Volunteer Spotlight: Larry Garland

After retirement, Larry Garland and his wife Linda left New England and headed west, arriving in Canyon Lake on Dec. 3, 2010. “We moved from the Boston area to be closer to two of our three children and our granddaughter,” said Larry. “Also to get away from the awful winters in New England.”

Shortly after arriving in Canyon Lake, Larry joined the Senior Chair Volleyball Club and quickly made lasting friendships.

Retired and bored, Larry came out of retirement to acquire an electrical contracting license and started taking work in the community in electrical, home theater, distributed sound and computer-related design and installations.

Through his work, Larry got to know many customers who would eventually become his friends. “My most challenging project to date was the design, sourcing, installation and programming of all the theatrical lighting, sound, TV displays and computer systems at the Canyon Cowboy Saloon,” he said.

Being a life-long singer, it was only natural for Larry to join the Canyon Lake Choraleers in 2013. For the past four years, Larry has served as president. He coordinates and sets up all of the technical aspects of the concerts and is in charge of the advertising, ticket sales and programs for each concert.

One of the events that the Choraleers participates in each year is the city’s annual Veterans Day Celebration in the Towne Center. In an effort to maximize the Choraleers involvement and quality of the event, Larry joined the Veterans Day Committee so that he could be directly involved in the planning of the event.

Since 2016, Larry has served on the board of the Canyon Lake Fine Arts Guild. He served one year as director of publicity and then took on his current position as director of operations. He is in charge of everything connected with the visiting musician. Larry also serves on a Guild committee that was formed to develop specifications for the improvement of the sound and theatrical lighting in the Holiday Bay Room at the lodge.

The project was delivered to the POA for consideration. The POA Board of Directors recently approved the sound portion of the project with the financial contributions from the Fine Arts Guild and the Woman’s Club. The lighting portion of the project will be considered by the POA Board of Directors in 2020.

Larry said he loves the Canyon Lake community and being involved in it. “I can tell you for certain that my wife Linda and I love this community and all the special friends we have made here,” he said. “Canyon Lake is truly a very beautiful, unique and special place that we plan on calling home for many years to come.”