S.E.C. Real Estate Observer

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Leo travels and sees a lot more of the world today than he did in his early years. He was born in Wichita, Kansas, and has never left. He was the second born of four children. Even though his father died when he was six years old Leo remembers that his father enjoyed life and worked long hours. His father was quite ambitious and built a very successful packaging company.

Sometime after his father’s death, the family moved back into town from the country, and his mother bought and ran a bar. His mom remarried and had two more children.

Leo went to local schools in Wichita, and upon graduating from high school, he enrolled in Wichita State University, where he majored in business for two years before leaving. During this time, he got married and had the first of five children. After college, Leo worked at a variety of jobs, but his last job before he got into real estate was working as a manager of controls for Cessna Aircraft Company in Wichita. He was making good money, but in 1974 he was laid off.

Rod Stewart and Leo were good friends, having gone to high school together. In 1974, Rod was working for Colby Sandlian in his real estate brokerage/development business. Rod had been trying for years to get Leo to quit his job and to get into real estate. After being laid off from Cessna, Leo finally decided to try real estate. He went to work for Colby Sandlian, managing various real estate assets. Under Colby’s tutelage he learned how the numbers worked. After eight years, he decided he liked the real estate business, and he and Rod Stewart left and joined several investors who were going to build a portfolio of properties. Leo managed and leased the properties the investors bought. He also bought a few small commercial properties on his own but decided that owning properties was not for him because he never liked the risk. He enjoyed managing, leasing, and helping others achieve their goals and potential.

He has always been involved with his community. His strongest involvement has been as a member and past captain of the Wichita Wagonmasters, which is a local support group for the Wichita River Festivals that is put on annually. He is also heavily involved with Wichita Downtown Development Corporation and the downtown redevelopment efforts.
Through his connections with Colby Sandlian and Rod Stewart, he was introduced to the S.E.C. He became a Candidate in 2000, a Counselor in 2002, and President of the Society in 2012. When asked what was the most significant event that happened to him in the S.E.C., he states, “Being nominated to the Executive Committee and surviving to become President. Still wondering how that happened; surely there must have been a miscount of votes somewhere and it was too late to fix.” Becoming a member of S.E.C. did not really change the way he did business, as he was always about counseling and helping others, but it has expanded the parameters of his market tremendously. He considers becoming a member of the S.E.C. one of the best moments in his career and says, “Becoming an S.E.C. was then, and is today, an extreme honor.”

On a personal note, Leo says the two most significant life events were the death of his mother, who raised their large family pretty much by herself, and his marriage to his life partner, Debbie, in 1989. Leo says life is good and he has great faith in the Lord, which was passed on to him quietly by his mother, who had an unbelievable relationship with Him.