The Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board holds its board meeting at 7 p.m. today at the McNeil Canyon Fire Station, 53048 Ashwood Ave. (Mile 12 East End Road). The public is welcome. For more information, call 235-9811.

First Lady Sandy Parnell has opened the nomination period for the First Lady’s Volunteer of the Year awards. The First Lady invites all Alaskans to help recognize their fellow citizens who have shown extraordinary volunteer service and made a positive impact on their community by nominating them for the awards. The winners will be recognized at a ceremony in May. Nominations are due by March 1. For more information, log on to the governor’s website at gov.alaska.gov/parnell/governors-office/volunteer-awards.html.

A raffle for a 2000 Triumph Dual Tiger Sport 900 cc motorcycle is being held to help with medical bills for volunteer firefighter John Cox. Tickets are $50 each or three for $125. The raffle ends today. The motorcycle is on display at Carquest. Tickets are available by calling Charmaine Collins at 435-7126 or Greg Collins at 299-2625. Donations also are welcome.

The Friends of Kachemak Bay State Park seeks a logo for the organization. The winning design receives a free two-day state park cabin rental and round-trip water taxi ride with Mako’s Water Taxi. The design should include the image of a devil’s club plant and should be a black-and-white, 2-inch-by-3-inch image. The deadline is 8 p.m. Friday. Send images to Brad Kloeckl at bkloeckl@yahoo.com.

Faith Lutheran Youth holds a Zumba fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Bay Club. The fee is $15. Proceeds go for a youth mission trip to help the homeless in Texas this summer.

The Kachemak Bay Birders trip Second Saturday March birding trip meets at 11 a.m. March 9. The trip is to Beluga Slough and Bishop’s Beach. Meet at Islands and Ocean Visitor Center at 11 a.m. Bring binoculars and a spotting scope if you have one. Dress warmly and expect icy conditions possibly. Everyone is welcome and there is no charge. All trips are cosponsored by the Kachemak Bay Birders and Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. For more information, contact the trip leader, Michael Craig, at 235-0631.

The 29th annual St. Patrick’s Day Scavenger Hunt starts at 11 a.m. March 10. Held the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day, the scavenger hunt challenges teams to gather items. Prize money for winning teams goes to the team’s charity of choice. Money is raised from shamrock sales, entry fees, a raffle, an auction and a pre-hunt breakfast at the Otter Room and a post-hunt dinner at Alice’s Champagne Palace. Registration is at the Otter Room and team check-in is at 4 p.m. at Alice’s. The entry fee for each team is $25 and a canned good item. To donate auction items and for more information, call 235-6909.

The Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center seeks volunteers to help with everything from helping visitors to helping plan and execute community programs like Cleanup Day and the Fourth of July Parade. Call 235-7740 to figure out where the chamber can best use your talents and local knowledge.

The Mindfulness Meeting is a group for cultivating wisdom, gratitude and serenity through skills and practice that meets weekly on Fridays. The meeting is from noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday in the conference room at 3691 Ben Walters Lane, next to Sprout and Harbor School of Music. Everyone is welcome; there is no charge. For more information, call Rachel or Sharon at 235-7712. This group is sponsored by South Peninsula Haven House.

Anchor Point Senior Center
The Anchor Point Senior Center is open at 8 a.m. Monday through Thursday for coffee. Come by and enjoy coffee and conversation. The senior center also is open 7-9 p.m. Tuesday nights for game night. Stop by and enjoy cards, chess, dominoes, cribbage, checkers and pool. Regular hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-noon Friday. For more information call 235-7786.

Friendship Center
Friendship Center Adult Day Services is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday with extended hours for special situations.

Homer Senior Citizens
Homer Senior Citizens lunch is open to seniors and their guests and is served 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday. The lunch menu for this week is: Thursday, roast beef and mashed potatoes; Friday, breaded cod; Monday, cheese pasta; Tuesday, chicken picatta; Wednesday, zesty Cuban pork.
Strong Women classes at Homer Senior Citizens Recreation Room are 2-3 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Cost is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers per class.
Tai Chi classes are Thursday at 3 p.m. Cost is $3 for members and $6 for nonmembers per class. For more information, call Daniel at 235-7655.

Kachemak Bay Campus
Registration is being held for these upcoming classes: beginning fly fishing, begins March 22; creative food writing, begins March 28; birding workshop taught by George Matz, begins April 2; garden design with Brenda Adams, meets April 6 and 13; botany of Kachemak Bay, begins April 11; organic gardening, meets April 19-20; watercolor workshop with artist Jan Peyton, meets May 31, June 1 and 3. Computer classes offered include Excel, MS Word and Quickbooks, all starting in April. Register now. Registration also is open for a special personal narrative workshop from May 3-5 with noted visiting memoirist Debra Gwartney, finalist for the National Book Critics Award. Enrollment is limited; register early.
For a list of all courses, visit www.kpc.alaska.edu/kbc. Call 235-7743 for information.
An art exhibit with new work in photography by Joe Kashi opens with a reception 5-6:30 p.m. Friday at the Pioneer Hall Commons.
Cathy Stingley presents “This is My Brain on Sleep” at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the college. Hear about the effects of sleep and ways to deal with the lack of it.
KBC psychology professor Brian Partridge presents “The Biology of Stress: What Do We Know Now?” at 6:30 p.m. March 20. He conducts a presentation and discussion on current research in neuroscience and health psychology. Learn what the scientific community has been able to tell us about the neurobiology and psychology of stress and how this information has the potential to impact our lives. The lecture is free and open to all.
Registration has started for the 2013 Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, to be held June 14-18 at Land’s End Resort. Poet Naomi Shihab Nye is the keynote presenter. The early registration fee is $375, space available, with a special student rate.
The conference features 17 other award-winning, nationally recognized authors, editors and agents who will conduct creative writing workshops, readings, craft talks and panel presentations. Advanced registration is required. For program and registration information, visit writersconference.homer.alaska.edu.

Pratt Museum
Regular hours for February are Tuesdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. Free Winter Wednesdays with free admission to the museum continues in March.
“Encounters: Whales in Our Waters” is on exhibit in the special exhibits gallery through July 21.
Summer high school interns are wanted. The paid internship runs June 3 through Aug. 9. For more information, call Ryjil Christianson, director of education, at 235-8635 or email, education@prattmuseum.org.

R.E.C. Room
The R.E.C. Room (Resource and Enrichment Co-op) is a multipurpose space for youth ages 12-18 as a safe environment to hang out with friends. Hours are 3-6 p.m. Monday-Friday in the lower level of the Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic outreach building on Nielsen Circle. Visit www.recroom.kbfpc.org or call Anna at 235-OPEN (6736).

Seldovia Village Tribe Health & Wellness Center
The SVT Health & Wellness Center offers a series of classes covering all aspects of wellness every Thursday at 6 p.m. Today’s class is “Fermented Foods,” taught by Jenifer Dickson. Participants will learn how to create their own probiotic superfoods. Dickson will introduce healthy and simple sauerkraut, kimchi and beet kvass recipes.
The SVT Health & Wellness Center is located at 880 East End Road. The classes are open to the public. For more information or to suggest topics for future classes, call Amy Rattenbury at 226-2228, ext. 660.

South Peninsula Hospital
Upcoming training opportunities at South Peninsula Hospital include:
* The American Heart Association Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers Course on March 8 from 8 a.m.-noon.
* The American Heart Association First Aid Class on March 8 from 1-5 p.m.
* A Safe Sitter class on March 13 and 14. It is a course designed for 11-13 years olds to teach them basic child care skills. Space is limited. Registration is required
To register for any of these classes or for more information, call the hospital education department at 235-0258.