Sherry Brownrigg Elevates KVNO, UNO Mission of Community Service in New Role as KVNO General Manager 

by Juli Oberlander

KVNO general manager Sherry Brownrigg was just a preteen when her Girl Scout troop visited KOIL, but that field trip left an indelible impression.

“It was literally like radio just reached out and grabbed me,” Brownrigg says. “I said to myself, ‘That’s what I’m going to do.’”

An Omaha native and UNO graduate, Brownrigg has worked in radio for many years. After serving as KVNO station manager since 2020, Brownrigg became general manager on July 1. In that time, she has continued outgoing general manager Chris Allen’s work to promote classical music, the arts and UNO’s mission of community service.

Brownrigg says one of her favorite aspects of radio is the opportunity to impact people’s lives.

“My whole mission in life is just to spread joy to people,” she says. “I love to be able to make their lives better by bringing them something that takes them out of the ordinary. That’s one of the things that radio has the power to do that is so different from any other thing.”

SERVING DIVERSE POPULATIONS

As general manager, Brownrigg says one of her goals is for the station to reach more people in Omaha and surrounding areas. Currently, the KVNO team is developing a podcast with the Omaha Symphony to help demystify classical music. Brownrigg also seeks to increase KVNO’s community involvement while highlighting diversity in classical music.

In April, KVNO partnered with Film Streams for a sold-out screening and panel discussion of “Chevalier,” a movie about 18th-century black composer Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Brownrigg says she looks forward to future events that will foster diversity and bring together the community.

“Community service is such a part of being a Maverick,” she says. “We just can’t help but do all of that.”

Michael Hilt, dean of the College of Communication, Fine Arts and Media, says KVNO is an important part of the college because of its educational efforts and promotion of UNO.

He says Brownrigg is an asset to the station due to her dedication to the community.

“Sherry knows how to relate to people and hear what they have to say about the station, and that’s what’s necessary going forward to elevate KVNO,” Hilt says. “If KVNO gets elevated, so does the college.”

In support of UNO’s community service mission, Brownrigg says KVNO also champions music education for Omaha youth. KVNO works in partnership with the Omaha Chamber Music Society on Good Vibrations, a program that collects, refurbishes and distributes instruments to students from Title 1 schools and immigrant populations. KVNO will host a used instrument drive on August 12, although the station is already accepting donations.

“To see the joy on the kids’ faces when they get their instruments, it’s worth everything,” Brownrigg says. “It’s worth every ounce of effort we put into it.”

SHINING A LIGHT ON THE ARTS

In 2022, KVNO celebrated 50 years of broadcasting. Over that time, outgoing general manager Chris Allen says KVNO has been an advocate for classical music as Omaha’s only station dedicated to that genre.

“Fifty years is an accomplishment for a radio station,” Allen says. “KVNO has been a consistent voice, and especially a consistent voice for classical music in Omaha.”

For the last 20 years, KVNO has also recognized local talent with its Classical Kids program, which highlights students who excel at playing, singing or composing. Each month, KVNO awards a $300 scholarship from the Soener Foundation to a deserving student.

Monthly winners also perform in KVNO’s annual Classical Kids Showcase at the Strauss Performing Arts Center.

Among the honorees, most of the students take private lessons. Brownrigg says she would like to expand the program to more schools.

“That is an opportunity for us to really highlight the great work that kids are doing in music,” she says. “We know there are kids who could really benefit from this scholarship and the education program that we’re building along with Classical Kids. That’s another area that we’re working on to augment that particular program.”

In addition, Brownrigg and the KVNO staff are developing an arts calendar that debuts on the KVNO website in early August. The calendar promotes arts-related events in the Omaha and Council Bluffs areas, supplementing the Arts Today features that KVNO currently airs.

“We’ll focus mostly on the arts because there isn’t any place right now that’s really highlighting the arts in Omaha,” Brownrigg says. “That’s a really easy space for us to move into because we’re already doing these features on the air. We want to do so much more, so the arts calendar is going to be very robust.”

Brownrigg says anyone can submit calendar postings. Additionally, the KVNO team is creating a series of videos featuring people and places in the Omaha arts community.

“The whole idea is to shine the light on the arts community and to bring that to people in a way that they might say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know this about Omaha,’” Brownrigg says. “We need to fill that gap, and we can fill it.”

SPREADING THE UNO NAME

Over the past few years, Hilt says KVNO has excelled at community engagement, first under Allen, and now under Brownrigg.

“KVNO has found a way to serve both the campus community and the Omaha community,” Hilt says. “With Sherry, I think that will only continue.”

As he retires from KVNO, Allen says the station is in good hands with Brownrigg at the helm.

He says he is excited about the future of KVNO.

“I think KVNO’s future is wonderfully bright,” Allen says, “and I think it will become an even more important part of UNO. We promote UNO. I think it’s a great partnership.”

Looking toward the future, Brownrigg says her vision is for KVNO to continue elevating UNO and the arts.

“Our goal is to bring that wonderful name of UNO out into further places,” she says. “We really see ourselves as being a huge part of UNO, and we know this is our home.”