Open space going once, going twice, gone

By PAT STEMPER VOJTA The Independent

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City officials and planners across McHenry County hope that open space in the area is not going once, going twice, gone.
The Land Conservancy of McHenry County, in an effort to support the concerned officials’ work to preserve open space, is hosting its first fundraiser with live and silent auctions.
Kathy O’Malley and Judy Markey, WGN’s radio personalities heard daily from 9 a.m. to noon, will host the auction.
Live auction items include two tickets to The Oprah Winfrey Show; an antique quilt donated from the Bundling Board Inn in Woodstock; “Death by Chocolate,” a pound of candy delivered monthly for one year by Anderson’s Candy in Richmond; four Cubs tickets for the 2008 season; and a “Mad Science” children’s birthday party with pizza from Pirros Resataurante.
Also available is an “OOO-La-La” French package featuring lunch at La Petite Creperie in Woodstock, a bottle of French wine from The Wine Merchant in Crystal Lake, an assortment of cheese, wine and pastries and a $25 gift certificate to Le Petit Marché bakery in Crystal Lake. For the finishing touch, the package includes a beret and Toulouse Lautrec shirt directly from Paris to set the mood and French lessons from the Foreign Language Network.
Another item includes a weekend in Chicago with one night at Hotel Monaco along with a $150 spa certificate from Avanti and dinner at Room 21.
“A Day and a Night Out” allows you to pamper yourself with a $200 gift certificate to Bella Vita Spa and Salon in Algonquin and then enjoy dinner at Monterra in Lake in the Hills. Included as a special surprise is a box of chocolate-covered cherries from Riverside Chocolate Factory in McHenry and “Hankie Pankie” lingerie from La Bellissima in Crystal Lake.
Some of the silent auction items from Woodstock stores include a bear sculpture made of clay and sandstone from the Backdrop, children’s books and a gift certificate from Read Between the Lynes bookstore, a vase and bowl from Jailhouse Potters and 10 movie passes to Classic Cinema. Another item is an afghan rug from the Ginger Blossom in Richmond.
The goals for the fundraiser are to offset The Land Conservancy’s annual operating costs of $150,000 and to help raise awareness of the goals of the nonprofit organization.
“We’re looking at adding the annual fundraiser as a means to increase local support,” said Lisa Haderlein, executive director of The Land Conservancy. Most of the funding comes from member support, private foundations and endowments.
The group’s mission is to protect open space and preserve native wetlands, savannahs, prairies, woodlands and natural areas. Since 1991, the Conservancy has helped to protect 700 acres.
“It’s all of our quality of life how the land is developed and preserved,” said Haderlein.
“We hope that with growing interest in things green, awareness of climate changes and that land is disappearing so fast in the county, we are able to protect a significant number of acres in the next three to five years,” said Lorna Gladstone, Land Conservancy board member and fundraising committee chairperson.
The fundraiser will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at Boulder Ridge Country Club in Lake in the Hills. Tickets are $70 per person, while a table of 10 is $600. Tickets must be purchased in advance online at www.conservemc.org or by calling 815-337-9502.

This article was published in the October 10, 2007 edition of The Woodstock Independent.