Tony and his wife, Heidi, have raised five children, in Appleton, who are now all adults. Two daughters followed in Anthony’s footsteps by graduating from UW Madison, and the youngest daughter attends UW Madison Medical School.
Community charitable efforts have been a priority for Tony, especially for patients and the families affected with cancer. He’s been a featured speaker for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Light the Night kickoff breakfast, the American Cancer Society Sole Burner Fun Run, and the ThedaCare Foundation celebration of National Cancer Survivor Day. Dr. Phillips has participated in many charity golf outings to benefit cancer care and research, along with multiple outings in support of high school sports programs. For several years he has sponsored a group for the Theda Care Cancer Care outing in Appleton- he has sponsored a group for years and been a speaker at the Chipstrong golf events, in honor of Chip Garrow, a young man who passed away from Hodgkin’s Disease. He has sponsored groups and been a participant in golf events many times for the athletic booster clubs of Appleton North and Green Bay Southwest High Schools, and specifically a dozen times for the Janesville Craig football team.
In 2007 Tony led efforts, in coordination with the American Cancer Society, culminating in Appleton becoming the second municipality in Wisconsin to ban smoking in city restaurants.
Tony understands the hard work and the risks and rewards of owning a small business. Fox Valley Hematology and Oncology was an independent business requiring the physicians to wear administrative hats at multiple weekly meetings, eventually employing 130 people.
From 2013 to 2022 Tony was part owner of 9 Sola Salon franchises in Appleton, Green Bay and Cleveland, OH, having input on daily operations, expansion and the eventual decision to successfully sell the franchises.
Tony’s father grew up poor and raised by a single mom on welfare because he was only one year old when his father was murdered and left in a ditch. His mother’s father ran a farm for the local Catholic church and monastery, a farm on which the 9 children learned to pick cotton and tend to the cows and chickens. It was from these humble beginnings that Tony’s parents encouraged him to work hard, obtain a quality education, and provide for his family. He credits his parents for teaching him that success is achieved through self-reliance and hard work.
A longtime financial supporter of the Republican candidates, Tony has advocated for conservatives in the Fox Valley including Former Congressman Mike Gallagher, Former Governor Scott Walker, and Former State Senator Roger Roth. Tony also hosted fund raisers for conservative state supreme court Justices Rebecca Bradley & Annette Ziegler. Tony was the lone conservative on Governor Ever’s Peoples Maps Commission in 2020-2021, tasked with conducting multiple public hearings and then drawing redistricting maps based on non-partisan criteria. Tony currently is a board member & on the planning committee for Fox Valley Conservatives, a group holding monthly public forums to educate voters. Dr. Phillips attends mass at the St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Greenville, WI
