With graduation time rapidly approaching, a number of area clubs and organizations have announced the availability of scholarships. Among them:

The Salem Garden Club is offering a scholarship to a high school senior who plans to study horticulture, landscape design, forestry, ecology, land management, environmental science, geography, geology or a related field. The applicant must be a Salem resident. Please send letter with study information to: Scholarship Committee, c/o Jane Koza, 449 Elliott St., Beverly, MA 01915. The scholarship application deadline is today.

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The Danvers Garden Club will once again present scholarships to graduating high school seniors from Danvers planning to continue their educations in floral and landscaping design, horticulture, forestry, earth science or several closely related fields. Deadline to apply is March 31. Scholarship applications are available at area high schools or by contacting the Danvers Garden Club Scholarship Committee, P.O. Box 167, Danvers, MA 01923.

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The Peabody Historical Society will award the George and Rachel Shaw Scholarships for the 13th year. These two awards, in the amount of $1,000 each, are funded by Sylvia and Ralph Marble in honor of Sylvia Marble's parents. To be eligible, a student must be a resident of Peabody, currently enrolled in their sophomore year in college or beyond and be a full-time college student carrying at least 12 credits per semester. The deadline for return of applications is April 11. Applications are available through the mail or by stopping by the office of the Peabody Historical Society at 35 Washington St., Peabody. For more information, call 978-531-0805

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The United Polish Organizations of Peabody — Dombrowski Post 63 Ladies Auxiliary Chapter 63, Daughters of St. Joseph, St. Michael's Society and St. Joseph's Faith Community — will present a scholarship to a high school student of Polish descent planning to further his or her education after graduation. Applications are available now at the guidance departments at Bishop Fenwick High School or at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School. Submission deadline is April 1. Call 978-531-5592 for more information.

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The following officers were elected at the organizational meeting of the Danvers Republican Town Committee: Chairman Daniel Bennett, Vice Chairman Wayne Comeau, Secretary Frank Herschede and Treasurer Lisa Woods. The committee voted to support the Danvers Food Pantry with food drives during the year.

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The Salem Lions Club will meet at 7 p.m. March 24 at Salem Beer Works, 278 Derby St. Anyone interested in becoming a member of Lions, a service club that features a reasonable amount of fun while working to make life better for others, is invited to attend.

Salem Lions will hold its ninth annual Bowl Off on Sunday, March 30, at Beverly Bowl-O-Mat, 100 River St., Beverly. The competition starts at 1 p.m. when the Gold Retrievers square off against the Purple Knights to see which team and its allies can knock down the most pins, raise the most money or both.

The Gold Retrievers are led by captain Elizabeth Greenwood, and the team hopes to retain the pinfall crown from last year. Captain Dave Eng leads the Purple Knights, who won fundraising last year. Anyone willing to form an alliance (donation to help support Lions charities) can mail a check to Salem Lions Club, P.O. Box 175, Salem. For more information, call Dave Eng at 978-745-0035 or Elizabeth Greenwood at 978-745-6002.

Also from Salem Lions comes word that the club has helped obtain eyeglasses for a Salem resident in need and donated a check to the Salem Education Fund for the current school budget crisis.

The Lions Youth Speech Program (which gives students in grades 10, 11 and 12 the opportunity to demonstrate their speaking, writing and research skills, as well as their strength of character) will host an All You Can Eat Spaghetti Dinner and Dance at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 27 School St. Ext., Wilmington, on Saturday, April 29. For more information, call Dennis Toscano at 978-667-6727.

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No need to cook tonight. Instead, why not drop in at 7 p.m. at Portuguese-American War Veterans Post 1 at 103 Tremont St. in Peabody, where the post hosts dinners on the third Friday of each month. Tonight's dinner is a Lenten Season offering of baked fish with chowder. Suggested donation is $10, and tickets can be purchased at the door or from Ray Silva or Jack Silva at the Post 1 or by calling 978-531-6834.

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The Danvers Garden Club meets on Monday, March 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the Danversport Yacht Club, Garden Terrace Room. The evening is a guest night titled "Spring With a Splash" and will feature an inspiring speaker program with Danvers Garden Club member Bill Graham, owner of Beautiful Things in Salem. His theme will be "Flowers, Fashion and Baubles." All members are encouraged to attend and bring a guest. The hospitality hostess for the evening is member Millie Hoppich.

The intraclub competition for the evening is on design. Members are encouraged to bring a creative design including a see-through element (or elements) that permit some components to be viewed through others.

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The North Shore Frogmen would like to congratulate Dave Doucette of Gloucester for winning their exhibition booth raffle prize at the recent Annual Sea Rovers Convention. This year's prize was an Aqualung Destination Scuba Gear rolling travel bag, which retails for $299, donated by Bob Boyle and Undersea Divers of Beverly.

The Frogmen have been diving regularly throughout the winter months. Bottom temps have been a steady 36 degrees, scallops have been abundant and lobsters are still being caught. Anyone interested in joining the Frogmen for a weekend dive adventure can e-mail membership@northshorefrogmen.com.

The Frogmen have also scheduled weekday skiing trips this month and report that tickets for the club's 50th anniversary party on March 29 at the Salem Waterfront Hotel on Derby Street are still available at www.northshorefrogmen.com.

Weekly meetings are held each Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Franco American Club on Park Street in Beverly. "SCUBA Diving Catalina Island and the Eureka Oil Rig" will be presented by guest speaker Bill Whiffen of Rachael, Nev., an expert diver and accomplished underwater photographer, at the next meeting on March 27. Meetings are open to anyone age 21 or older.

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Club news runs every Friday in The Salem News. If your club or organization has news to share, call Cynthia Garber at 978-531-5863, e-mail csgarber@comcast.net or fax 978-531-6756.