organized 1948
In 1945, Wylie F. Tuttle entered New York City’s real estate business. He may have been young but he wasn’t the chip off the ol’ block like most of his peers.
“So that gave me an idea”, says Tuttle, 78, who now runs a stud farm outside Rock Hall, Maryland.
” As a way of getting to know other young people in the business who already knew each other through their families, I created this group,” he says,
So in 1948 Tuttle formed the Young Men’s Real Estate Association of New York. It began with 20 members. Today it is known as the YM/WREA after women were allowed to join in the late 1970’s. The YM/WREA now has more than 400 members and is, in the words of it’s current chairman, “an exclusive group.”.
“We’ve become a club without the clubhouse,” says the chairman, Joseph Grotto, jr. Grotto’s rise within the organization has been meteoric. He was elected a member of the group in 1996; last year he became vice chairman.
The YM/WREA spear heads several philanthropic projects and regularly holds fundraisers. Every year, the group hosts a former chairman’s dinner, the last of which was held in March. It also hosts a lunch month with a keynote speaker. Every summer, the host a golf/tennis outing at a local country club. The outings, like the group itself, have humble roots.
“These outing used to involve a keg of beer and some volleyball at Jones Beach,” say Grotto. With the exception of the bunkers, this years outing will take place at the Old Oaks Country Club in Westchester County.
The organization is “an honor society” says one member. Edward S. Gordon was a member, as was Lew Rudin.
“People do seek us out,” says Grotto. “All of the people from the YM/WREA are my friends,” says Earle S. Altman, 69. Altman was a chairman of the YM/WREA. He started working with Harry Helmsey in 1950.
“In 1964 there were 14 past chairmen,” says Altman. Today there are 52 former chairmen, which means that the dinner is a much larger affair these days then it was in ‘64.
In 1971, Altman won the Young Man of the Year Award — eleven years later he garnered the Senior Man of the Year Award.
A club based on youth must have term limits, so rules of the YM/WREA dictate that after the age of 49 members automatically become “senior” members.
“The YM/WREA chose legends before they became legendary,” said Earle. There’s proof in Earle’s statement if one looks at current and past members.
Paul Kempner called the YM/WREA “the best organization I ever got involved in.”
“It didn’t use to be easy to get into,”said Kempner, a former YM/WREA chairman who is now retired. The values that the YM/WREA places heavy emphasis on are “decency and honesty” in Kempner’s words.
There are 51 living former chairman of the organization, and many of them still work in New York City real estate. And many more of them remain close friends after being introduced through the YM/WREA.
Kate Coburn joined the YM/WREA in 1977. Then, ” there were only a handful of women members,” said Coburn, another former chairman. “Being a member of the YM/WREA has really broadened my horizons. It still does, to this day.”.
She credits the YM/WREA for taking a more active role in New York City community via philanthropic projects. She reserved her highest praise for the community that the YM/WREA has fostered between her and others in the business community.
“The relationships transcend business. I really consider most of these people my personal friends,” she says. Of her involvement with the YM/WREA, Coburn says that she “worked very hard for the organization.”.
Her sentiments appear to be shared by most — if not all — of those deemed YM/WREA material.
— Parke Chapman