One day after Mark Stebbins, the longtime and beloved CEO of PROCON, a design-build firm in Hooksett, unexpectedly passed away in 2021, his grieving wife Sally and two adult children, John and Jennifer, held a lunch for all PROCON employees. They hugged everyone and confirmed that the siblings were committed to taking on the leadership of the company and continuing it as a family business.
Both siblings had worked with their father in the business and after almost two years of leading the firm together, John assumed the role of CEO in 2023 to not only continue his family’s business but also their legacy of giving back to the community.
Under John Stebbins’ leadership, PROCON has grown its interior design team; instituted new benefits to strengthen its award-winning company culture, including a flexible hours policy, a work-from-home option and a formal training program; and won its first ever Design Build Institute of America national award and Associated Builders and Contractors Excellence In Construction national award. In 2024, PROCON was also awarded two excellence in construction awards for its design-build of the Tuscan Village project in Salem and for its 700,000-square-foot Rand-Whitney industrial project in Boylston, Massachusetts.
“There is a 90-year legacy in this company. I want to strengthen the foundation of the company so it can last another 90 years,” Stebbins says. “We want to be known as one of the best design firms in New England and, really, the country.”
Under Stebbins, PROCON has built impressive complexes for large corporate clients while also taking on nonprofit projects to transform communities. Stebbins has served on the board of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Manchester for the last seven years, and also volunteers as a mentor to kids at the club. The Stebbins family and PROCON have donated more than $1 million for the organization’s capital campaign. He worked with PROCON’s design team to donate the conceptual design of the Mark Stebbins Community Center, named after his late father, that will house the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Manchester, Amoskeag Health, the NH Food Bank and many other nonprofit support services under one roof to assist residents of Manchester’s west side.
“The West side is one of the most impoverished areas in the state,” Stebbins says, adding this project will bring essential resources there. “It will help alleviate need in that community.”
“This center will be a beacon of hope on the west side of Manchester. The vision for this center is to provide a collaborative approach to services to meet the needs of children and families. [John’s] commitment to fostering local partnerships and creating opportunities has left a lasting impact on countless lives in our community,” says Diane Fitzpatrick, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Manchester. “John exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding leader: integrity, resilience, and a genuine dedication to his company and the community it serves. His ability to uphold a 90-year legacy while charting a course for future success inspires all who know him.”
The Stebbins family and PROCON have supported Easterseals NH for more than 40 years. Stebbins also leads PROCON’s team that designed and is building the Easterseals Military and Veterans Campus in Franklin, a first-of-its-kind project in NH that will provide a variety of services for military veterans, service members and their families, including affordable housing for veterans and co-location space for organizations dedicated to helping veterans and military families. “This project is very important to us,” Stebbins says.
Stebbins and PROCON are also major supporters of Waypoint, including serving as a main sponsor of its annual SleepOut event, which enlists community leaders to spend a night outside to raise money and awareness for homeless youth in the state. Stebbins also hosted family, friends and neighbors in his backyard to support the SleepOut event for the last five years. The PROCON team raised almost $95,000 for the SleepOut this year.
“From sponsoring critical fundraising events such as SleepOut, an ongoing initiative addressing youth homelessness, to raising over $250,000 for our first overnight youth homeless center in Manchester and another $250,000 to renovate the Youth Resource Center for Homeless Youth, PROCON’s support has been transformational,” says Waypoint President and CEO Borja Alvarez de Toledo.
PROCON is also a major supporter of Granite United Way. In 2024, the employee campaign raised $105,054, which the company then doubled to $210,108.
“My biggest mentor was my dad. I was fortunate to have 38 years of my life with him and 11 years working together. He was a compassionate individual and a great listener. He cared greatly for his employees and giving back to the community,” says Stebbins, adding he tries his best to emulate those values.
One of PROCON’s areas of focus under Stebbins is creating more workforce housing. “We have four housing projects underway. It’s a huge need and I feel we are uniquely positioned to deliver more housing in the state,” Stebbins says, explaining PROCON is a developer that understands the costs of developing housing and how to do it more affordably and efficiently.
“People need places to live. Our state can’t thrive unless people can live here affordably. Businesses can’t find employees. Kids can’t stay here. Our elders, with rising costs, are being forced out of their homes. It’s an issue for almost every community,” Stebbins says. “We can be part of the solution.”
To learn more about these winning companies and celebrate their success with them, join us at the Business of the Year Awards celebration to be held on June 6, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown Hotel. For more information or to purchase tickets or tables, visit BusinessNHmagazine.com.