Mar 25, 2018 7 min read

Dan LaCarte has always been one to make a positive impact – as an athlete, coach and businessman.

“Dan has always had that knack,” said Jim Dumm, one of LaCarte’s football coaches at Charleroi High School in the late 1990s. “He’s so classy. He’s a gentleman. He does make a difference wherever he is and whatever he is associated with.”

LaCarte was a three-sport athlete for the Cougars. He played football at Pitt and started 34 games on the Panthers’ offensive line. He played in four bowl games and helped a Pitt football resurgence under coach Walt Harris.

“Playing and being at Pitt was one of the greatest times of my life,” LaCarte said. “The experience I had a Pitt helped me grow as a man.

“I faced a lot of adversity. I got pushed around a lot in my first years there. I was not a five-star talent. But the work ethic my dad instilled in me and what I was taught by my coaches was so important. Through my experience and ability to never to give up, I kept batting through the adversity. I enjoyed a nice career.

“I played seven different positions before settling in at guard,” he continued. “It was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot about football, about making it through tough times and about being a man.”

LaCarte arrived at Pitt as a tight end. He would often spread out and play wide receiver at Charleroi. But he moved from tight end to defensive line, a position he never played before. Finally, he was moved to offensive line. That was a huge change – all for the better.

He had found his niche as a Panther in 2001.

LaCarte said his trust in Harris, assistant head coach Bob Junko and offensive line coach Tom Freeman allowed for a smooth transition to the interior of the offensive line.

He listened, took notes and recorded every detail to help him understand the position and, ultimately, thrive.

“It all helped me make a quick adjustment,” LaCarte recalled. “I persevered. I loved being in there.”

In addition to the four bowl games, LaCarte speaks glowingly of the talent he was surrounded by with the Panthers, particularly, the opportunity to play with future Pro Bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald.

“What a marvelous player and person,” LaCarte said. “Larry is something special. I was older than him. He is very humble. He is always prepared. It was my privilege to be part of his Heisman (Trophy) run my senior year. He never put himself above anyone on the team. He just went about his business and worked hard with great humility.”

The description sounds a lot like LaCarte. He is humble and works hard in his community to make a difference through his work with the family’s Model Cleaners operations.

Currently, LaCarte is the president of Model Cleaners’ Dry Cleaning Division. He oversees 250 employees and 34 dry cleaning stores in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Model Cleaners is the Pittsburgh Region’s largest family-owned dry-cleaning operation with 12 dry-cleaning locations, head-quartered in Charleroi.

One of his and the businesses’ most significant contributions is Model Cleaners’ “Coats for Kids” coat drive, initiated in 2016. The program runs annually from October to the early weeks of December. The company works with schools, who help collect coats, which are cleaned and donated to the Salvation Army to provide local, less-fortunate, children a coat for the winter.

“It’s an important drive,” LaCarte said. “You touch kids’ lives. When you get into business, you just don’t get in it to make money. But you also want to give back to the communities you serve. We cleaned 7,000 coats and provided kids something they had not had before. Business can be a platform to helping others.”

Dumm said the LaCarte family shines in the community.

“The apples do not fall far from the tree with that family,” Dumm said. “Dan just stands out. What a role model he is.

“He possesses characteristics not many people have. He has that knack of attraction. Some have it, some do not. Dan has it. He is just so fun to be around. He puts a smile on your face.”

At Charleroi, LaCarte was more than a football player. He played basketball and baseball for the Cougars. He credits Dumm, Charleroi athletic director Bill Wiltz, former football coach Bob Hodgson, and others, for helping to shape him.

While football helped him go to college, LaCarte loved playing basketball.

“Yes, I loved basketball,” La Carte said. “Unfortunately, I was about a 15-percent free-throw shooter. I could have been a 1,000-point scorer. But I only scored about 750 because of poor free-throw shooting. I remember one game I scored 24 points and was about one-for-14 from the foul line. It was a mental thing.

“Honestly, my time at Charleroi was great. Jim Dumm was a special man and special coach to me. He really gave me confidence and helped me spread my wings and opened up the world.”

Last fall, LaCarte was inducted into the Charleroi High School Athletic Hall of Fame, and later this year he will be inducted into the Mid-Mon Valley Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

LaCarte had his choice of a number of schools to attend, including North Carolina State, West Virginia, Duke and Vanderbilt, among others. He settled on Pitt and what Harris had to offer.

“At the time, I liked what Walt Harris was putting together at Pitt,” LaCarte said. “When I came in 1999, I’m looking at Rod Rutherford, Antonio Bryant, Gerald Hayes and Claude Harriott. Those are good players. And Coach Harris and the group helped put Pitt football back on the map for awhile.”

Dumm said the honors for LaCarte are well-deserved.

“You could not find a better, quality young man than Dan,” Dumm said. “He comes from a great family. He put in an unbelievable amount of work in high school He would help the younger people. He looked after them, encouraged them and led them.

“You only had to tell or explain things to Dan once. He got it and he was like having a coach on the field. What a family man he is. Dan loves to talk about his children. He’s just an unbelievable person.”

LaCarte admits that coaching is in his blood and he often thinks about becoming a head coach one day.

For now, he is happy helping to run the family business and enjoying time with his family – his wife, Michele, and three children, Elyse, 8, Tommy, 6, and Vincent, 2.

“Michele is my good-luck charm,” LaCarte said. “We met at Pitt, and from the time I met her my life changed for the better.

“I absolutely love and enjoy spending time with my family, getting to be involved on a daily basis and being part of all their activities,” LaCarte said. “But I do think that someday, I would like to have my own program. I love to coach.”

LaCarte’s coaching career commenced after he was finished with tryouts for NFL teams. In 2004, he joined the Charleroi staff, assisting then head coach Nick Milcovich. LaCarte remained with the Cougars through the 2011 season.

He moved on to Belle Vernon in 2012 and “was fortunate to have the opportunity to coach Dorian Johnson,” who went onto to enjoy a stellar career at Pitt and was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals.

“Dorian was the best high school player I ever coached,” LaCarte said. He is something special.”

His final coaching stint, for now, was from 2014-2016 at Ringgold, again assisting Milcovich.

“I probably could be a college coach somewhere,” LaCarte said. “But I travel a lot with this job and I chose to be part of our family business and I love it.

“I do feel alive when I am helping kids and coaching,” LaCarte said.