1,000 amount is to keep you accountable to our fundraising efforts, but you are not required under any circumstances to personally contribute. Most of us do, but you are not required to.”

For the next two weeks, the focus will be on getting community members interested in “Black and Blanc,” a black-tie optional event, though black and white attire is encouraged.

The cocktail hour will be 6 to 7 p.m., with dinner beginning at 7 p.m. Registration, available at genevacommunitychest.org, is $150 for the dinner and paired wines, plus two beverage tickets and entertainment.

Goodbye to Rev. Bill:

If there is a name that “Talk of the Town” readers got used to over the past 20 years, it was the Rev. William Beckmann, associate pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Batavia.

To members of the Tri-Cities Exchange Club, he was “Bill,” and we got used to him delivering the opening prayer at our weekly meetings for several decades.

I covered his annual presentations to the club about Christmas history and traditions for 20 years for the Daily Herald. We all learned more about the holidays than we could ever have imagined.

Bill passed away last weekend while visiting family in Alabama. Information from those who worked with him at the church for many years indicate he had fallen, broke a hip and had surgery. Things seemed fine, but his heart gave out a day or two later while recovering, and he did not survive.

I first met Bill in 1978 when he was the principal at Valley Lutheran High School. I stopped in to tell him I was interested in getting more sports coverage from Valley Lutheran in the newspaper. I left thinking, I wish I would have had a principal like this guy.

It seems fitting, in our current times, to simply leave you with the closing line of every prayer I ever heard Bill deliver. “Watch over us, God, and keep us always mindful of the needs of others.”

From Throwback to sushi:

Throwback Sports Bar at 1890 W. Main St. in St. Charles recently closed its doors, but a sushi restaurant appears ready to move into that location.

Throwback was an interesting place that had good food and fun events, many geared toward country music nights.

That small retail strip has another spot growing in popularity, based on notes from readers as well as social media posts. The Wings and Chips restaurant at 1960 W. Main St. is located in a spot previously occupied by Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop, and more than a few people have said this is worth trying.

That area of West Main continues to be a quick-serve or casual food mecca with McDonald’s, Los Burritos Mexicanos, Just Kabobs, Chums Shrimp Shack and Beef Shack in that region. And it’s all not too far from Evergreen Pub and Grill, Alexander’s and Rookies to the east. Buona Beef and Culver’s are also within shouting distance to the west.

The theme? If you are hungry, want something quick, and can’t decide what you want, a trip to West Main Street can often answer that question.

Tribute to Joan:

Family and friends of the late Joan Leonard, swimming instructor extraordinaire in St. Charles, got together just before Christmas to dedicate a sculpture in her memory in the lobby of the Norris Recreation Center.

I mentioned the sculpture late last year when it was placed in the lobby and learned my name was included on a plaque attached to the “I’d Rather Be Swimming” sculpture.

It is an honor to be among the names of her family, co-workers and friends in the St. Charles swimming world.

Joan taught our son how to swim, and I should have taken a few lessons as well. Though I am not a swimmer, the family thought well enough of my writing about the city’s swim programs and coaches, as well as Joan, her husband Bob and son Peter over the years, to include me on the plaque.

Thanking his hometown:

Some leftover notes from my interview with professional magician Terry Evanswood about his shows next weekend in St. Charles can’t go to the cutting room floor.

Last week, we wrote about Evanswood’s past and how a visit last summer to his hometown of St. Charles turned into the booking of his shows at Moonlight Theatre.

Evanswood, a longtime resident of Tennessee, where his home is called the “Magic Mansion” and he stages shows at the Majestic Theatre in Pigeon Forge, made these comments about St. Charles:

“In my early teens, I received the Ambassador Award from the St. Charles Chamber of Commerce, and that was really important to me. I always hung it on my wall at my house in Tennessee, so I have a wonderful excuse to talk about my hometown when people come to tour my house,” he said.

His other great honor was when then-Mayor Sue Klinkhamer gave him a “key to the city.”

“That was really important, because it meant I was always welcome to come home,” he noted.

But the greatest day of his life, he felt, came when his parents moved to St. Charles on his first birthday. Apparently, it was the first dose of magic he needed to start his career path.

Some winter carryout:

Little Traveler has started offering its Winter Classics carryout dinners for two, a service the popular Geneva retailer has available each week from Wednesday to Saturday through the winter months.

The meals come from the head chef at the Atrium Café inside the Little Traveler on Third Street.

The carryout meals have to be ordered 24 hours in advance and pickup times are 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Orders can be made through the Little Traveler website at littletraveler.com.

• dheun@sbcglobal.net