President Mike Rief

Mike is on his 4th term as President of our Oak Point Property Owners Association. He is already looking for someone to take his place for next year. Mike says that the thing he enjoys most about the presidency is meeting and working with all the good people up here. He enjoys lining up the speakers for the annual meeting and working with the local media.




Mike and his wife Joyce have their permanent home in Buffalo just west of the twin cities. They live on the NW corner of Buffalo Lake. Mike is fully retired from his job as the controller for General Dynamics, Government Systems Division. They were the Department of Defense Contract Unit where 95% of their business was with the US Navy. They built computers for the F-18 fighter jets among other things. Joyce is also retired from the education field where she was in physical education, school counselor, and finished as a principal at Minnetonka High School.



Mike is an old Navy man himself. Going to Navy OCS after college at St Cloud State. He spent a number of years on navy ships based out of Brooklyn Navy Yards. He then spent 14 years in the Naval Reserves where he retired as a Lt. Commander.



Mike and Joyce have three adult children. Two boys and one girl. Their daughter has triplet boys who are 9 years old and live in Zimmerman. They bought their place on Mounds Point from Les Spitzack in 1999. Their cabin use to be owned by Glen and Verna Sickle who have plenty of stories about their time up here.



Mike claims the main reason he bought property up here on Leech Lake was for snowmobiling. Last year both he and Joyce put 1,100 miles on Leech Lake and 1,100 miles other places on their sleds. One of Mikes stories up here was the time they went to Walker Legion Meat Raffle on sleds. When they left to go home from where the Chase Hotel is they left across the ice when it got foggy, real foggy. So they decided to go back to town and followed their tracks back. They found the Heartland Trail by Marine Max and followed it back to Erickson's Landing. They took off across the ice once again keeping Sandpoint to their left and followed paths heading east. They new they were safe when they could see Christmas Lights on Mounds Point.



Mike's other major story about snowmobiling was when he was marking ice chunks at ice spearing fisherman had cutout for their spearing holes. Mike would mark these chunks so that other snowmobiler's would not hit them. Well wen mike stepped back and you guessed it, he fell into the hole catching himself by his left arm and was able to putt himself out, wet and all alone. It was about 30 degrees out so he was able to start his sled and hurry home before he froze up.



Mike and Joyce also enjoy playing golf at both Longbow and Sand Trap course's. They enjoy cruising Leech Lake in their pontoon boat looking for sand beaches and other places of interest. Fishing for Mike is the early season Walleyes and Sunfish.



If you want to get involved with the Oak Point Association, give Mike a call and volunteer.