MONROE - It might have been Matt Urban's parents who paved the way for their youngest son's future, whether it was following in his father's footsteps as a broadcast journalist, or taking what he learned from his mother and traveling the world, experiencing some amazing adventures.
Today, he's simply enjoying those paths that life has taken him down and the memories he keeps close. He said after being in the limelight for so long, he's now finding solace in his country home as he enjoys the world around him.
Urban was born and raised in Monroe as the youngest of six children. He recalls playing in the neighborhood often - there were 144 children within a few blocks, he recalls. He said they spent time making up teams in empty lots and lamenting when someone would build a home - it meant one less playing field.
His father, Joe, started the radio station in Monroe in the 1950s. Urban grew up at the station, tagging along with his father to community events. He has fond memories of riding shotgun in the golf cart at the fairgrounds while his dad interviewed people.
He recalls vivid memories of the tornado in 1965. He was just 5 years old as he watched his father broadcast the news live.
On Wednesdays, Urban joined him on his sales route, stopping in South Wayne for a Snickers bar, a treat that still triggers a sense of nostalgia.
"He was so well received wherever he went," Urban recalled.
His mother, Sally, a registered dietitian, didn't work until Urban was in sixth grade. She would often plan adventures for the family, taking off even for short camping trips and his father would join them as soon as he could. She encouraged trips and welcomed foreign exchange students into their home often, exposing the children to all types of cultures.
Sports never really stuck for Urban at Monroe High School; he leaned more toward clubs. He was part of the Key Club and enjoyed playing the French horn in the band. He was a Boy Scout and worked summers at Canyon Camp just outside of Stockton, Illinois.
During his senior year, he was part of the AFS Club and went to Rome, New York, for a semester. He enjoyed his time but was anxious to return to be part of the Capstone Program, in which the class built a home.
"They saved me a wall to frame up so I was part of all of it," Urban said, noting that he had many carpenters in his family and a father who was willing to let the kids tear into the house to redo anything and everything.
After graduation, Urban considered bigger schools out of state but had an offer from his father to pay for a state school. It was an offer he couldn't refuse.
"He instilled a pay-it-forward attitude and gave us a tremendous gift," Urban said.
Urban had dabbled in the radio station quite a bit in high school. He even spent time on the air and filled in wherever his father needed someone.
He chose University of Wisconsin-Whitewater because of its communications program. He was a big part of WSUW and Cable Channel 6 and took part in many clubs as well. He began taking adventures with friends during spring break - kayaking and hiking trips all over. He would spend some summers with his sister exploring Alaska.
After his graduation, he reconnected with his parents at home and was back at the Monroe radio station.
His roommate had moved to Denver, Colorado, and Urban decided to go. He said he hopped on his bicycle and spent several miserable days riding to Denver, replacing his seat by the time he reached Iowa. He stayed with acquaintances and family along the way, only camping three times during the two-week stretch.
"That event changed my life," Urban said.
He eventually landed work for an airline, organizing ski packages, and spent four seasons as a representative for them, loving his adventures as he spent winters in the mountains and summers in Denver.
He started his own business eventually, a shuttle service taking people up and down the mountain. His summers in Colorado were filled with excitement. He once sailed for three months and rafted often. He dove for crab and salmon while he did some carpentry work and cleared tables in a steak house on the side - giving him both dinner and a new social group of friends.
It was an amazing time, but even with a handful of jobs, it was hard to make rent in the expensive state. Just before he decided to leave, however, he agreed to go on one last adventure with a friend who had a ski boat for mud season.
It was where he met his wife, Rhonda.
After a brief, long-distance relationship, the couple got engaged, and Urban moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to be with her.
He knew he wouldn't go back to the mountains and neither of them wanted to stay in Phoenix, and Urban said he still thought about that radio job. He had an affinity for community radio but wasn't sure he could come back home and find real success. He was hung up.
"My wife said 'you do what you love,'" Urban said.
Being back and at the radio station alongside his father felt like home, Urban said, and he was handling operations, on the air for six hours a day and doing all of the scheduling.
Four years passed, and in 1990, Urban took the opportunity to move into the marketing director position at Monroe Clinic. It was hard to leave, he said, but the decision was a good one.
He was part of the merging between St. Clare Hospital and Monroe Clinic and the new clinic building during that time, and was very involved with its opening. Another four years passed, and another opportunity came, this time as the director of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce. He said he was ready to promote the entire community of Monroe.
He loved the job, but after 14 years, Urban said, he was once again ready for something different.
There was a part of him that always wanted to teach, he said, and soon after leaving the Chamber, he became a part-time adjunct instructor at Black Hawk Technical College. He loved it.
He earned his master's degree in education in 2008 and was taking on more responsibility at the college. He bounced around positions for a while and now serves as the director of campus for Monroe.
Although he no longer teaches, he said he feels like he's right where he belongs.
"Who knew this was the exact right path? There's nothing I've done that doesn't relate to this," he said.
Finding a place in the Monroe community was effortless for Urban. Although he hadn't been a part of Scouts since college, when he returned home in 1986, he became a Scoutmaster with Troop 101, the same one he was once part of for 10 years.
When Urban met his wife 30 years ago, he held another job as a crew member for a hot air balloon company. Together, they would chase balloons, and in Monroe they became heavily involved in the Monroe Balloon Rally. Urban has announced the event for 30 years.
"Volunteer your strengths," he said. "Otherwise you'll be recruited for your weaknesses."
During his time with the Chamber, the event grew from about 15 to 20 balloons to what it is today, bringing in Honda Grand Prix and national and world champions to compete. Urban even went to Japan a few times, recruiting 25 teams and their own pilots to Monroe as he polished the event. He's still involved and is bound and determined to have a successor plan for it.
"Monroe is an awesome place to fly," he said. "It has become part of the fabric of the community."
He and Rhonda had their own balloon and flew it together for 10 years.
Urban has also been the announcer for the popular Hamburger Festival in Seymour for several years.
Their children, Teresa and Joe, are now grown, and Urban and his wife have become empty-nesters. The property they've owned for 25 years is where they have now built their home. After some very public roles, Urban said it's a great place to pull back and enjoy the solitude.
"Monroe has been a great base camp," he said. "We're just far enough off the interstate to maintain our personality."
Rhonda keeps bees and he supports her while raising meat birds. He said eventually he plans to become more engaged, but for now, simply put: Life is good. He said he lives by the phrase that life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react. It's part of what's kept his attitude so uplifting.
"One of the things that's kept me very positive is that I try to be very present," Urban said. "I don't take a day for granted. I do realize for my life, and for a lot of the lives of the people I share it with, things can change quickly. Every day is a gift."
Today, he's simply enjoying those paths that life has taken him down and the memories he keeps close. He said after being in the limelight for so long, he's now finding solace in his country home as he enjoys the world around him.
Urban was born and raised in Monroe as the youngest of six children. He recalls playing in the neighborhood often - there were 144 children within a few blocks, he recalls. He said they spent time making up teams in empty lots and lamenting when someone would build a home - it meant one less playing field.
His father, Joe, started the radio station in Monroe in the 1950s. Urban grew up at the station, tagging along with his father to community events. He has fond memories of riding shotgun in the golf cart at the fairgrounds while his dad interviewed people.
He recalls vivid memories of the tornado in 1965. He was just 5 years old as he watched his father broadcast the news live.
On Wednesdays, Urban joined him on his sales route, stopping in South Wayne for a Snickers bar, a treat that still triggers a sense of nostalgia.
"He was so well received wherever he went," Urban recalled.
His mother, Sally, a registered dietitian, didn't work until Urban was in sixth grade. She would often plan adventures for the family, taking off even for short camping trips and his father would join them as soon as he could. She encouraged trips and welcomed foreign exchange students into their home often, exposing the children to all types of cultures.
Sports never really stuck for Urban at Monroe High School; he leaned more toward clubs. He was part of the Key Club and enjoyed playing the French horn in the band. He was a Boy Scout and worked summers at Canyon Camp just outside of Stockton, Illinois.
During his senior year, he was part of the AFS Club and went to Rome, New York, for a semester. He enjoyed his time but was anxious to return to be part of the Capstone Program, in which the class built a home.
"They saved me a wall to frame up so I was part of all of it," Urban said, noting that he had many carpenters in his family and a father who was willing to let the kids tear into the house to redo anything and everything.
After graduation, Urban considered bigger schools out of state but had an offer from his father to pay for a state school. It was an offer he couldn't refuse.
"He instilled a pay-it-forward attitude and gave us a tremendous gift," Urban said.
Urban had dabbled in the radio station quite a bit in high school. He even spent time on the air and filled in wherever his father needed someone.
He chose University of Wisconsin-Whitewater because of its communications program. He was a big part of WSUW and Cable Channel 6 and took part in many clubs as well. He began taking adventures with friends during spring break - kayaking and hiking trips all over. He would spend some summers with his sister exploring Alaska.
After his graduation, he reconnected with his parents at home and was back at the Monroe radio station.
His roommate had moved to Denver, Colorado, and Urban decided to go. He said he hopped on his bicycle and spent several miserable days riding to Denver, replacing his seat by the time he reached Iowa. He stayed with acquaintances and family along the way, only camping three times during the two-week stretch.
"That event changed my life," Urban said.
He eventually landed work for an airline, organizing ski packages, and spent four seasons as a representative for them, loving his adventures as he spent winters in the mountains and summers in Denver.
He started his own business eventually, a shuttle service taking people up and down the mountain. His summers in Colorado were filled with excitement. He once sailed for three months and rafted often. He dove for crab and salmon while he did some carpentry work and cleared tables in a steak house on the side - giving him both dinner and a new social group of friends.
It was an amazing time, but even with a handful of jobs, it was hard to make rent in the expensive state. Just before he decided to leave, however, he agreed to go on one last adventure with a friend who had a ski boat for mud season.
It was where he met his wife, Rhonda.
After a brief, long-distance relationship, the couple got engaged, and Urban moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to be with her.
He knew he wouldn't go back to the mountains and neither of them wanted to stay in Phoenix, and Urban said he still thought about that radio job. He had an affinity for community radio but wasn't sure he could come back home and find real success. He was hung up.
"My wife said 'you do what you love,'" Urban said.
Being back and at the radio station alongside his father felt like home, Urban said, and he was handling operations, on the air for six hours a day and doing all of the scheduling.
Four years passed, and in 1990, Urban took the opportunity to move into the marketing director position at Monroe Clinic. It was hard to leave, he said, but the decision was a good one.
He was part of the merging between St. Clare Hospital and Monroe Clinic and the new clinic building during that time, and was very involved with its opening. Another four years passed, and another opportunity came, this time as the director of the Monroe Chamber of Commerce. He said he was ready to promote the entire community of Monroe.
He loved the job, but after 14 years, Urban said, he was once again ready for something different.
There was a part of him that always wanted to teach, he said, and soon after leaving the Chamber, he became a part-time adjunct instructor at Black Hawk Technical College. He loved it.
He earned his master's degree in education in 2008 and was taking on more responsibility at the college. He bounced around positions for a while and now serves as the director of campus for Monroe.
Although he no longer teaches, he said he feels like he's right where he belongs.
"Who knew this was the exact right path? There's nothing I've done that doesn't relate to this," he said.
Finding a place in the Monroe community was effortless for Urban. Although he hadn't been a part of Scouts since college, when he returned home in 1986, he became a Scoutmaster with Troop 101, the same one he was once part of for 10 years.
When Urban met his wife 30 years ago, he held another job as a crew member for a hot air balloon company. Together, they would chase balloons, and in Monroe they became heavily involved in the Monroe Balloon Rally. Urban has announced the event for 30 years.
"Volunteer your strengths," he said. "Otherwise you'll be recruited for your weaknesses."
During his time with the Chamber, the event grew from about 15 to 20 balloons to what it is today, bringing in Honda Grand Prix and national and world champions to compete. Urban even went to Japan a few times, recruiting 25 teams and their own pilots to Monroe as he polished the event. He's still involved and is bound and determined to have a successor plan for it.
"Monroe is an awesome place to fly," he said. "It has become part of the fabric of the community."
He and Rhonda had their own balloon and flew it together for 10 years.
Urban has also been the announcer for the popular Hamburger Festival in Seymour for several years.
Their children, Teresa and Joe, are now grown, and Urban and his wife have become empty-nesters. The property they've owned for 25 years is where they have now built their home. After some very public roles, Urban said it's a great place to pull back and enjoy the solitude.
"Monroe has been a great base camp," he said. "We're just far enough off the interstate to maintain our personality."
Rhonda keeps bees and he supports her while raising meat birds. He said eventually he plans to become more engaged, but for now, simply put: Life is good. He said he lives by the phrase that life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent how you react. It's part of what's kept his attitude so uplifting.
"One of the things that's kept me very positive is that I try to be very present," Urban said. "I don't take a day for granted. I do realize for my life, and for a lot of the lives of the people I share it with, things can change quickly. Every day is a gift."