Peter Rosenthal was born in 1939 in New York City. Peter grew up in NYC, served in the U.S. Army from 1959-1961 and was recalled for a year during the Cuban missile crisis. Peter attended college at American University in Washington, D.C., graduating with a B.S. in Business Administration in 1966.
Peter’s first job out of college was with Alcoa (Aluminum Company of America). After a year in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Alcoa’s home offices), Peter transferred to Los Angeles, California, where he met his future wife, Barbara, whom he married in 1968. Peter left Alcoa for an exciting job with Levi Strauss and Company, with territories in West Virginia and Madison, Wisconsin, Chicago, Illinois, and then back to Los Angeles in 1973. The Rosenthal family has resided in Los Angeles (La Cañada), California ever since.
In 1973-1974, Peter pursued his real estate interests with a neighbor, acquiring several rental properties in Glendale, California. In 1974 he obtained his real estate license and worked for a year in La Cañada selling residential real estate. Peter obtained his real estate broker’s license in December, 1975 and immediately formed V.I.P. Realty Company in January, 1976.
Peter has been an officer and director of various Boards of Realtors and taught a 3 unit real estate finance course for several years (mid 1980’s) at Glendale Community College. He authored a weekly real estate column for approximately 15 years, published by the Glendale News-Press, Foothill Leader, Burbank Leader and Foothill Ledger in earlier years. As of 1997 Peter’s articles are published monthly in “Apartment Management” magazine and several Realtor publications. Peter has been a keynote speaker for decades before professional organizations and service groups, speaking on various topics including but not limited to trust deed fraud, the foreclosure process, restructuring trust deeds, etc.
Peter has always cooperated with and extended advice to various law enforcement agencies throughout California in the trust deed fraud area, and has served as an expert witness in dozens of Superior Court actions, mediations and arbitration’s throughout California since 1983. Peter is an avid horseman and in his “spare time” manages to combat graffiti through a volunteer organization he founded in 1992 named Volunteers in Pride (V.I.P.). They eradicate graffiti in several California communities in addition to Griffith Park and portions of the 210, 134 and 2 Freeways. After twenty years and a marked reduction in local graffiti, the group was disbanded and volunteers continue to do individual clean up.
Peter has received numerous citizenship awards over the years, including La Crescenta Honorary Mayor’s Humanitarian Award 1993 and Foothill Association of Realtors “Citizen of the Year 1994.” He was picked one of Glendale’s 103 most influential citizens in 1996 and again in 1997. In 1997 Peter was also awarded the First Annual Frank Roberts Award by the Montrose/Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce.
OK; What has Peter done for us recently? In 2006 he was awarded the Glendale Board of Education’s “Character and Ethics Project Award” and in 2007 Peter received the city of Glendale’s “Hometown Hero” Award. In 2010 Peter received the Glendale Police Departments Community Service Award.