By Meredith Gardner
meredith.gardner@theindependent.com

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Lane Hickenbottom Members of the Directorıs Choice Quartet (from left) tenor Steven Scott, lead Bill Leslie, bass Alan Zwink and baritone Victor Aufdemberge deliver singing valentines to Dorothy Borns at Chrysalis retirement home. The group is part of the Conestoga Barber Shop Chorus. Lane Hickenbottom Chrysalis Administrator Dorothy Borns applauds her a cappella valentine. Click Thumbnails to View

Dressed in white shirts and satiny red neckties, the Director's Choice Quartet, part of the Conestoga Barbershop Chorus, moved swiftly to the front of the community room at Chrysalis retirement home to deliver a very special Valentine's Day gift.

The singing valentine was a total surprise for one of its recipients, Chrysalis Administrator Dorothy Borns, who at the time was joining dozens of residents for a Valentine's Day party and reception honoring the retirement of her and her husband, Marlin.

Before she knew it, the group was crooning "Let Me Call You Sweetheart," followed by two other songs.

"I was totally caught off guard," Borns said afterward. "I didn't even see them come in."

And with a round of applause, the quartet was off to deliver another valentine.

The Conestoga Chorus typically performs for Chrysalis residents at Christmastime. Last Christmas, however, one of the members of the quartet was having problems with his voice, preventing the Director's Choice Quartet from performing on its own, quartet member Alan Zwink said.

To make up for the missed performance and honor the couple's retirement, the quartet decided to deliver the valentine as a gift from itself.

Typically, the musical valentines are given at the request of local residents who want to surprise their sweethearts.

The $40 Valentine's Day package includes delivery of at least two songs, a rose or a box of chocolates and a card on behalf of the sender. The group delivered 21 of them to men and women on Thursday.

The quartet uses the musical valentines as a fundraiser for the nonprofit a cappella Conestoga Chorus and other local choral organizations.

It's also a fun way to spend Valentine's Day, Zwink said.

During his years on the quartet, he has seen a variety of reactions from musical valentine recipients, including joyful tears and red-faced embarrassment.

For $40, the valentines make the perfect gift, Zwink said.

"You've got just almost everything that kind of surrounds the day of Valentine's Day all wrapped up into one," he said.