News

Staley retires from Compass to travel, write

By Nancy Barthel
Compass Correspondent

	Tony Staley

It's been nearly two decades since Tony Staley dropped that letter in the mail to a diocesan newspaper in far-off Green Bay, Wis. He was 39 years old and ready for adventure.

He had worked 13 years for The Sentinel - the Catholic newspaper that covers all of Oregon - when Tony decided the time was right to leave his home state and head east. He mailed applications to five different positions - but it is the letter to Green Bay he remembers the best. There was something that felt right when he dropped it in the post box, he recalled.

That was 18 years ago, and as this August comes to a close, Staley finds himself retiring as editor of The Compass. He leaves the position as the longest serving editor in the 50-year history of the diocesan newspaper.

	Related articles: from August 31, 2007 issue: • News, information manager begins • Editorial -- Saying goodbye from Jan. 26, 2007 issue: • Editorial -- Clarifying what's going on

Tony chatted over his decision to retire at age 57 amidst the familiar surroundings of his office in the Communications Department. It's been a busy workspace with a view many Green Bay executives would pay big money for - Lambeau Field in the distance over the Fox River.

Tony said he can think of "dozens of reasons to retire," but the most important one is the love of his life, Jackie, to whom he's been married for 17 years. "My wife is 10 years older than I am," he said. Both are in good health, and want time to enjoy traveling and working together.

Jackie is also a transplant from Oregon. She is well known, he said, as a member of the Evangelization Committee for the diocese. "She was kind of known as 'Mrs. Renew' in the diocese," he said.

Also influencing his decision to retire was the passing of Tony's brother, Bill, to cancer three and one-half years ago. It was a wake-up call, he said, that life may be telling him it's time to slow down. "Those are the kinds of things you start thinking about," he said.

But the smile he gets on his face reflecting back on how he came to Green Bay in the first place tells you that coming here was meant to be.

He was born and raised in small-town Oregon. He was educated in Catholic schools, including receiving his degree in communications from the University of Portland, Oregon's Catholic university. He had been editor of a small-town Oregon weekly newspaper when he got a call from his college advisor asking him if he'd be interested in a position at The Sentinel. That was in 1976.

Thirteen years later, "I was open to the idea of living someplace I'd never been before," he said. His life had seen plenty of changes prior to his move - including dropping 147 pounds in 14 months, taking his weight from 312 pounds to 165 pounds through diet and exercise. Now at a comfortable 185 pounds, Tony said he hopes to one day write a book about his weight loss success.

It was June 1989 when he came to Green Bay for his face-to-face interview for the editor position. "I'd never been out here before," he said, though he had and still has an aunt and uncle, Mary and George Tilley, living in Richland Center, with whom they now always celebrate Thanksgiving.

Coming east from Oregon, he had to take the "red-eye" flight to Chicago, catching a connecting flight to Green Bay. It was a beautiful day, and he remembers seeing the many farms as he flew north over Wisconsin. "It felt good," he said.

His Friday interview went well and, because his return flight wasn't until Sunday, he spent Saturday exploring. "So I just walked around Green Bay," said Tony. "I stopped and talked to people. Everybody was so nice."

The rest is part of the history of The Compass. Tony was offered the position and moved here in late August 1989. On Feb. 24, 1990, he and Jackie were married in Oregon and moved back to the Green Bay Diocese to begin their life together.

Green Bay "has been very good to us," said Tony, "and we hope we've been good for Green Bay."

After coming to work at The Compass, Tony earned a master's degree in theological studies from St. Norbert College in De Pere. He and Jackie are members of Resurrection Parish, where they sing in the choir. They are also members of the Pals Program, a volunteer program sponsored by the Brown County Human Services Department. The program matches eligible children ages three to seven with an adult volunteer or couple to provide a positive role model.

"It's a wonderful thing," said Tony.

The couple also looks forward to writing a book together. Each year, the Staleys take a retreat together and he said they plan to write a book about that long-term experience.

But among the first things on Tony's retirement list is taking out a map, throwing a dart and seeing where it lands. The Staleys love to travel. A self-proclaimed history buff, Tony enthusiastically talks about the places the couple has traveled so far including Italy, Ireland, England, Spain and Malta, and the places they hope to see in the next few years: Germany, France and the Holy Land.

One of the most memorable adventures of Tony's career at The Compass included traveling. The diocesan mission at Elias Pina, in the Dominican Republic, was the focus of a five-week series of articles he wrote for The Compass in 2000.

"I think about those people every day," said Tony. There are so many "little things you take for granted," he continued, whether it be running water or electricity. He was there a week and said it was important to him to go there personally, to write about the challenges facing the mission and the good works done in Elias Pina.

He hopes he's leaving behind a legacy as a good journalist and teacher. "I try to be conversational," he said of his writing, which usually includes two editorials per edition. He has been honored eight times for his editorial writing for the paper by the Catholic Press Association. "I try to keep it simple," he said. (Under his leadership, the paper also received four general excellence awards.)

"To me, the job of a journalist is to be able to take complicated ideas and make it so people can understand it," said Tony.

His number one loyalty, he said, has always been to the readers of The Compass.

"I want people to know I was on the journey with them, that I didn't have all the answers," he said of his work, some of which have included thoughtful writings on important historical figures within the church and their contributions to the faith.

Tony and Jackie plan to continue making Green Bay their home.

"I'm sure I could have stayed here for several years," said Tony. "It's time to let somebody else do this."