“My father always told me, ‘Do what you say you’re going to do. If you do that, you’re a man of your word.’”
Joseph Leto is the managing broker of the successful Signature Sotheby’s real estate office in Grosse Pointe Farms. As hard as he works at that job, he also finds time to participate in community outreach.
He held the position as the Government Affairs Committee chair on the Grosse Pointe Board of Realtors. In that role, he served as the liaison with Lansing regarding laws pertinent to the Grosse Pointe community.
Joseph served on the Board of Regents for the Grosse Pointe-Harper Woods Chapter. The GPBR established the organization to foster local engagement with established committees at the association level. The goal is to increase opportunities for community involvement and keep members up to date on local issues.
The Grosse Pointe Sunrise Rotary is another of Joseph’s community outreach activities. His favorite event is the Grosse Pointe Fun Run. This 10K run is the Rotary’s major fundraiser and draws people into the city from all over the area. It takes place on Lake Shore Drive in mid-September. The Rotary projects also include presenting scholarships to high school students from the area and sponsoring a pre-teen girls program housed in Peace Lutheran church.
Joseph and his wife, Paula, were high school sweethearts who graduated together from Grosse Pointe South. After attending separate Michigan colleges, they came back together to start their 30-year marriage in the Pointes. Their parish is St. Paul’s on the Lake, where Joseph participates in the Catholic Men’s Fellowship discussions on various areas of the faith.
Joseph’s favorite outdoor activity is taking his two sons Up North for hunting, fishing, and boating. For 20 years, he has hosted an annual fishing trip at his cabin on the Muskegon River in Newaygo, and a deer hunting adventure for friends. He’s a board member on the Muskegon River Water Shed Assembly, an environmental organization.
When asked for a piece of professional advice during this time of pandemic uncertainty, Joseph reports that the housing market in the Pointes remains strong, and houses are selling at an alarming pace. This uptick seems counter-intuitive, but, as he explains:
“There are always people who want a home in Grosse Pointe because it’s such a remarkable place to live and raise a family.”
When asked what he feels he contributes to the community, Joseph said,
“My greatest contribution to this community is my honesty and integrity as it relates to real estate and life in general.”
