Date:
2/14/2003
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 505.562.2253
Reporter: Colleen Wright
PORTALES – Eastern New Mexico University's KENW Broadcast Center is known around the country for a number of reasons, including graduates who have gone on to national broadcasting careers. But what it is probably most famous for is the syndicated "Creative Living" with Sheryl Borden.Today, "Creative Living" is aired on 118 public broadcasting stations around the United States, Canada, Guam and Puerto Rico.
"Creative Living" is geared towards people of all ages and gender. The show covers many consumer-related topics, including: food and nutrition; health and beauty, clothing, fashion, crafts and home décor. Every show features a different guest.
"We have had guests from all over the country, and some from out of the country." Sheryl Borden, creator of the show, noted. "The hardest part of my job is explaining to these people how to get to the small town of Portales."
According to Sheryl, the guests travel to Portales at their own expense.
Sheryl dreamed up the program 28 years ago, after graduating from Eastern New Mexico University with a bachelor of science in Family Consumer Sciences. According to Sheryl, she was helping Don Criss, ENMU Production Services Director, with a class he was taking.
"He had to make his own 15-minute television program; I would act in it while he directed. I like to brag because he ended up getting an 'A' in the course," Sheryl laughs.
When Sheryl began the show it was only aired on the local PBS station, KENW-TV at ENMU. Years later, she decided to try to expand the area the show was aired in. "I thought I might as well try to appeal to the other PBS stations nationally, though I was not sure they would go for it," Sheryl explained. "Not only did the networks want to air it nationally, they wanted to expand it to a 30-minute program."
When she first began the show, it was called "Creative Woman."
"With the times changing and men taking on more domestic roles, we had a lot of complaints from men that it was not geared toward both sexes," Sheryl admits. "That is when we decided to change it to "Creative Living" and expand the topics. Now it deals with everything."
The show airs in eastern New Mexico on KENW-TV every Tuesday and Thursday at 12 noon.
"It was hard work getting it up and running," Sheryl admits, "but there's no doubt it has been worth it."
To view the "Creative Living" home page, click on "more": [more]
Sheryl Borden, host of "Creative Living" (photo by Colleen Wright)