Looking Back on 2007 in Sun Valley

It was a big year for Sun Valley and a big year for Plum. In the late spring Plum TV found a new home in Hailey. We started off the summer with a bang launching live programming like the MorningNoon&Night Show and covering spectacular Sun Valley events. We had the Food & Wine Festival with author and food connoisseur Jim Harrison. We interviewed health gurus at the Wellness Festival, danced and sang with Jonny Lang at River Run Lodge and toasted to the arts at the Sun Valley Wine Auction. It was a blast.

With all the good, there was also the bad. In August, we lost our dear friend and Senior Producer Mila Riggio. Her death was devastating for numerous people in the Wood River Valley, a place where she had made a life for herself and her kids for the last 20 years. She knew and touched just about everyone with her generous creativity and love. We miss her every day.

Then we experienced the Castle Rock Fire. While it was terrifying at times, with gusting winds and ever-threatening fires jumping highways and hilltops, it was also an amazing opportunity for Sun Valley to pull together in new ways, which we did. We will never forget the 1000+ firefighters who helped us nor the one and only Incident Commander Jeanne Pincha-Tulley; we’re still hoping she gets a ski run named for her on Baldy.

While the fire shook up Sun Valley’s economy, we nevertheless managed to rally. Governor Butch Otter came to the rescue by securing federal loans for small businesses while local rockstars Steve Miller, Bruce Willis, and Carole King organized the concert of a lifetime. To top it off, the annual Firefighters’ Ball was an absolute hoot with the Heaters on stage and a surprise appearance by Steve Miller.

As 2007 comes to an end, we can only feel grateful, grateful for our friends, for our loved ones, for our Valley, for our lives. May 2008 be a year full of peace, prosperity, and Plum.