On Thursday, Friday & Saturday, Feb.12, 13 & 14, 14 members of our chapter went out as quartets to deliver 29 singing valentines. While we had originally intended to only sing on Friday and Saturday, a quartet comprised of Jim McCarthy, Bill Amos, Bob Parker and Jay Garber got a jump start and did a few valentines on Thursday, including one to the secretary at the Trinity School. On Friday, one quartet consisted of Joe Veltre, Rich Stevens, Ken Ernst & Vaughn Eggert with Tom Steimer filling in on one valentine to his wife, Helen. The other Friday quartet was composed of Mark Pascarella, Bill Amos, Tom Koch & Bill Hamilton with input on 2 valentines by Gary Corpora and Bob Parker. On Saturday, one quartet consisted of Joe Veltre, Bill Amos, Ken Ernst & Vaughn Eggert with John Power joining in for the valentine to his wife, Ruth. The other Saturday quartet was made up of Jim McCarthy, Gary Corpora, Bob Parker & Fred Donofrio. You'll note that Bill Amos sang on all 3 days in 3 different quartets. Kudos to you Bill; maybe we can arrange for "Maggie" to give you a big slurpy kiss. The Singing Valentine is a barbershop takeoff on the old singing telegram. The recipient gets 2 songs, a rose (or balloon if sung to a man) and an instant photo. Over the years, these singing valentines have been delivered in many interesting places and situations. They have been, sung in private homes, offices, dental clinics, bowling alleys, dog pounds, restaurants, etc. I'll always remember the time we sang two love songs to a burly, hard hatted construction worker at a job site while he stood there surrounded by his snickering fellow workers. This year one lady answered her door in her bath robe and said she thought [hoped] we were the "Publishers Clearing House" prize patrol. I did hear a rumor that one elderly recipient fell asleep while the quartet sang but you can't believe everything you hear. On Friday, Rich Stevens hosted his quartet to some of his own homemade soup at his house during a break in singing - turns out that in addition to his many other talents, Rich is a fairly good cook [well, after all; he is a baritone]. Many thanks to our members who sold the valentines and to those who delivered them. The singing valentine program is not only a great fund raising opportunity, it is an outlet for our members to have an enjoyable, fun time. If you have never participated in this program, you are missing out on a great experience. I have personally witnessed many happy smiles, tears of joy, and other varied reactions on the parts of recipients. Next year, lets try to sell more valentines and get more members involved.