By Joycelyne Fadojutimi

Lateefah Pruitt was born into a family business. Real estate to be exact. Her parents have been running State Realty since 1980. And she joined her parents in the real estate business. Moreover, she  is co-owner of Area Wide Appraisal Services and Family First Insurance, both of which have been humming for more than thirty years. Her business savvy and industrious nature are family traits.

Her family is no stranger to the protestant work-ethic.

Lateefah grew up in a close-knit clan of three brothers and a sister. She was very close to her siblings in the closed confines of a three-bedroom, one-bath home where she accumulated blissful memories until her parents were laid off from their jobs in the oilfields. They started completely over and dived into real estate… the whole family took off with the enterprise now called State Realty. But wait, there was more to it than office work.

“We would get up early Saturday mornings and clean houses and mow yards,” she says. “When I would get out of school I’d go straight to the office and start preparing reports and answering phones. I could type, balance check books and work on taxes by the third grade.”

Lateefah is a mother of 2 industrious and beautiful girls who are  following in her successful footsteps. A senior at Longview High School, Anaya is making a savory trek as a vegetarian, learning to create delectable, healthy dishes in the school’s culinary arts programs while also treading the stage as a theater student. A former homeschool student, Neema attended South Ward, and is recognized as a gifted young lady. Her entrance test rated her as Gifted and Talented (GT), earning her a placement in the GT program at Hudson PEP as a fourth grader.

Like most successful people, she places great emphasis on education. Her daughters are not only receiving excellent schooling but are both highly gifted. She describes how Anaya could talk before she could crawl, and how as a toddler Neema taught herself how to do backflips.

“Realizing her athletic abilities, I put her in gymnastics, and she has excelled tremendously,” Lateefah says. “She loves to sing and perform. Several local churches routinely invite her to sing in their services and programs.”

Lateefah understands the value of a magnificent education. For this reason, in 1997,  she enrolled in Texas Southern University in Houston on a full academic scholarship she earned from the university’s Frederick Douglass Honor Program. Despite her natural talent in multiple fields, she took nothing for granted and worked her hands raw as an academic. Apart from her studies, she toiled for the Gallup Foundation, as a PBX instructor for J.C. Penney and as an instructor in the university’s Youth Enrichment Program (YEP,) teaching modeling and self-esteem. This last position taught her how much she loves children.

“This inspired me to organize the Future CEOs Business Seminar which later became the Power Legacy PEP Youth Program,” she says. “It teaches financial literacy and business skills to our youth and introduces them to business opportunities and financial responsibility.”

There is more. She even found time to work as an intern with Music World Entertainment where she collaborated with such entertainment giants as Destiny’s Child, Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, Michelle Williams, and Solange. Following her graduation, Music World Entertainment hired her full-time. In 2003, she moved on to Georgia State University to advance her talent for film, working with Will Packer, Tyler Perry, and others on films for HBO. Still, she felt drawn to Longview.

First and mainly, she is a real estate broker. She loves helping her clients when they buy and sell homes. Guiding them as they strive to become bona fide homeowners is a labor of love for her. She encourages her clients to be more than mere homeowners, but to learn about real estate investing. The seminars she hosts and her book, Complete Guide to Buying a Home point the way.

“I believe that our communities are better when we own real estate assets,” she says. “I have educated Longview and surrounding area citizens about the process of home ownership and how it creates generational wealth.”

Time management is essential in keeping to her hectic schedule. She rises at 4:00 a.m. and commences each day with a personal devotional and prayer. After she has spent time with her Savior, she writes out a list of that day’s objectives while studying the appointment schedule. After rousing, feeding, and sending her girls off to school she makes a beeline for the office.

“I like to get to the office before we open so I can do the things that are pressing,” she says. “Once office hours start you never know what may come up.”

Like Boy Scouts and canned apples, she is always prepared. This is crucial because she manages more than 100 properties, and also sells homes. She has literally hundreds of tenants along with clients who own these properties. She loves the fast pace of her career, and when it does slow down, she has no trouble finding and seeing to other tasks and preparing for those on the horizon. She cannot get enough of a career she has literally always followed.

“I grew up in real estate,” she says. “I’ve been licensed for seventeen years, but I tell people real estate has been my whole life, because my mother was pregnant with me when she became a realtor.”

Although she took a pleasurable detour into entertainment, her passion for East Texas and its people drew her back to Longview. After Anaya’s birth she came home and sprouted deep roots. 2023 has been a good year.

Her expert work and devotion to her clients and their well-being brings with it a great sense of accomplishment as she leads so many to their dream of home ownership. She notes with gratitude and satisfaction how the media are covering the successes of the Pruitt legacy both in Longview and throughout this area. She loves offering her talents and work ethic to neighborhood grassroots economic empowerment. She is touched to hear long-time friends and clients relate how both she and her parents through the years have assisted so many in both real estate and in a long list of additional matters in which help was needed. Better yet, she is guided by her compassionate, charitable, and empathic heart. She is always keen to share her knowledge on how to achieve self-improvement.

Her advice is to be imaginative and persistent. When a procedure or method does not work, discard it immediately and adjust so as to accomplish goals. Never give up on passionate, benevolent objectives. This mindset makes is clear to others who are the best leaders.

“You have to have a sense of self and continue to be you and always remember why you are doing something,” she says. “The world will bring trials that will try to divert you from your purpose but remain focused.”

Lateefah’s desire to make Longview a better place has moved her to seek public office. Lateefah Pruitt is running for LISD Board of Trustee Place 5. Again, it is her love for youth and education that motivates her actions. She plans to collaborate with the district’s board members, teachers, parents, students, and the community as a whole to establish close ties and communication to make LISD Place 5 a sterling example of educational success.

Her goal of identifying, grasping, and accomplishing academic objectives promises to further enhance the LISD‘s already sparkling reputation. By recognizing teacher successes and involving the community in the educational process she intends to ensure a better future for the city and encircling region. Everything she has on her plate is geared to this.

Everything she owns and does revolves around her determination to continuously move Longview forward. Hence, Lateefah advocates problem solving rather than just complaining about them.

”We reflect our neighborhood. Let us get more involved with the upkeep of our communities,” she said. Instead of complaining about your neighbor’s yard, contribute to assisting them. You never know what a person is going through.”

“I grew up in real estate. I’ve been licensed for seventeen years, but I tell people real estate has been my whole life, because my mother was pregnant with me when she became a realtor.” Lateefah Pruitt