Dennis Stastka is a full-time Matters insurance agent and has owned and operated a business in Robertsdale for the past 14 years. He’s on the job anywhere from 10 to 12 hours a day. But that’s just one small portion of what makes him a very busy man.
Stastka, who grew up in Robertsdale, has a work ethic that keeps him going all the time. “I’m one of those people that doesn’t need much sleep. I can get by with five hours a night,” Stastka says. “I’d much rather be doing something than being idle.”
“Doing something” for Stastka, besides working, means volunteering. He’s very active at Bethel Baptist Church and has served as a deacon and volunteer music minister. He’s involved in several community service organizations, including the Women’s Care Medical Center, a pregnancy crisis center in Robertsdale, along with Under His Wings and Youth Reach Gulf Coast, both of which serve at-risk youth.
He’s also a part of the Robertsdale Rotary Club, and has served in every officer role over the past 40 years.
“I believe God has called me to be a servant to others,” Stastka says. That calling has, at times, taken him far away from home. He’s participated in mission trips to the Philippines and Guatemala, where he was part of a team that built houses. “A house in Guatemala would be considered a storage shed here,” Stastka explains.
Faith comes first for Stastka, but his family is a very close second. He and his wife Joan have been married for 41 years. The Stastkas have three daughters and nine grandchildren, ranging in age from 12 years to 5 months old. “Christmas is chaotic at our house, but we love it. They are my life,” he says.
About the only time Stastka slows down is to watch Alabama football games during the fall. He describes himself as a die-hard fan who knows a thing or two about playing the game. He set several records during his time as a quarterback for Robertsdale High School, including scoring 25 touchdowns in one season.
Stastka says if he leaves the insurance business behind, he’d like to do mission work with his wife full time. But retiring, or slowing down at all for that matter, isn’t something he plans to do anytime soon.