J's World: Frontiersman Valley Life editor leaving after 10 years

Oct. 29, 2006

The end of an era - it's sort of a tired headline I've used about four dozen times before.

It's plain, but appropriate. Usually, it's in reference to a coach or player moving on to pursue another challenge. Sometimes it's the end of a career entirely.

But today I am writing about my colleague and friend, Casey Ressler. The Sunday edition will include the final Valley Life section championed by Casey. After more than 10 years of work at this newspaper, Casey is now moving on to pursue another opportunity.

For the better part of a decade, the name Ressler has basically been synonymous with the name Frontiersman. When readers think Frontiersman, the first name that usually comes to mind is Ressler. He's done a little bit of everything. He started writing about crime, moved over to sports and eventually spearheaded the creation of the Valley Life section.

Apparently some people in our community even think he owns this place. A few months ago, when one of our sales representatives was talking to a customer about our parent company, Wick Communications, the customer told the sales representative she thought the Resslers owned this paper. Casey's wife, Tracy, the Frontiersman business manager, has also been a big part of the success of this newspaper for about a decade. The Resslers do not own this paper, but that thought does prove my point.

Though Casey may only own this place in a figurative sense, he has been the face of this newspaper, regardless of how much his face has changed.

Casey arrived on the doorstep of this paper, baby-faced and fresh out of college, with aspirations of a career in journalism. He had a full head of hair and was packing the biggest gain of his college experience - a beer gut.

Somewhere between his first week and his final days here, he's lost a few pounds and a lot of hair, but gained the respect of everyone.

Before my wife even met Casey, it was like she already knew him. In his weekly column, she had read about his marriage to Tracy and the birth of their daughter, Madison. My wife had basically watched Madison grow through Casey's words. And she is one of a few thousand readers who share those same sentiments.

His column, &#8220Resslin' Around” included a personal element that appeals to readers. It's the same approach that I try to incorporate into my own writing. Through his work, the community has watched Casey grow for the last 10 years.

It's rare for someone in this business to stay so long in one place. It's just not the nature of it. It doesn't happen that often. I've only been here half as long as Casey, but I've watched dozens of people come and go. And then there was Casey, who some were calling a lifer as recent as a month ago. But the business needs the Casey Resslers. And so does the community.

For the last several years, the desks of sports editor Jeremiah Bartz and Valley Life editor Casey Ressler have sat right next to each other in an area of the newsroom dubbed &#8220the corner.” It's a testosterone-heavy area, where the topic of conversation is usually centered around sports. Ressler may be leaving &#8220the corner” and the Frontiersman, but he'll still be around the Valley. If you see his bald mug out and about, buy him a beer, and thank him for a good 10 years.