Mention the name Michael Leep to anyone in the Michiana area and the response is immediate: you instantly think of a man who has been instrumental in bettering the community. 

Ask Mike why philanthropy is so important and he’ll give you his signature phrase, “It’s the right thing to do!”

And almost nobody has done more for the area—or done it more fervently and faithfully— than South Bend businessman Michael Leep.

Mike Leep was born in Hammond, Indiana, on September 11, 1943. He grew up in Highland, Indiana, attending Highland public schools and going on to Ball State University. After leaving college in his sophomore year, Mike became involved in various entrepreneurial enterprises in the food service industry.

In 1967, Michael entered the automobile industry as a salesman for McAnary Ford in Gary, Indiana. In 1973 Mike and his business partner, Van Gurley, had the opportunity to purchase their first automobile dealership, a Dodge franchise in Highland, Indiana.

Mike and Van purchased a Buick franchise in South Bend in 1977. Since that time, the Gurley-Leep Automotive Group has grown from one dealership to 36 automotive retail franchises at 22 dealership locations throughout Michiana and Northwest Indiana; Lansing, Michigan; Davenport, Iowa and Des Moines, Iowa, employing more than 1,200 people. As a leading Indiana automotive dealer, Michael is the past-president of the Automobile Dealers Association of Indiana.

Mike, along with his late wife Karen, has been involved to a significant degree with many charitable organizations in the Michiana area, some of which are: 

• American Cancer Society
• American Heart Association
• Boys & Girls Club of St. Joseph County
• Boy Scouts of St. Joseph County
• Center for the Homeless
• Cultivate Food Rescue
• Family Justice Center  
• Habitat for Humanity
• Hannah’s House Michiana
• Hospice of St. Joseph County
• Logan Center
• Ronald McDonald House
• Women’s Care Center Foundation

“Mike gives with all his heart and soul,” says Bobby Williams, director of the Women’s Care Center Foundation. “He tackles each challenge in the community with a spirit of love and service. He has helped the lives of countless families in so many ways.”

As a visionary and community leader, Michael Leep’s dedication to giving has truly changed lives in the region.