Charles Apple

Here’s wishing a very special 40th birthday to my good friend Paul Wallen, design director of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale.

A little-known fact about Paul:
He was a member of the pop group
“Wham!” Here, he poses with Nina,
who sang “99 Red Balloons.”
—

Paul has been at the Sun Sentinel for just over a year. He started out as a journalist for the U.S. Navy in the late 1980s. In fact, he was stationed right here in Norfolk from 1987 to 1991.

In 1991, he became sports editor of the Marshall, Texas, News Messenger. In 1994, he was named graphics editor of the Evansville, Indiana, Press. He became design editor for a chain of suburban papers near Chicago in 1996.

After he left “Wham!,” Paul
joined the Village People.
—

He was a designer for The Virginian-Pilot from 1997 to 1999 and then for the Lexington, Ky., Herald-Leader from 1998 to 2000. He was design editor of the Baltimore Sun for three years before being named managing editor for visuals for the Lewiston, Maine, Sun Journal.

Under Paul’s guidance, the Sun Journal earned an incredible 22 awards in the 2007 Society for News Design contest. Paul’s young protégé, Megan Lavey, won six herself.

Paul leaped over to the west coast to be a sports designer for the San Diego Union-Tribune for a year before heading to Ft. Lauderdale last spring.

Rather than attempt to embarrass Paul today, I thought I’d let his friends do it.

Len De Groot of the Sun-Sentinel writes:

Paul is absolutely wonderful to work with. He’s one of the best collaborators I’ve ever had outside a graphics department. And he’s an assassin with a tequila shot.

David Kordalski of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes:

Happy birthday to one of the most thoughtful, earnest and talented visual journalists I’ve had the privilege of nearly working with. Rumor has it you’ve moved your birthday month from the beginning of the year to the end of the year five times, finally (we think) settling in July. True?

Chris Mihal of the Sun-Sentinel writes:

Fun Facts about Paul:

Newsroom nickname: The Enforcer (for reasons we won’t go into right now)

Music: Big Lionel Ritchie fan. Tim Ball and I have an inter-email blog called “What’s playing in Paul’s office”. Phil Collins and Huey Lewis and the News for a few of the past entries.

Artwork: Very much into Egyptian-themed artwork. He was especially excited by the designs of this past SND call for entries.

Automobile: Ford Focus hatchback, which we lovingly call “The Beast” (I just made that up)

In all seriousness, Paul is one of the nicest and most talented guys I’ve worked with. I’ve learned a lot from a design and managerial standpoint in just one year.

No longer in a band, Paul now contents
himself with singing the occasional
karaoke number.
—

The aforementioned Meg Lavey — now of the Arizona Star — writes:

I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for Paul. He took a chance on a beginning visual journalist from the Deep South and gave me one of the single best experiences in my life. I owe a lot to him and his wife, Diane, for my time in Maine. They took me, and the other “orphaned” journalists at the Sun Journal, and opened their home to us for the holidays. They looked out for us and I have nothing but respect and a lot of love and admiration for both of them. When I design today, I still look to Paul’s work for inspiration.

Paul has very few samples posted around the ‘net, and he has no online gallery at all, that I know of. Here are a few samples of his work:

Paul shares a birthday with actors Sylvester Stallone, Geoffrey Rush, Ned Beatty and Burt Ward; musicians Bill Haley and 50 Cent, comedian Jennifer Saunders, religious leader the Dalai Lama. And some guy named George W. Bush.

Plus, today is National Fried Chicken Day. Seriously.

Best wishes, Paul, for a fabulous 40th birthday!

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