We invited State Sen. Shelley Hughes to be our guest in reflecting on the contributions of Mollie Boyer to Alaska and especially the Mat-Su. Hughes represents a Senate district that stretches from Palmer to Chugiak. Mollie was a wonderful nonprofit partner to the Foundation through her work at Valley Community for Recycling Solutions in Palmer. In 2011 she received a sabbatical award to have time to reset and reflect.
By Alaska Sen. Shelley Hughes
State Sen. Shelley Hughes of Palmer
When Mollie Boyer was growing up, she was taught to see the value in everything.
“I grew up around people who really loved the earth,” Mollie said in a mini-documentary that aired in 2016. “They taught me about the beauty around us.”
She developed a deep appreciation for nature and her natural surroundings, and spent her life working to protect it.
Mollie was the driving force behind the creation of Valley Community for Recycling Solutions in Palmer, a 5-acre site adjacent to the Mat-Su Borough Central Landfill. I hesitate to use the word contagious in a positive way in this year of COVID, but it’s an appropriate word to describe Mollie Boyer’s passion around recycling. I first met Mollie shortly after former Senator Lyda Green had helped secure $800,000 from the legislature to help develop the 5-acre site into what it is today, and I caught the “bug.” She re-evoked what my mother, a Depression-era baby, had instilled in me growing up: not to waste, but to re-use, to restore, to re-invent.
Mollie Boyer
Mollie, a gentle woman, an Alaska pioneer in her field of choice, died Nov. 8 after a fierce battle with cancer. With tremendous sadness we say our goodbyes, but as Mollie would want, we will carry on with great joy the art of recycling.
She was 67. Every time I encountered Mollie at the Valley Recycling Center, I was struck by her enthusiasm, relentlessness and plain old belief in the work of keeping our precious earth clean and livable.
Mollie earned her Associate of Art degree from Kapiolani Community College in Honolulu, Hawaii. She had careers in art, the culinary industry, maintenance, cinematography and television and video production. But her true passion was always caring for her surroundings, for stewarding the environment she so dearly loved.
U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Mollie Boyer and State Sen. Lyda Green review design plans for the new Valley Recycling Center in May 2008. (Photo courtesy of Valley recycling)
She saw landfills as one the largest manmade problems, but one that she never doubted was solvable. Organics will decompose and become dirt. Ore and minerals can be reused. Change was just a matter of taking ownership and retraining habits. And Mollie was committed to doing just that, working closely with schools, business and residents to educate and provide alternatives to the landfill. Today, thousands of pounds of recyclables are processed at Valley Recycling. That’s thousands of pounds of things we need and use daily that won’t end up buried in a hole in our landfill.
“I believe that if we see everything here on this earth as a precious resource — animals, minerals, soil, water and humans (our family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, folks we see on the streets, in the stores, all humans) – and not as something or someone to be discarded or disregarded, that then positive change/caring happens,” she once said.
Wonderful words by a remarkable woman.
With Pioneer Peak in the background, Mollie Boyer checks out Valley Recycling Center in progress in May 2010. (Photo courtesy of Valley Recycling)
We love you, Mollie, and will miss your effervescent presence. Please rest in peace knowing that we will do our best to carry on your legacy.
5 Comments
Posted by Butch Shapiro
As the Solid Waste division manager for Mat Su Borough, I worked closely with Molly over the seven years I was there. Initially, being new to the job I was not privy to the savings we could realize at the Mat-Su Borough by supporting the recycling program. In running the numbers it became clear that keeping anything out of the landfill saves space in the very costly landfill sales and therefore saves money. Over the years that Mat-Su Borrough increased its support of recycling, we earned a return commensurate with the dollars we spent. As we move into a new administration on the national level we will see even more savings as carbon credits become valuable. Landfills produce carbon and keeping waste from the cells reduces the amount of carbon that the Mat-Su Borough will be accountable for in the future.
Molly was a beautiful soul and it’s hard to believe she’s gone. I feel so she’s probably up in heaven running around to Saint Peters, Saint Michaels and everyone else’s house saying don’t forget to recycle! We miss you, Molly. Rest in peace.
Posted by Elizabeth Ripley
So grateful for your stewardship of the earth, for the fellowship you shared with so many, for the kind and lovely way you engaged and built community Mollie! Your legacy of VCRS will continue your good work. We miss you and honor you.
Posted by Mary Harris
Her legacy will live on as education helps us all make a smaller foot print in our own backyard, and preserve the trails and wild places left to be enjoyed.
Posted by Randi Perlman
Beautiful words from a beautiful person. Thank you, Senator Hughes, for stating so eloquently what so many are feeling right now. Mollie’s loss is truly that of the entire Mat-Su, and all of Alaska & the world, particularly of her personal and VCRS family, of course. Mollie was a true North Star, in every sense of the words, and her shining example will ensure that recycling, and better care of our precious planet and ALL its resources, remains a top focus moving forward. She is so missed, but has taught a huge number of us how to carry on and care for her indelible legacy. We appreciate your care and support…
Posted by Grete
Mollie, I miss the sparkle in your eyes when you smiled, the way you combined your gentleness with your verve. I miss your inner calmness, even when fighting the battle of cancer.
I miss our friendship and the delight on your face each time we met over the years. Now your spirit floats free, and we will meet again on a different plane of consciousness. I love you, Mollie