Fox Valley club briefs
To list your club's meetings, e-mail to foxvalley@dailyherald.com, or fax to (847) 608-0849.
AARP: The McHenry County Chapter of AARP will meet at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at The Fountains of Crystal Lake on Route 31 one mile north of Route 176. A presentation on geriatric medicine will be offered by Dr. Rex Nzeribe of Centegra Health System. Refreshments will be served. For chapter information, call Glenn at (815) 477-1952 or Fran at (847) 658-7222.
Elgin Area LWV: The League of Women Voters of the Elgin Area presents former state Sen. Steve Rauschenberger in "Transparency in Government: An Insider's Perspective" at 1 p.m. Saturday, March 14 in Community Rooms B and C at Gail Borden Public Library, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin. The root of Illinois' exceptional problems are caused by a breakdown in normal checks and balances. Other states do not have all our problems. Join us for a discussion of: "Concentration of Power," "Disconnection from the Electorate," and "Public Acceptance of Corruption." Register online at the library's Web calendar at www.gailborden.info, by phone at (847) 429-4680 or in person at the Gail Borden Library Adult Services Information Desk.
Carpentersville VFW 5915: The Carpentersville Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5915 invites the community to a corned beef and cabbage dinner from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, March 14 at the post home, 301 Lake Marian Road, Carpentersville. The dinner will be all-you-can-eat as long as supplies last. All proceeds to go to support its local community service work with the police and fire departments, the veterans garden, supporting our troops overseas and more.
For information, call Chuck Slack at (847) 428-4836 or (847) 658-3391. Admission is $10 or $5 for children, age 4 to 10. Children, age 3 and younger, get in free. Carryouts will be available.
Huntley Rotary: The Huntley Rotary Club is busy preparing for its first Baggo Tournament. The event will be held on Saturday, March 14 at the Pinecrest Golf Club in Huntley, with registration at noon. Participants will have the opportunity to play three games against their first round opponent, and winners of the best-of-three competition will advance to the second round. The single-elimination competition will take place inside the clubhouse, and feature food and beverage specials, big screen TV, and a 50/50 raffle. The game, similar to horseshoes, uses bean bags instead of shoes. The concept is the same, and the object is to toss the bags into the hole on the playing platform. Fifty percent of the funds from the tournament will be paid out to the first- and second-place winners. The Huntley Rotary will keep the other 50 percent as their portion of the fundraiser event. To sign up your team, call Tom at (815) 341-7174 or e-mail Trancak@classicmortgagesolutions.com.
Japanese Culture Institute: Aikido Shimboku Dojo, 9225 Trinity Drive in Lake in the Hills will sponsor a fundraising "Fall-athon" to benefit the Japanese Culture Institute at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, March 14. The Institute will be offering classes in Japanese culture such as tea ceremony, calligraphy and flower arrangement to residents of McHenry County. Call (847) 458-9309 for information about the benefit or about classes.
Kane County Audubon Society: On Saturday, March 14, join a bird walk with the Kane County Audubon Society at 8:30 a.m. at Les Arends Forest Preserve, 2S731 Route 31, Batavia. They will be looking for spring migrants and waterfowl. Call Nancy Schnaitman at (630) 365-9595.
On Saturday, March 21, join the Fermilab Bird Walk at 8 a.m. They will be looking for spring migrants, waterfowl and early arrivals. Meet in the parking lot next to the guard shack on Pine Street entrance, Batavia. For details, call Chris Madsen at (630) 377-0773. On Saturday, March 28, enjoy a bird and nature walk at 8 a.m. at Bliss Woods Forest Preserve. Meet in the second parking lot off 5S660 Bliss Road, Sugar Grove. Call Jon Duerr at (630) 584-5891. Visit kanecountyaudubon.org.
Elgin VFW: The Elgin Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1307 Men's Auxiliary will host an all-you-can-eat breakfast from 8 to 11 a.m. Sunday, March 15. Advance tickets are $5 for adults. Tickets at the door are $6 for adults and $4 for children age 12 and under. The VFW is at 1601 Weld Road. Advanced ticket sales end at noon on Saturday, March 14.
Elgin American Legion Post 57: The Elgin American Legion Post 57 will host a breakfast from 9 to 11 a.m. Sunday, March 15 at the post home, 820 N. Liberty St., Elgin. This breakfast is open to the public. 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 with 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. In addition, the American Legion hall is available for rental for any event. For details, call (847) 741-1684.
Unity in the Community Coalition: Elgin's Unity in the Community Coalition will host a candidates forum from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, March 16, at the Gail Borden Library, 270 N. Grove Ave. The public is invited to meet and hear from those persons running for the Elgin City Council. For information, call (847) 754-8064. Within the greater Elgin area, the Unity in the Community Coalition will create a climate that fosters communication, collaboration and coalition building among all residents. Its vision is to improve the community, strengthen the voices and respect the missions of our member organizations. The group will do this through education, networking, sharing or resources and information and communication.
Fox Valley Beaux Arts: The Fox Valley Beaux Arts will hold its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 18 in the living room of The Greens, 801 N. McLean St., Elgin. The program for the evening will feature the Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Kathy Matthews. All those who support the arts in the Elgin area are welcome to join Beaux Arts in an enjoyable evening of music. For information or to become member, call Marge Haefliger at (847) 697-7374.
Elgin Genealogical Society: The Elgin Genealogical Society will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the first-floor meeting room of the Gail Borden Public Library 270 N. Grove Ave. in Elgin. Jeanne Larazalere Bloom will present "Pushing up Daisies: Cemetery Research." Bloom is a full-time professional researcher specializing in Chicago and Cook county research. She is an author, and an editor with published articles in a number of journals including The New York Times Genealogical & Biographical Society Quarterly, and was the editor of the Chicago Genealogical Society's newsletter from 2002-07. She holds memberships in several genealogical society's and professional researcher organizations.
Valley Creek Homeowners: The Valley Creek Homeowners Association invites you to "March Madness" at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 19 at Hoopers Sports Bar & Grill, 975 N. McLean Blvd., Elgin. Come and meet your friends and neighbors for a fun night out. Reservations or tickets are not needed, but an e-mail reply would be appreciated to ransworth@danoyes.com. This would help Hooper's estimate the number of attendees to accommodate food and drink requests. A raffle and door prizes will be included.
Upcoming events are: the general meeting at Provena St. Joseph Hospital auditorium on April 14, and the annual garage sale on May 15-16. Topics at the general meeting will be installations of new officers and Ruthanne Hall, a management analyst for the city of Elgin, will present the odd-even parking ban proposed by the city of Elgin.
Plato Center HCE: The Plato Center Unit of Kane County Association for Home and Community Education will meet from 9 a.m. to noon Friday, March 20 for the couch pillow workshop. Bring a brown bag lunch, your sewing machines, irons and ironing boards. Jackie Anderson is chairwoman. The business meeting will start at 1 p.m. with Marilyn Grewe, Rita Bork, and Harriet Bradley as hostesses. Harriet Bradley will present the lesson on "Blues, Blahs and Bouncing Back." They also will discuss the International luncheon for April. Guest are welcome; call Joan at (847) 931-8120 for more details and directions.
At the Feb. 20 meeting, the lesson on "Maximizing Kitchen Appliances-Slow Cooker" was presented by Kay Duy with Nancy Haire, Jackie Anderson, Mary Oine, Kay Duy and Joan Ziethen demonstrating the slow cooker with recipes from the lesson handout. Duy also discussed food safety rules when using the slow cooker.
At the business meeting, it was decided to donate three trophies to the 4-H to be presented at the fair. The County HCE will be having a Spring Fling Day on March 25 at the county office for all members. They will be discussing the Belgian recipes for the International luncheon in April. The ladies from Edgewater will be at the March meeting with the Crisis Center cards. Guests are welcome at all unit HCE meetings. To attend any of the 10 units in Kane County, call the office at (630) 584-6166.
Hampshire-Burlington Jaycees: The Hampshire-Burlington Jaycees will have their annual Double Deck Poker Run on Saturday, March 28, followed by their Spring Faire on Saturday, April 4. They are looking for sponsors for the Spring Faire as it is a free event for all area children. The Jaycees provide individuals between the age of 21 and 40 the opportunity to develop personal and leadership skills while serving their community. The Jaycees hold their monthly general meeting at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month. For details, call Michelle Kollins at (847) 683-9263 or e-mail michellekollins@foxvalley.net.
St. Charles Singles Club: The St. Charles Singles Club is celebrating its 32nd year as a nonprofit social and dance club for singles age 40 and older. Younger singles are also welcome. The dances are held on the second and fourth Mondays at Riverside Receptions, Route 38 and North River Lane in Geneva. Cost for members is $6 or $8 for visitors. It includes professional dance instruction 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., dancing 7:30 to 11 p.m. On Monday, March 30, a live band dance will be held from 7-11 p.m. at the Lincoln Inn, 1345 S. Batavia Avenue (Route 31), Batavia. Cost for members is $8 or $10 for visitors. It will be dressy to nice casual clothing. For details, visit www.stcharlessinglesclub.com or call (630) 340-6647.
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.