Joe Sule
“Roots” may be a word to describe Joe. Although he’s a native of Detroit, he has lived in Green Bay since 1965. His wife, Debra’s family is also local and when he proposed marriage to her a few years back at a family gathering, her family’s main concern was that they hoped Joe and Debra wouldn’t leave the area. Not much chance of that--after looking for several months and not finding something that fit their expectations and their budget, they happened upon a house in the St. Bernard area about four years ago. The house needed some work, and they both have devoted so much time and energy to their house and to the garden that Joe believes if anything happened and they both died, their ghosts would continue to hang around the place.
Joe’s father-in-law is a Knight, and it was as a result of his suggestion that Joe expressed some interest in the Knights. It was Dave Tlachac who finally got him to ‘sign on the dotted line’ and he completed the Third Degree recently. His business and other commitments have managed to keep him away from many of the meetings and activities of the Council, but he is hoping that will change and he will be able to get more involved in the life of the Knights. Both he and Debra appreciate the emphasis the Knights place on family and specifically applaud the effort of Council 10243 to get family members involved in the activities of the Knights.
After working as a Sales Manager for BFI until just recently, Joe was asked to consider another position which would have required him to move to the Milwaukee or Chicago area. But, there’s those roots again and Joe and Debra really wanted to stay in the area. He ended up taking a job with Equity Lending, Inc. which helps find “Permanent Financial Solutions to Temporary Credit Problems.” In his job, Joe works with many people who for a variety of reasons cannot obtain loans from traditional lending sources and helps them set up mortgages. The objective is to help people get back on their feet again and he derives a great deal of satisfaction from what he does. Though there is no such thing as an average day, he does spend a lot of time trying to sell himself and his product to brokers who will then make referrals to him. There’s a huge amount of paperwork, but he is able to work out of his home.
At one time in his life, Joe thought he might end up as an artist, since he is talented at both painting and sculpting. However, his artistic expression seems to have found an outlet in working on the house and the garden. Landscaping seems to be in both Joe and Debra’s blood. Her grandfather was a landscaper and his grandparents in Detroit had one of those homes which people passing by would stop to look at. Since they’ve been in the Preble area, they have transformed their property into quite an exceptional display of plants, flowers and fountains. Even though the lawn is having to yield more and more space to the gardens, it is something to be justly proud of, and it is Joe’s way of relaxing.
Debra and Joe (whose last name rhymes with ‘rule’) have been married for five and a half years now, and have not yet made a decision to have children. Debra works as a Supervisor of Training in Claims Services at Employers Health. We look forward to getting to know them better as a part of the Council 10243 family.
July 1997