Elgin Community College notes

For one night only, an Elgin Community College auditorium will be transformed into a 1940s-era radio station featuring the live broadcast of "Richard Diamond -- The Gibson Murder," a mystery-comedy.

The performance will start at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Advanced Technology Center Auditorium on the main campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.

The show is free and open to the public. The live radio show is the final class in "Old-Time Radio Show," a noncredit course offered by ECC's Division of Corporate and Continuing Education.

Instructed by Denny Farrell, host of the "Original Big Band Showcase" on radio and the Internet, the class teaches voice skills, line delivery and timing, how to develop sound effects, and how to plan the broadcast.

The Thursday show is from the "Richard Diamond, Private Detective" series that aired on NBC and ABC radio from 1949-53. Created by legendary television and film director Blake Edwards, the series portrayed Diamond as a tough New York City private detective who could have some fun with his work. Shows often closed with Diamond singing to his girlfriend, Helen.

The next "Old Time Radio Show" course is scheduled for the fall 2008 semester. To reserve your space for this performance or for details about this course or other noncredit courses, call the Corporate and Continuing Education Division at (847) 622-3036.

Go Red For Women: As part of Elgin Community College's celebration of Women's History Month, the college will partner with the American Heart Association to raise awareness about heart disease during "American Heart Association Go Red For Women."

The two-day event that will be held Wednesday and Thursday at the main campus, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. All events are free and open to the public.

Go Red For Women is the association's nationwide movement that celebrates awareness and efforts to wipe out heart disease -- the number one killer of women.

From 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., a registration drive for Go Red for Women will be held in the Student Resource Center Jobe Lounge. Information from the American Heart Association will be available during the drive.

Also on Wednesday, the Renner Learning Resources Center will host the "Faces of Heart Disease" exhibit in the library. The exhibit is a collection of posters that feature area women heart disease survivors and their stories.

On Thursday, a Go Red For Women breakfast will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. in the SRC Alumni Room. Visitors will enjoy a healthy breakfast and get heart screenings by Elgin's Sherman Hospital, the breakfast's sponsor, and two student clubs -- the Associated Nursing Students and Health Occupational Students of America. A Sherman Health physician also will offer a presentation at 8:30 a.m.

In addition to the breakfast, ECC students, staff and others are encouraged to show their support for heart disease prevention by wearing red on this day.

Since 2004, Go Red For Women works collectively to wipe out heart disease, engaging women and men along with healthcare providers, celebrities and politicians to elevate the cause and spread the word. For more information about Go Red For Women, call (888) MY-HEART or (888) 694-3278 or visit goredforwomen.org.

Women's History Month will conclude on Monday, March 31 with "Learning is a Lifelong Journey." The presentation, held from noon to 1 p.m. in the SRC Alumni Room, features several ECC mid-career achievers who will share the joys and concerns of going back to school as seasoned professionals.

Women's History Month is sponsored by the Women's History Month Committee and African-American Subcommittee, the Student Life Office and American Association of University Women. For more information, contact the Student Life Office at (847) 214-7370.