We thought our readers/viewers might like to learn about some of the folks who work at IdahoPTV. Because there are so many people who work behind the scenes, you may have seen some of them, or maybe only heard about them. Today we would like to introduce Office Specialist, Carol Beres.
IdahoPTV’s Carol Beres recently sat down with…herself…to bring you this week’s Meet the Staff interview. If you call IdahoPTV, chances are Carol will answer your call. And she does plenty more besides answering the phones. “I help the production department with ingesting (moving to permanent storage) videos and programs,” she says. “I run errands for the station. For a few months, I helped out the accounting department when they needed another person. When the development team needs help with sending out a mailing, I pitch in there. And I get to interview my colleagues and be creative writing up these articles.”
Carol grew up in the Pacific Northwest. “I’m an Oregonian originally,” she says. “But my family traveled through Idaho when they came by wagon on the Oregon Trail.” That was five generations ago. She says, “The family story is that my great-great-grandfather came to Oregon with 50 cents in his pocket (which, granted, was probably a decent amount of money in the 1860s), and eventually did well enough to move his mother and sister out from Illinois.” Carol grew up in Beaverton, now famous for Nike. She says, “I grew up during the 1970s and 1980s, when the music on the radio was rockin’ and the hair was big.” The first album she bought was “Tattoo You” by the Rolling Stones (“I wonder what my parents thought of that!”). Her first car was a Ford Mustang (“Not a good one, a 1983 model. But I was lucky to have my own car.”).
Carol attended college at the University of Oregon. “I chose journalism for my degree. I love writing and I really love reading, so it seemed like a good fit.” Her senior year of college, she met the man of her dreams and got the courage to ask him out. “We were in the same class and we had everyone’s phone numbers so we could schedule the editing equipment, so I called him up,” she chuckles. The rest, as they say, is history. “We just celebrated our 26th anniversary in August,” she says. “And our two kids are finishing up high school and hopefully going on to college!” They’ve moved around for her husband’s work, from Washington to Wisconsin, but they plan to stay here in the Gem State.
Back when she graduated, it was tough to find a writing job. “I graduated from college in 1990,” she says. “I think the economy took a dive then. I remember seeing on TV hundreds of people lining up for job interviews at a hotel. I started working wherever I could.” Over the years, Carol has worked in retail, at a catalog company, in insurance, in education, and in health care. Her degree came in handy recently. She says, “A few years ago I worked in broadcasting a little bit. I produced a morning newscast and loved the fast pace and informing the viewers, but not the hours. Getting up at 1:15 a.m. to get to work by 2:00 a.m. is rough. So, I moved on to health care and then special education. But both of those jobs were very physical and didn’t feel quite right for me.” She’s found the best place at IdahoPTV. “I love the educational aspect of working at IdahoPTV,” she says. “And not only for kids. We adults can learn so much from NOVA, Nature, Finding Your Roots, etc. Also, I appreciate our mission of informing Idahoans about what’s happening at the Statehouse without any filter. We just point the camera and let it roll.”
In her downtime, Carol likes to curl up with a good book, go for a walk in her Meridian neighborhood, or go downtown and explore Boise. “I love looking at the old houses in the North End,” she says. “Although I do appreciate my garage.” Her favorite place in the state is tough to narrow down. “This is a beautiful state,” she says. “We’re spoiled here. I like the desert. I like the mountains. We go to McCall for family reunions, and I love Payette Lake. I hope our son goes to the University of Idaho so I can see more of the Palouse.” If there’s a good baseball game on, especially the Milwaukee Brewers, you might find her on the couch with her pugs, Murphy and Porter, by her side. When it comes to snacks, it’s hard to beat Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Or chocolate in general. Pumpkin is also a go-to during the fall. She says, “Pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin pie are all good in my book.” Carol’s favorite PBS Kids character is Cookie Monster. “He’s pure joy. Plus, I can get behind eating some delicious cookies,” she laughs.