It's Read Everywhere winner finds high ground in Swiss Alps

Doug Staley stood reading the Sarasota Observer amid the Schilthorn, a mountain in Mürren, Switzerland that was featured prominently in one of James Bond's daring missions, in the film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969).

However, as he and his wife, Sabrina Staley, set out on their vacation, they didn't approach the Observer's It's Read Everywhere photo contest with the mindset of Agent 007.

Although they were aware of the contest, they wanted the picture to happen authentically, Doug Staley said. 

They created the photo that readers voted, out of a total of 78 submissions and 785 votes, as the winning image. 

It began at the airport, where Doug Staley picked up a copy of the Observer and placed it in his bag, prepared to read about the local happenings back home once their "trip of a lifetime" was underway. 

The two-week trip, which included an itinerary through Switzerland and Italy, followed from his service in the United States Army over 30 years ago.

He and Sabrina were first married while stationed in Neu-Ulm, Germany, where she taught the base's American children of those families for the Department of Defense. 

However, the couple had always wanted to return to Europe to visit other areas they hadn't had the opportunity to see yet. 

"I think everybody should travel and have that opportunity, and we definitely wanted to get back, so this was an opportunity for us to kind of get back and do some more traveling, and explore areas that we hadn't done before," he said.

It was while they were in Mürren, a mountain village in the Swiss Alps that was their second stop in Switzerland, that the photo happened. 

The couple reached the hotel first by train, and then by cable car. (The village of Mürren is car-free.) After enjoying breakfast, they headed onto a balcony area at the hotel. 

"I pulled it out and said, 'Let me take a look at what's in the Observer," he said.

Staley enjoyed taking in the view, while looking over the information from back home.

As he did so, Sabrina Staley began taking photos, and asked him to move a little so she could better capture the mountain backdrop, which includes (out of view of the camera) the Piz Gloria restaurant that was a filming location for the movie. 

If the scene doesn't recall the James Bond film, you might compare it to the sights of the Alps in "The Sound of Music," another film Staley mentions, which is set on the other side of the Alps in Austria.

"It's like you're looking at the masterpiece of God that he created, it was absolutely breathtaking," he said. "It's just so beautiful, so picturesque. The colors were so vibrant, the flowers, even the snow on the mountains that was there, everything, it just seemed so much more vibrant."

However, the story doesn't end with the Staleys enjoying the trip of a lifetime, along with becoming the winners of the It's Read Everywhere contest.

In addition to receiving a $500 prize, the winner chooses a charitable organization to auction off a private flight by Orion Sky Charters, with room for up to four friends, to either Key West or Miami.

As executive director of the Child Protection Center in Sarasota, Staley plans to auction off the prize at the organization's fundraiser gala, Blue Ties and Butterflies.

The event on April 10, 2026, at The Ritz-Carlton Sarasota and will raise funds to help the organization's mission of prevention, intervention and treatment for child abuse.

"It's exciting because, what an incredible giveback opportunity from the Observer, and then for the nonprofit, so I'm excited about the opportunity for our nonprofit to raise significant dollars through the generosity of the Observer, to help our cause," he said. 

He said staff has already been in touch with Orion Sky Charters about putting the experience together.

"Somebody gets an incredible experience with the private flight, and then it helps our bottom line and our mission as well," he said.

He said with all of the places the Observer has traveled, he's grateful that people chose the couple's photo. 

"There were incredible photos..." he said. "Just going through and looking how far the Observer traveled is just mind-boggling... Obviously a lot of people agreed with the backdrop, voting for the photo, so we're very appreciative."