End of era as colleagues bid farewell to Joe

“I’ve made good friends, worked with great people, though we had our ups and downs, and it has been a pleasure.” Those were the words Joe Tone chose when addressing a group of Celtic Media Group (CMG) colleagues and clients at a dinner to mark his retirement in the Old Post Restaurant at the Annebrook House Hotel last Thursday.

Without a pause, Joe expressed “special thanks” to his wife, Kate, “who stuck with me when the phone calls came in on Tuesday nights and Sunday mornings, – ‘sorry Kate, I have to go to work’; ‘sorry Kate, I won’t be home for two hours’; ‘sorry Kate…’.”

On what was a lovely night of reminiscing and socialising, Joe also had particular thanks for the guests, starting with Dave Mahon, whose firm EVAD IT have provided technical support to CMG for many years. The two of them agreed that they had learned a huge amount alongside one another as the newspaper production and printing businesses evolved.

Joe also expressed his gratitude to David Ryan of the Nenagh Guardian and David Burke from the Tuam Herald, both long standing customers of CMG services in design.

“It was a pleasure working with everyone and thank you very much,” he said.

Before the dinner, Joe had insisted that he would not stand up to speak, so everyone was delighted when he did, not least Frank Mulrennan, chief executive officer of CMG, who has worked with Joe for two decades of the five he spent with the Westmeath Examiner and CMG.

Frank said: “The newspaper industry has a tradition of one generation following another into the newsroom; the print hall or what used to be called pre-press, now more accurately, graphic design.

“Joe Tone, who has made a superb contribution to the development of the Westmeath Examiner over the last 49 years, is a prime example of this generational succession as his Dad, Peter Tone, had worked in the same company for 42 years – a remarkable longevity.

“As CEO of Celtic Media Group, parent company to the Westmeath Examiner, I have witnessed at first hand the professionalism and knowledge of newspaper systems which Joe Tone has brought to our group.

“Starting in 2007, he led the development of the Mullingar Hub for newspaper design which has seen over 50,000 pages a year produced by his high quality team of graphic designers. In addition, the team of 10 professional designers generate over 65,000 advertisements per annum – serving clients such as Nenagh Guardian; Tuam Herald, Dublin People Group, as well as our own six newspaper titles, including the Examiner.

“This production hub required Joe Tone collaborating with integrated newspaper publishing companies in Sweden, the US and UK – in a project that has led to Celtic Media investing over €2 million in software and hardware. More recently, he took our system ‘into the Cloud’.

“Joe has worked with our support team, EVAD IT, led by David Mahon in Dublin, over the years and built a quality of relationship based on trust and a desire to ensure that our customers (both internal and external) are always catered for.

“I want to applaud Joe on his ability to plan projects; to resolve the inevitable problems and, above all, for being such a wonderful colleague.

“We all wish Joe and Kate many more happy years together and know that he will be just up the road – if we need him!”

Mary McLoughlin, who remains in her role as deputy manager of CMG Graphic Design and Digital, is another colleague who has worked with Joe for many years. “I really feel it’s the end of an era as I wish Joe farewell and all the best in his well deserved retirement. Joe has been a constant mentor to me in every stage of my career at Celtic Media Group. We have had to adapt to many changes, as the entire print landscape has evolved so dramatically over the past few decades.

“But Joe took this all in his stride and embraced every new technology, with a keen thirst for knowledge that proved infectious to, not just myself, but everyone who had the privilege of working alongside him. If there was a problem to be solved, Joe was always relentless until he cracked it.”

“His love of problem solving isn’t the only thing that is infectious about Joe though – he is a true character. Always ready with a quick one-liner and a playful sense of humour, he was always a pleasure to work alongside and testament to that was the sheer volume of well wishers who came out to wish Joe all the best at his retirement celebration on Thursday evening.

“It is a testament to his character that so many colleagues, past and present, as well as Celtic Media Group clients from the length and breath of the country made the journey to Mullingar, to wish Joe well. In fact the list of well-wishers were so long, we decided to make it a true Irish celebration and turn it into a two-night affair!”

Geraldine Oliver, new manager of CMG Graphic Design and Digital, takes over the huge boots that Joe leaves as he moves into retirement, and she too has fond memories of working with him: “I met Joe Tone when I came to work for Celtic Media in 2007. As everyone who has changed jobs will know, it’s quite scary to start a new job – so I turned up two days early, and he didn’t seem to mind. I instantly felt that I had made the right decision. Joe was so friendly and helpful and settled my nerves straight away.

“Over the years I have learned a great deal from Joe, he was always helpful in teaching us how to use a new program or how to do something with the computer. All you had to do was shout ‘Joe!’. We had great conversations about robots, and the machines and workings of the system.

“Joe would regularly go on exotic holidays and would always bring us back amazing sweets. I have never worked for anyone so genuinely as nice as Joe Tone.”

Brian O’Loughlin, editor of the Westmeath Examiner, speaking on behalf of his colleagues in that newsroom, as well as the other CMG newsrooms, wished Joe well in retirement and expressed the desire that he and Kate enjoy it. “Joe was always at the end of the phone, at any hour of the day or night, if we had a technical problem, and, as long has he wasn’t watching Leeds, the problem would be fixed as soon as was possible!”