Fall 2007 - Becker College

it is said,
ation,
ney.
Becker
Success, it is said, is not a
destination, but a journey.
That saying couldn’t be truer for Dan
Prouty, of Charlton, Mass. and 1971
graduate of Leicester Junior College.
Dan’s career as a real estate developer has taken
him down a lot of roads over 30 years and he’s
enjoyed every minute of it. To this day Dan jokes
that his wife Marilyn tells their daughters,
Elisabeth and Michaela, that someday their father
“will figure out what he wants to do when he
grows up!” One thing is for certain, Dan brings
boundless enthusiasm and good humor to all
aspects of his life.
Dan Prouty LJC ’71 in his
Charlton office.
“I’ve been lucky,”
Dan stresses with
a smile. “My
mentor and first
business partner
and I were in the
right place, at the
right time.” That
right place was
the Marketplace at the Falls in historic Sturbridge,
Mass., and the right time was 1981. Since then Dan
has developed numerous other large-scale commercial
projects, bought and sold thousands of acres of land
and built a reputation as a trusted partner in the complex
world of real estate development. Dan brings a
real sense of friendship and openness to everything he
does and the outcome speaks for itself.
His most recent projects are the construction of
the global headquarters of IPG Photonics, a world
leader in the design and manufacture of various
types of lasers, and the New England regional distribution
hub for Goya Foods, which is managed
by Carlos Mangual, father of Becker alumna
Vanessa Mangual ‘04.
Prouty is an old “Yankee name” and Dan is proud
of his heritage. He grew up with his four brothers,
in Oxford, just to the south of the Leicester campus.
In another Becker connection, closer to
home, Dan’s mother, Helen, graduated from
Becker Junior College in 1937, so in many ways
his personal history is reflective of the rich history
of Becker College.
After graduating with his associate’s degree from
Leicester Junior, Dan went immediately to work in
real estate. Somehow he found the time to get his
baccalaureate degree at nearby Nichols College,
taking classes at night. It was his years at LJC,
under the watchful eyes of professors such as John
Scarborough, Bert Saymon and Richard Savage,
that really gave Dan the foundation on which he
constructed his career.
While at LJC, Dan also met two of his greatest
(Left to Right) Nick Abbott LJC ’70,
Mark Fallon LJC ’71, and Dan Prouty LJC ’71.
friends, Mark Fallon ’71, and Nick Abbott ’70.
Mark, a contractor, lives in Nashua, N.H. Nick, a
National Junior College Athletic Association All
New England soccer midfielder while at LJC, now
resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
To this day Dan, Mark and Nick get together
often. This past summer the three enjoyed a spectacular
fly-in fishing trip to interior Maine where
they spent more time catching up with each other
than, to their chagrin, catching fish. Nick said the
LJC memories that often come up involve a conga
line at the J. Geils concert in the auditorium,
watching the draft lottery on television in Knight
Hall, and war protests.
Dan also hosts an annual charity golf tournament
at Cape Arundel Golf Club in Maine where other
LJC graduates drop by from time to time, including
Mark, Nick and Billy Connors ’71. A couple
of years ago, Dan's players crossed paths on the
green with President George H. W. Bush, David
Toms, and Phil Mickelson, who were there for
another tournament.
Dan, Mark and Nick were all glad to hear about
the May 2008 LJC All-Class Reunion being
organized by Ken Kaufman, LJC ’65. “It’s one of
the best ideas I’ve heard in years,” said Mark.
“Hopefully, it’ll give a lot of LJC graduates a
chance to come back to campus and get involved.
I’m really looking forward to it.”
Out in Colorado, Nick is planning to make the
trip east. “Knowing that this big reunion is taking
place is pretty exciting,” he said.
It’s that sense of excitement that Dan hopes translates
to all LJC alumni, near and far. In this case he
stresses, “it is about the destination!”
Leicester Junior College
ALL CLASS REUNION
May 2008
b ridges • FALL 2007 10