Sheryl Liddle
“No matter what mode of communication, it’s all about the message,” counsels Sheryl Liddle, Missouri Native, AWC Kansas City Chapter Member, and National AWC Board Chair. Her introduction to the world of communications came from photography and grew from there to film making and audiovisual production. She notes, “A thread runs through a production no matter what you do. Take the elements of film and audiovisual and it requires movement and a flow of things. If you have more than one artistic form (visual with audio), it makes the message that much stronger.”
A multi-media communicator and slide-show whiz, Sheryl delved into the world of film under the tutelage of film professor and award-winning film director Katherine Stenholm. Katherine began the program at Bob Jones University in South Carolina in the 1950s and built the reputation of the cinema major and film studio within the College of Fine Arts. Katherine was a standout among filmmakers of the time. In 36 years, she directed 72 productions including sermon films, promotional films, multi-image presentations, and feature-length films. Her film Wine of Morning (1955) represented the United States at the Cannes Film Festival.
Sheryl shares, “She had a huge influence on my life. I had an opportunity to assist her a lot and the chance to know her as a teacher and on a personal level which meant so much.” Sheryl received both undergraduate and graduate degrees from the university. She does not define herself as the typical Bob Jones University graduate, however, Sheryl says was attracted by the high standards of excellence and the excellent reputation of the film school.
What you may not know about Sheryl is that she has traveled the world over visiting countries such as The Gambia, Togo, Kenya, Thailand, Hong Kong, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Japan, and the United Arab Emirates. Sheryl was also in the Amazon for about two weeks and spent some of that time traveling via boats on the Amazon River. She worked in the audiovisual production field for the majority of her career. A career highlight was a job she held where she helped missionaries tell their story through AV presentations. “I worked with missionaries going to a field or on furlough to prepare the presentations they would give to churches. We started with the script and went through each step of a presentation so at the end the missionary walked out the door with a programmed audio/visual presentation. Because of the message contained in these presentations, the years I spent working in that area of AV were among the most satisfying work I have done.”
What came next when she moved back home to Kansas City in 1995, was another career change. “That was when audio visual was shifting to video production,” she notes. She began working as a temp at a global industrial firm, Ruskin, and “it evolved.” Ruskin is the top global manufacturer of air and sound control products. They provide equipment that engineers, architects, and contractors use to make buildings safer, more comfortable, and energy efficient. She is the marketing special projects coordinator and manages a variety of communications mediums from newsletters to website content and technical spec sheets for factory representatives located all over the world.
Sheryl found AWC when she moved to Kansas City and felt as if she fit right in. (Read a profile of Sheryl created by the Kansas City Chapter.) She joined in 1995 and volunteered locally on committees and board positions, serving as the local chapter president twice in 1999 and 2003. She was elected to the National AWC Board February 2005 and was elected by her peers as board chair in 2005, a position which she holds today.
When asked what tips she would give to communicators starting in their careers, Sheryl advises women to find their niche and distill what they are good at. “Mesh your dreams with reality of who you are… And that is not always easy. Be who you are and realize the tremendous gift that God has made you to be.”
Meet Sheryl Liddle
Sheryl Liddle has spent the majority of her career as an audio visual producer. She has worked with multi-image productions from the time it began in the industry. Sheryl spent time as a college photographer and AV producer before joining an AV production company as a production manager and producer. During that time she was involved with product introduction shows for The Perrier Group, as well as other major multi-image productions. Then for several years Sheryl channeled her creativity into producing AV presentations for missionaries. Throughout her career she has also been involved with directing plays and drama groups within the community and at churches. Today, she works within the marketing department of Ruskin, a global manufacturing company, yet keeping her fingers within the areas of AV production and drama. Liddle holds a BS and MA from Bob Jones University.
