> Harry Baals is the runaway favorite in online voting to name the new building in Fort Wayne, about 120 miles northeast of [Indianapolis](http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/Indianapolis). But [Deputy Mayor](http://topics.sfgate.com/topics/Deputy_mayor) Beth Malloy said that probably won’t be enough to put the name of the city’s longest-tenured mayor on the center.
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> The issue is pronunciation. The former mayor pronounced his last name “balls.” His descendants have since changed it to “bales.”
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> Supporters said it’s unfair that the former mayor can’t be recognized simply because his name makes some people snicker. But opponents fear that naming the center after Baals would make Fort Wayne the target of late-night television jokes.
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> “We realize that while Harry Baals was a respected mayor, not everyone outside of Fort Wayne will know that,” Malloy said Tuesday in a statement to The Associated Press. “We wanted to pick something that would reflect our pride in our community beyond the boundaries of Fort Wayne.”
via [sfgate.com](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/02/08/state/n130924S60.DTL&feed=rss.news)
These guys are missing the point. If the former mayor’s name sparks late night jokes, that’s tons of free advertising, and a guarantee that the new building will reach a national audience. They’d be stupid NOT to name the building after him.
It never hurts to show the world that you don’t take yourself too seriously, either. I say have a little fun with it.
