Happy birthday, Chris Soprych
Here’s wishing the happiest of VizEds birthdays to my old friend Chris Soprych, AME of The Rockford Register-Star in Illinois. Chris turns 35 today.
A 1995 graduate of Eastern Illinois University, Chris worked a year or so as an artist at The Seattle Times before joining the graphics department of the Chicago Tribune in January 1997. Which is where I first met him.
I’m not sure whose idea it was to let the three of us — Chris, Kevin Hand and me — sit in adjoining cubes, but it probably wasn’t a good one. Those two clowns were constantly getting pure, innocent li’l old me in trouble.
I moved to Des Moines in 1999 and Kevin left for Newsweek shortly after. Chris stuck around a while longer — a total of eight years, in fact, winning handfuls of accolades — and finally got into management when he was hired by The Register-Star three years ago.
The excellent editor there — Linda Grist Cunningham — promoted him to AME last year. And rightfully so: Chris has a kick-ass staff, they’re producing some awesome work and you have to think the readers of northwest Illinois — and the folks at Gateway Media — appreciate what Chris and his folks are doing there. I’m really proud of him.
Here are a few pieces Chris has built recently by himself or with his staff in Rockford:
And just in case you haven’t seen them, here are a few examples from his old Tribune days:
See plenty more, of course, in his NewsPageDesigner portfolio.
Chris shares a birthday with Autumn Heep of The Syracuse Post-Standard, Edward Teller, “the father of the hydrogen bomb,” actor Lloyd Bridges and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Plus, today is National Hat Day. If you don’t quite understand, it’s probably over your head.
Best wishes for a happy birthday, Soapy!
January 15th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Thanks for the kind words, Charles, and mega thanks for sending Chris our way. He’s the best.
January 15th, 2008 at 10:11 am
Clari
It feels like I’ve been here since 2001, but I started in January 2005. What fun I having here. It feels like were short staffed with all the projects and product launches, Rockford Woman bimonthly magazine and BusinessRockford.com a weekly magazine, which transforms our daily section to a single page. Lots of work, but if life gets easier, then you’re probably not working hard enough.
January 15th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Fixed, Chris. Typo on my part.
When you get around to it, though, please update your LinkedIn account so I can get more details about your work history.
On the other hand, if writing these birthday announcements got easier, then I’m probably not working hard enough.
:)
January 15th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Chris, we miss you back here in Chicago. Great to see you are doing so well.
January 16th, 2008 at 12:44 am
I second LGC’s comment. Chris is the best. So much in fact that I baked him a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, in a bundt pan so it would look pretty. Jealous you don’t work with us Charles? ;D
Happy Birthday again, Chris. It’s a pleasure being part of your department. :)
January 16th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Chris,
How can I congratulate you on a life you so justly deserved. I can’t. So nice that you are talented and so well deserving of it. Equally, you are raising a family that deserves all the best as well. So no congratulations from me. I bid you that you have the same well deserved success. It’s normal that you succeed, so I give you no high fives. Normal that your ideas bring out the best of all the publications you are involved in. No “good goings,” or “hell yeahs!,” or “get somes!” coming your way. Only happy birthday. You deserve another one.
January 18th, 2008 at 2:25 am
I MISS you, Chris!!! You and I once had a conversation (I mean a “complainer-sation”) and you said something that had me howling with laughter. I mean, holding my sides in pain. Can’t repeat it here-kiddies might be reading–but it involved something about pulling something out of something to please somebody. And I’m still laughing.
You’re the best, Chris. Now, if you can only “unblock” my email from your account, I can respond to things you send.
Happy Birthday, Chris!