We are honored to have the opportunity to introduce our family to our exceptional community! We are the Putkela family and we moved to Oak Pointe in September 2020. We had been members of the country club for a few years before then, fully enjoying all of its wonderful amenities. It was during this time that we came to notice what a friendly community Oak Pointe is and that when the time came to make a move, there was no place we would rather live!

We were drawn to Livingston County in the early years of our marriage where we were able to build the home of our young dreams in 2002  just a few miles north of here in Howell. In the coming years, we were blessed with three beautiful children: Harrison, Colin and Evelyn (Evie). Over the years we have been involved in many of their activities! For Don that meant coaching T-ball and being both a Den Leader and the Cub Master in Cub Scouts. Angela was involved in the elementary PTO and helping in the classroom and on field trips along with supporting the Cub Scouts too!

It was four years ago that this house no longer suited our needs and when the most amazing house came to market we realized it was the one for us! We fell in love with the house at 4151 Doral Court and knew that it was one that we could truly call home. Since our sons were older when we moved, it was important to them to graduate from Howell High School where they had been growing up. Our daughter Evie however started here at Maltby and just loves Brighton! Sometimes we joke that we are a household divided, running around to events in both districts.

Our oldest, Harrison, graduated from Howell High last year and is enjoying his freshman year at Emerson College in Boston, a top-tier film school, where he can follow his dream to be in the film industry. Our second son, Colin, is currently in 10th Grade at Howell High and was just named the Center Snare and Drumline Section Leader for 2024’s Howell Highlander Marching Band. It is his goal to be on the MSU Drumline when he goes to Michigan State for college. Our daughter Evie loves being in Brighton and is currently in 7th grade at Scranton Middle School. After years of cheering on BBFC, she is a flyer on Scranton’s competitive cheer team. In the fall you can find us at both Brighton and Howell High Schools cheering on our local teams and watching our son in the halftime show or our daughter on the sideline.

If you walk by our house you are bound to see our 1½ year old puppy roaming the yard. While Roxie may be half golden retriever and half cocker spaniel, she is 100% pure energy and joy. She loves her walks and is enthusiastic in her hellos to anyone who takes the time to say hi to our friendly little pup! 

We are passionate about traveling and sharing the world with our children. Before Harrison started high school we took all of the kids to London and it truly opened their world! Three years later before Colin began his high school career and Harrison finished his, we knew the time was right to take them all for two weeks in Europe along the Mediterranean. The first week was on a cruise seeing Barcelona, Southern France, Pisa, Florence and the Amalfi Coast. The second week was on land split between Rome and Venice. The final big trip before Evie starts high school will fulfill her dream of going to Paris!

Professionally Don and Angela are Realtors and in 2023 started an independent brokerage called The Putkela Group. We are so honored to be able to help our clients reach their goals and love being involved in the community. We are both active in the Livingston County Association of Realtors (LCAR), volunteering each year for the Gleaners Food Drive and Realtor Ring Day for the Salvation Army. Don has been on the board of Directors for LCAR for years and is looking forward to being its President in 2024. Angela is on the Board for the Livingston County Spartans which helps local students attending Angela and Don’s alma mater MSU. We are also podcasters founding “Welcome to Livingston” where Real Estate meets Community. This weekly podcast can be found on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and

YouTube. It is our chance to sit down with many of the local movers and shakers of this amazing community, shining a spotlight on the businesses, events and causes that make Livingston County a fantastic place to live, work and enjoy! With over 70 episodes we can say that every person we have interviewed feels the same passion for our community that we do!