Jay Lanagan, President and Broker of real property and development company Lanagan and Co., has swum in two Buzzards Bay Swims.

Lanagan is a very active 45 years old. He has done the New Bedford Half Marathon, Mattapoisett Sprint Triathlon and Mattapoisett Road Race multiple times. All of these are appealing events to him, but he has a special affinity for the Buzzards Bay Swim.

“As a former board member, I have a connection to the organization,” he says. “I try to get involved with Coalition events not only financially, but in a participatory sense. It’s challenging, but it is very well-run.”

He looks back fondly on his childhood years in the watershed, including fishing on the Mattapoisett River and opening up the herring run with his friend’s grandfather. In 2005, he returned to the area from Western Massachusetts and got into property management. The last 20 years, Lanagan and Co. has become one of the most active and recognizable property management companies and he has been lucky to raise a family here locally.

His daughter, 10, swims for the New Bedford Hurricanes. “She looks across the water and sees a long swim,” he says. “She’ll swim it eventually. For now, I need to show her I can still do it at 45.”

Would you like to participate in this year’s Buzzards Bay Swim in June? Sign up here.