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MAYFIELD — Dylan Lanza doesn’t fit the mold of a typical donor in the Mayfield Central School District.
The 26-year-old alumnus recently donated $2,500 earmarked for prom, post-prom and graduation expenses to this year’s senior class. It’s the latest among a number of donations Lanza has made as owner of Upstate Property Management NY.
“People don’t start doing that until their mortgages are paid off and their kids are in college,” said MCSD Superintendent Christopher Harper. “You know what I mean? He’s at the other part of his life.”
It’s an unexpected turn of events for the former varsity baseball captain, who joined the U.S. Army after graduating from the small Fulton County district in 2015. He served until 2019 as a military mechanic, and in his off-time did some hardscaping, a form of landscaping centered around architecture.
Lanza, upon returning home from duty, “hit the ground running” with his current power-washing and hardscaping firm. The first two years were tough and required high-dollar investments, he recalled. But after building up a client list from across the region, the businessman now lives “comfortably.”
“There are a lot of trades that are dying and if you can be good at something that you do, but be meticulous and make sure you’re pushing a very good high product, the sky’s the limit,” Lanza said.
Within the last two years, he’s donated to Salute to Service and the Southern Adirondack Snowmobile Club.
He was inspired to donate to this year’s senior class, in part, based on his connection to Seth Hallenbeck, a MCSD senior who works part-time at Upstate Property Management NY.
“I saw a lot of him that I saw in myself at a young age,” Lanza said.
Then-16-year-old Hallenbeck was recommended by a friend in 2021 to help Lanza with a job. The two hit it off immediately.
“I was naturally drawn to him,” Lanza said. “It was really, really different. I was like, ‘You’re a good kid, dude and if you ever need a job, call me. I want to hire you on the spot.'”
Lanza first brought Hallenbeck aboard through an internship program with Capital Region BOCES. The high school senior plans on becoming a full-time employee after graduation this June.
Tyler A. McNeil can be reached at 518-395-3047 or [email protected] Follow him on Facebook at Tyler A. McNeil, Daily Gazette or Twitter @TylerAMcNeil
