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01/03/2017 11:00 PMFor all but six months of his life, Lance Horton has lived in East Haven. He grew up in town with his three brothers, watching as his parents became involved with all of their activities.
“My father and mother entrenched us in town and they did many, many things for the town,” says Lance. “Their legacy is here. I’m following where they left off.”
Lance’s father started the Gridiron Club and Lance took on the presidency in 2010. Lance’s father Earl, Sr., is memorialized with his name on the scoreboard at the high school, and both of his parents, Earl and Florence, are honored with their names on the scoreboard at Momauguin Field.
Lance, a 1988 East Haven High School (EHHS) graduate, has always been heavily involved in the community. In high school, he lettered with the football team in each of his four seasons and earned his varsity letter with the wrestling team in 1988. He was also East Haven’s first representative for the Governor’s Youth Advisory Board as a senior.
One of the most important events in Lance’s life also occurred during his years at EHHS. When he was 15, he met Sherry, his high school sweetheart. The couple married and had three children and Lance took on the role he saw his parents hold when he was young.
“My whole life is around my children and wife,” says Lance. “I try to be a good guy for my children and a role model for my children to see every day. I have fun doing what I do and when I’m out doing what I do, my wife is holding my life together.”
The couple’s two sons—13-year-old Gunner and 10-year-old Chase—both play football, basketball, baseball, and lacrosse. Their seven-year-old daughter Samantha participates in dance, cheerleading, and basketball.
When his sons started playing sports, Lance immediately got involved, not only coaching, but serving on boards and commissions. He was a Shoreline Youth Football (SYF) representative from 2011 to 2016, has worked as SYF’s 3rd-grade committee chair since 2013, and joined the SYF Board of Directors in 2016. He is also the founder and president of the newly formed East Haven Youth Lacrosse program and part of the Melillo School’s wrestling coaching staff in 2015.
“I am proud to say that we are from this community and will be in this community working hard to make a difference,” says Lance. “I couldn’t be prouder of my children. They do good in school, do well in sports, and are known in the community.”
Lance owns several businesses, including All American, LLC, which offers construction, management, janitorial, and snow removal services; and Pro X, LLC, which offers the same services along with excavation. He is also a co-owner of the Connecticut Chiefs, a minor league football team.
Through All American, he has sponsored many teams and made several donations, including equipment for East Haven Youth Football, workout gear and a team trailer for the EHHS football team, and a scoreboard and flag pole donations to Momauguin Little League. His business has also donated its services, demolishing an old dugout at Momauguin Field.
His donations and volunteer work go beyond sports as he has also supported Ferrara School’s field day and shirts and waterslide for the Stepping Up Ceremony. Lance was a member of the 2014 Ferrara School 5th-Grade Committee.
“I am extremely lucky and I like to do things to show the community,” says Lance. “I believe in karma. If you do good things, good things come back to you. I have three brothers who are all successful. I don’t want to break that chain. I don’t go looking for acknowledgment; I do it because it’s the right thing to do and I enjoy it.”
While Lance isn’t looking for recognition, it has found him several times over the years. He and his children have been awarded with game balls and awards for their accomplishments. Two of his favorite moments are awards that his father also received. In 2014, Mayor Joseph Maturo, Jr., named Lance a Merit Award recipient, and in 2015, Lance was named an East Haven Alumnus Award Distinguished Gentleman.
“Something I’m proudest of is the fact that I have followed in my father’s footsteps,” says Lance. “We are the only father and son to get the Merit Award and just the third father and son to get the Alumnus Award. I love that one because I get to see those plaques every day at work.” (The plaques are displayed at the high school where Lance’s company does the janitorial work.)
Over the years, Lance’s children have seen him give back. He recalls the moment when his oldest son, at age 10, began to focus on giving back.
“He had told us we were the worst parents ever because I didn’t let him spend another $50 on a video game,” says Lance. “It was time to see reality and we went to a homeless shelter with pizzas, donuts, and some Boxes of Joe.”
Lance recalls the moment they ran out of coffee cups and watching a homeless man gather a dirty cup from the trash. He spit in it to wash it out and asked for coffee because he was so cold.
“As we drove home, Gunner was so quiet and upset, eventually saying, ‘We have to do something,’” says Lance. “He went home and started a Facebook page for ‘Kids Making a Difference’ to collect food and clothing for those in need.”
Soon after the page was started, Ann Nyberg shared it and the donations began to pour in. To support his son, Lance used one of his work crews to collect donations and one of his warehouses to store the collected items in. Now Kids Making a Difference holds a free market on the New Haven Green once a year with the 2017 event scheduled for April 15.
“East Haven is a blue-collar, middle class town, so to see a kid ask for a pair of socks for Christmas is life-changing,” says Lance. “That day was a turning point in his life and my other kids are taking it on now, too.”
Lance is thankful that his businesses allow him to help his children continue to make a difference in the community. Being a business owner also helps afford him the flexible schedule that allows him to volunteer his time to benefit East Haven youth.
“My full-time job is being a father to my children, my part-time job is my work,” says Lance, who enjoys going to the movies and out to dinner with his wife. “Right now with three kids under 13, there’s not much time for anything else between sports and business, but we have a very blessed family.”