After 20 years of leadership, Hortons leaving

Nancy and Ted Horton pose recently in front of the lake they both adore. The Hortons, long-time leaders and volunteers, are moving out of Canyon Lake this summer to neighboring Menifee. File Photo by Mackenzie Dore

Nancy and Ted Horton, two of Canyon Lake’s more prominent leaders and volunteers the past two decades, are leaving the community and moving to neighboring Menifee this summer.

“In being an instigator for the community in Canyon Lake, I have been bashed, bruised, hurt, laughed at, gossiped about and ridiculed,” Nancy said in the accompanying letter to the community. “I wouldn’t change a thing. It’s all been worth it. Caring so deeply for a community is the only way I know.”

Ted and Nancy moved to Canyon Lake 20 years ago and have been actively serving the community for more than a decade. Nancy, who retired in 2006 from a career as an educator for 42 years, was elected to city council in 2008 and was appointed to serve as mayor in 2010.

While the mayor, she also served on the Lake Elsinore San Jacinto Watershed Authority Board of Directors, San Jacinto River Watershed Council Board of Directors and was a member of the Total Maximum Daily Load Task Force where she assisted with applying for grants to provide alum treatments in Canyon Lake. She also is a founding member of the Quail Valley Environmental Coalition.

Ted was elected to the Canyon Lake POA Board of Directors in 2014, during which time he assisted with the Long Range Planning process, development of the Lake Management Plan, main gate installation and Happy Camp rehabilitation.

Nancy and Ted served as grand marshals of Canyon Lake’s 46th annual Fiesta Day last year, an honor that recognized their years of service to the community.

Nancy co-founded the Canyon Lake Veterans Day Committee in 2009 and served as the chair of the team responsible for installing the Veterans Memorial Monument in the Canyon Lake Town Center in 2011. She founded Canyon Lake’s National Day of Prayer in 2012 and served as the chair of the event since its inception.

In 2014, voters elected Nancy to represent Division 1 on the board of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District. The water district leases the lake to the Canyon Lake POA for recreational use and also provides the community with its water.

Over the last 11 years, Nancy and Ted have taken dignitaries out on Canyon Lake in their boat nearly 40 times to familiarize them with lake issues. Some of those they have taken out on the lake for such purposes were Congressman Ken Calvert, State Senator Jeff Stone, Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez’s staff, County Supervisor Kevin Jeffries, EPA staff, Santa Ana River Water Quality Control Board staff and city councilmembers of Menifee, Moreno Valley and Hemet.

“Building relationships with cities that contribute to Canyon Lake’s improvement can only be a good thing,” Nancy said.

She has spent countless hours representing Canyon Lake during her various leadership tenures, including fighting for public funding, working on a lake management plan and advocating for the community.

Ted, a member of the Golf Course Superintendent Association of America (GCSAA), assisted the Canyon Lake POA in applying for the $1.5 million grant it received for turf conversion to drought-tolerant plants at the golf course. The GCSAA recently recognized Ted for 50 years service to the association and 45 years as a certified golf course superintendent.

After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Stockbridge School of Agriculture, Ted served on only three golf courses his entire career: Winged Foot, Westchester Country Club and Pebble Beach Company. In 2000, Ted started his own consulting company. He retired in 2018.

Ted has served as the secretary of the Canyon Lake Men’s Golf Club. He has been a member of the Tuesday Work Group and a member of several Canyon Lake golf committees, including the Tree Committee and Irrigation Committee, which are sub-committees of the Green Committee. He also served on the National Day of Prayer Committee with Nancy.

Ted serves on the Audubon International Board and has actively tried to stop the decline of monarch butterflies in the area by creating a butterfly-friendly habitat in his own backyard and urging other Canyon Lake residents to do the same. Ted and Nancy presented a free program last year on monarch butterflies at the Canyon Lake Library for more than 60 children and adults.

The Hortons have supported the city’s Turkey Drive each year by donating several turkeys. They also have been HOPE volunteers and have been delivering food bags for the past six years to seniors in the area who are food fragile. The couple joined the board of the Helping Hands Group, a local organization that offers aid and assistance in the form of long-term and immediate relief with food, clothing, guidance, hands-on support and prayer.

The Hortons have been members of several Canyon Lake Clubs, including the Travel Club, Fine Arts Guild and Yacht Club. Nancy has been a longtime member of the Woman’s Club.

They have been avid participants in the Parade of Lights boat parade and the Golf Cart Parade. Their entries have won several awards throughout the years.

Even after their “retirement” from the City Council and Canyon Lake POA Board of Directors, they were determined to stay involved in the community by faithfully attending the monthly meetings and offering their knowledge and assistance when asked.

A definite void has been created with their departure.

“It’s time for someone else to pick up the torch,” Nancy said.