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Chad Lyons: Coming Full Circle at ABC

As a junior at Daniel Hand in 1970, Chad Lyons had no idea that a bus ride with his neighbors would come full circle so many years later. Now, Chad spreads his volunteerism around from Special Olympics, to Vista Life, to his work at Madison’s Roby House—an A Better Chance (ABC) facility where Chad is considered the all-around go-to guy.

Chad has a rather unique background, having studied engineering and obtained patents for several medical devices, which he hopes the healthcare industry will adopt. He is also an extremely skilled photographer and has made his mark as an accomplished windsurfer and sailor. He has worked in several capacities for various organizations, including Vista Life and the Special Olympics and area Unified Sports programs, as a photographer. One of his colleagues describes Chad as “selfless” and a “true embodiment of a volunteer.”

And helping his community is where Chad now finds his passion.

“I have been volunteering and around for the Special Olympics since 1985. I started photographing summer games. I went to these games and asked myself, ‘Where are the cameras?’ So I started taking pictures of these events,” says Chad. “I showed the photos to the head of the media for Special Olympics World Games committee, and he said, ‘I like these’ and said I should get on their photo committee. I followed his lead, and the next thing I knew, I was getting all their best assignments, and I was really good at it. And that led to a very surreal over-the-top experience for me.”

Chad found his way to the Special Olympics thanks to a friend who had volunteered for the summer games.

“My older brother had a friend who had volunteered for the Special Olympics summer games, and he said it was a good experience. He said to check it out, I did, and I didn’t look back,” Chad says. “At the end of the day, I feel really good. I feel I help these individuals in a way that helps them feel important, builds self-esteem, and expands their horizons. It is a great program.”

He describes himself as the go-to photographer for the organization, noting that he’s taken thousands of photos over the course of a single weekend.

“I’ve been the go-to photographer for the Special Olympics since 1995. I can say without anybody challenging that I’ve photographed more Special Olympics than anyone in the world. I don’t think anyone else is even close,” Chad says. “A few years ago, I think I had 17 assignments in one year. Taking hundreds and sometimes thousands of photos in just one weekend. And delivering some good stuff, too.”

Chad is also heavily involved in photographing Unified Sports programs.

“I saw early on how much these programs benefited people. I was a believer, too. I saw the dynamic. It’s a continuum of buddy and coaching,” says Chad.

Chad and his family moved to Madison in 1970, the same year as the first ABC program got underway along the shoreline. Madison ABC provides an academic scholarship housing up to six male scholars to Daniel Hand. The goal is to identify academically high-achieving students who are seeking an educational opportunity that meets their academic needs.

According to Chad, ABC is one of the oldest national organizations of its kind, helping young people achieve their potential through education by placing them in boarding and day schools or one of 23 public school programs in Connecticut, including Madison. Madison’s ABC is one of National A Better Chance’s most successful and longstanding Community Schools Programs, providing these scholars with real-life experience of living and learning in a community with the benefit of an extensive support system and nurturing environment, says Chad.

“I’ve been on board with ABC for a while. I initially came in to help with IT or computers, but along the way, they saw I had a strong background with handiwork and craftsmanship and that I understood how to maintain a house, so I am now building and grounds for the Roby House, the Madison ABC house” Chad says.

He adds that while he joined the board to help with technology issues, he spends most of this time working on maintenance.

“Today, I was sanding and re-spackling and shampooing carpets,” says Chad. “It depends on the day, but whether it’s painting or power washing, it’s varied. Whatever they need to keep the house in shape. There are significant plans in the works for major work at the Roby House. We want to maximize its potential.”

Chad says that when he first moved to Madison with his family, he was navigating the adjustment to a new town and made friends with the first ABC group to progress through Madison in 1970. The experience set him on a life course dedicated to helping others and ultimately coming full circle when he became the all-around “go-to” guy at the Roby House six years ago.

“My family moved here in 1970 and rented for a few years and then settled in Middle Beach West. There were five of us kids who all went through the schools,” says Chad. “The very fall we moved here when I entered as a junior, right up the street was also the first class of junior scholars from ABC. They came in that fall and entered school as juniors like me. They lived right up the street from here, and when we rode the bus together and became pals. I feel like, in some ways, I am helping my old friends and giving back in a unique way.”

More than 50 years after its establishment, Chad says ABC has grown to benefit not only the youths it serves, but also the community.

“There are legends in this program...who have been with the program here for 50 years, so to be working with them and to help keep them going, and to see how much support they get from the community is special,” he says. “[ABC is] so much bigger than it was then, and it’s so much more established than it was then. And to be part of it now is a certain amount of that full circle. It does a lot of good, not just for the youths who go through the program, but for the whole community, because it became such a fuller experience for all involved. I don’t necessarily get reports, but it is great to hear about the scholars who have come through the house and the program and find out how they have blossomed in their careers. Some even donate back to the program, so you know it meant something to them.”

Chad jokes that his eclectic skill set allows him to be there as a volunteer in any way that he’s needed.

‘Well, you know how some people buy a car and then they add on all the features? I come fully loaded,” Chad says.