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 Sherri Walton, Program Manager.
IdahoPTV’s Carol Beres recently sat down with Sherri. “One of my main duties is that I curate and put the broadcast schedules together for our channels, with the help of my great assistants and teams,” she says. Since we’re the PBS station for Idaho, you would think it would be easy scheduling shows, but there’s more to it than that. “Being a PBS station we get the PBS programming…but then, there’s a lot of times when the shows aren’t from PBS. There aren’t enough national shows (to fill up the schedule). So it’s part of my job to acquire other programs,” Sherri says. “There’s a number of different program distributor organizations that work with most PBS stations. And so part of my job is working with them and going through their catalogs of what they offer and purchasing additional shows from those different distributors. For example, some of those shows like Father Brown, Escape to the Chateau, Death in Paradise; those aren’t PBS (shows), even though a lot of PBS stations will carry those. But, that’s what’s called an acquisition, because I work with other program distributors and get those.”
Sherri is a longtime Idahoan. “I grew up in rural Canyon County, out in Parma,” she remembers. “In the summer time you’d head outside and play outside until the sun went down…and then I came up to Boise to go to Boise State. Go Broncos! I graduated from Boise State and I just stayed here working and doing all those things you do as a young person.” She has had a longtime interest in the broadcast medium and the non-profit realm. “I was a Communications major at Boise State. In college I was interested in producing and the production of content; and so I’ve always been interested in that. And after college, I was doing several different jobs and some of what I was doing was working in a non-profit, the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I worked for them a couple of different times, actually. I just think the non-profit appealed to me. And then I got into television and made my way to Idaho Public Television.”
Sherri feels the programming we provide serves the state well. “I really love the content that we’re able to share with everyone and the mission of Idaho Public Television,” she says. “There’s just so many great things. The kids’ programming, growing up and watching Sesame Street and Mister Rogers, and now with the great dramas, biographies and science programs and then our great local content. It’s a privilege to be able to work here and bring all this to the folks of our state; because being a state broadcaster, it’s nice to share that with the entire state and hopefully, bring us together…share different parts of our state with everyone. Like our Outdoor Idaho might highlight something that’s particularly strong in one area and other folks in another part of the state might not really be aware.”
In her free time, Sherri likes to take in some music. “I like going to concerts, depending on who it is,” she laughs. “I enjoy working out in my yard and I also enjoy a good PBS drama.” Sherri recommends the classic Poldark, the delightful Downton Abbey and some of the newer dramas, Sanditon and Hotel Portofino. And she’s a big fan of the Ken Burns’ documentaries. “They’re just so well done. I feel I learn so much and they’re so wonderfully put together.”
Her favorite part of the Gem State is hard to pin down to just one place. “I do really enjoy the Wood River Valley- Sun Valley, Ketchum is so pretty.” She appreciates the Treasure Valley as well, “when it’s not smoky,” she says. Sherri is a fan of the Panhandle as well. “The Coeur d’Alene area is just gorgeous. I love water and the mountains and trees.” Her favorite PBS Kids character is a familiar fuzzy fella. “I’ve always been partial to Grover. I love his energy. I think he’s fun. He’s inquisitive and excitable,” Sherri laughs. And when it’s time to reach for a snack, Sherri sticks with some classics: “I go for chips, but then I won’t ever turn down a Krispy Kreme.”