Robert Gregg:  

Life: I grew up on the eastside of Detroit. My neighborhood was full of excitement and interesting people. It was the greatest place in the world. During the 1950's I worked at Tiger (Briggs) Stadium for the Tigers and the Detroit Lions. I worked both jobs until I attended the University of Michigan in 1960. In 1961 I became a Benedictine monk. I spent almost two years in a monastery in Oxford, Michigan. It was a great learning experience. I learned discipline and how to set goals for myself. I studied hard and learned more about life than I had before or since. I left only because I could not stand being confined to a small (350 acres) area, knowing there was a big world out there to see. I returned to college at the University of Michigan. About this time I married my first wife, Penny. We had two children, Heidi (now 48 and Christian (now 50). During the time I was attending college I got a job as a draftsman for ITE, at the time one of the largest electrical companies in the world. After a year, I was made a junior engineer. After three years I was made a senior design electrical engineer. In 1968, while still working as an engineer, I started writing for newspapers and magazines. I had always loved to write and being published was exciting. The two major dailies in Detroit went on a year-long strike (the News and Free Press). During that year, an interim daily called The Detroit American was the big paper. They offered me the job as Outdoor Editor. I've been a journalist ever since. I had a son named Robert in 1969. He is married and has three children. I was news editor of the Daily Press in Escanaba, Michigan in 1969-70. Editor of the Oxford Leader in 1970-71. And owned my own newspaper in Traverse City, Michigan in 1971-72. After I sold my newspaper I went into business for myself as a consultant in the publishing industry, working mostly in Canada for newspaper publishers. While I was married to my second wife, Joan (3 more children, Ryan, Kyle & Neil), I worked as editor and publisher of Take Part, a newspaper published for K mart Corporation with over a million readers. After I divorced (for the second time), I did editorial research for National Geographic magazine, wrote for several newspapers and continued my consulting business. I married my wife, Nancy, in 1980 and adopted her twin boys, Gary and Glenn (now 48). We have a total of 8 children and 17 grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. Shortly after our marraige, I went to work as publisher of a newspaper in Houghton, MI. About a year later I was promoted to assistant publisher of the large daily newspaper in Marquette, MI. Less than two years (1983) later I was given my own daily newspaper in Escanaba, MI (The Daily Press) where I worked as publisher until I retired in January of 1998. During my tenure as publisher, The Daily Press won more journalism awards than any newspaper in Michigan. I am very proud of that record. I have served as chairman of the Associated Press Readability report for five years and was an officer or member of the board of directors of the Michigan Press Association for ten years. I came out of retirement in 1998 and was named Regional Executive for Ogden Newspapers, owners of dozens of daily and weekly news...Expand for more