When neighborhood Realtor John Whiteside discovered Lakewood, he knew he had found a home for his family.
Whiteside, 51, came to North Dallas from Arkansas in 1981 due to his job with Merrill Lynch Realty. But North Dallas didn’t appeal to him like East Dallas did with its diversity and natural resources, one of the most notable being White Rock Lake, he says.
“My son asked me why there were no birds in Texas,” Whiteside says. “I said because there weren’t any trees. Then we found Lakewood and never left.”
“This is just a different world than North Dallas. There’s no sameness down here. The houses are all different. We’ve got the best restaurants in town. The quality of life here is unbelievable.”
Whiteside moved to Lakewood with his wife Glenda, son John Jr. and daughter Cindy in the early ‘80s.
He and Glenda, who also worked for Merrill Lynch, were interested in running their own business, and in April 1984 opened Whiteside Associates Inc., located in the First Interstate Bank building at 6301 Gaston. The company has since grown to the 10th largest real estate agency in Dallas, Whiteside says.
Like John and Glenda, most of the Realtors at Whiteside Associates live in our neighborhood, and the company is actively involved in the community, especially in efforts to save White Rock Lake.
Whiteside runs and fishes at the lake, and his family has taken many outings there, he says.
During the campaign for the City’s bond program, which included funds to dredge the lake, John and Glenda did their own lake promotions to persuade voters to support its restoration.
Last spring, they paid to insert flyers in the East Dallas/Lakewood Advocate about the lake and sponsored a Friends of White Rock Lake bike race. This summer, Whiteside Associates also sponsored a fishing tournament at the lake organized by the Uptown Exchange Club to benefit the lake and the Dallas Police Department’s Athletic League.
“The lake is one of the major assets of Dallas,” Whiteside says. “To me, there never should have been any question if there was going to be money spent on the lake. It’s like having a diamond broach that’s dirty and questioning whether or not to have it cleaned.”
“To not save the lake would be insanity.”
Whiteside Associates also makes donations to neighborhood schools and the East Dallas Cooperative Parish.
“We try to attract agents who are involved in the community,” Whiteside says. “We all think inside the Loop is the best place to live because we all live here.”
Realtors have a responsibility to the neighborhoods they sell, he says.
“I’m the kind of person who would be involved in the community anyway,” Whiteside says, “but I think the residential real estate business should try to lead the way.”
