Throwback Thursday: Here I am seated at my former desk on my last day as an Assistant Editor on the Universal Desk of Forum Publishing Group (Sun Sentinel, Tribune Publishing) in Tamarac, Florida, on November 25, 2015, which was the day before Thanksgiving. I was an editor, writer, photographer, and page designer for five weekly community newspapers in southeastern Florida.
I worked for Forum in the same capacity several years previously, as editor for one of Forum's community newspapers, but in the office in Coral Springs, Florida.
Hundreds of Tribune employees across the United States got canned in 2015. However, this "canning" worked out quite well for me. The salary at my next job was twice as much as my salary with Tribune, and the job was far more interesting.
From February 2016 to February 2017, I was the Associate Editor (reporter, writer, editor, photographer, and photo editor) for "Retail Environments" and "Insider," the two official monthly magazines of Shop!, which is an international nonprofit association for the manufacturers of components for retail store displays, including mannequins, display cabinets, signage, lighting, shelving, flooring, architecture, etc., based in Hollywood, Florida. The main office is in Chicago, as is Tribune's main office. Another part of my job at Shop! was editing statistical analysis reports (white papers) and catalogs. I also wrote for the association's news and features website.
Shop! is the merger of two international nonprofit associations: A.R.E. / POPAI (Association for Retail Environments / Point Of Purchase Advertising International). I worked there during the merger.
I was also fortunate to travel to Las Vegas on a business trip, working at the association's trade show (more than 750 companies on display in a 715,000-square-foot convention center). This was challenging, overwhelming, and fun, mainly because, at that time, I had only been working at Shop! for about six weeks, and I had precious little background regarding retail store displays, well, practically no knowledge. I had to learn "on the fly" like almost all of my many other journalistic jobs since my start in my profession in 1982.
Here is the link to the LED lighting article that I wrote for "Retail Environments" magazine from interviews that I conducted at the trade show. I also took the photos. If you would like to read it, tap/click on each picture to increase its size. I uploaded the four articles that I wrote for Shop! online for use with my future job searches.
In the photo below, I am wearing all black in honor of the firings, as several of us were tossed from our desks at our Forum office.
I am growing a moustache in honor of "Movember," an annual international event during the month of November, when men around the world grow moustaches to raise awareness of cancers that afflict only men; male suicide prevention; and men's mental health. I have participated every November for decades.
Many thanks go to my friend/former co-worker Emily for taking this photo. She once told me as I am her mentor. That made/makes me feel exceptional happy and proud.
August 21, 2025, at home
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