Staff Spotlight – Pete Valdon: South Central Regional Coordinator – Twin Falls
What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13?
Slow down, don’t make so many mistakes. Remember for every Uphill, there is a Downhill.
What would you like to be famous for?
I don’t want to be famous. I would rather just be a quiet person, raising a few honeybee colonies and a small grove of Idaho fruit trees.
Before working at The Idaho Foodbank, what was the most unusual or interesting job you’ve ever had?
Probably the most unusual was when I ran for office when I was younger. I was elected as a Judicial Magistrate (Judge), for and on behalf of the Montana 17th Judicial District. Myself and my peer/trainer, the Billings Montana Magistrate, were the youngest elected members of the state’s judiciary at the time. I served 4 ½ years. Although asked to run for a 2nd term, I declined. Those years significantly aged me.
What is your WHY, why do you work at The Idaho Foodbank?
Upon semi-retiring out of the Midwest from working 30 years on behalf of state and federal agencies, I was shocked to see so many people waiting hours and hours to receive food here in Idaho. I couldn’t just “drive by” the Idaho Foodbank Partner distributions any longer. I couldn’t ignore “our neighbors” needing food/agricultural resource help. I had never seen this in my life. I knew I could use my professional style and agricultural background to move the needle to help our fellow Idahoans.
People would be surprised if they knew:
My father-in-law, George Gehring, an Idaho native from the Grangeville area, served as a White House Guard for President Dwight D. Eisenhower.