“I would rather be ashes than dust!”
The opening line to Jack London’s “Credo” has a special place in Lori Boyer’s heart and mind.
It’s taped to the desk at her San Marco home, poetic words that echo the way the new City Council president attacks life’s challenges.
Methodically, intensively, persistently.
Traits synonymous with her work at City Hall in the multitude of special committees or nuanced issues she’s undertaken since being elected in 2011.
The same traits she’s always had — from growing up in small-town South Dakota to excelling in colleges half-a-country away to supporting the historic neighborhood she calls home.
Every step of the way there’s been fiery ambition and effort that led to overwhelming success.
“That’s just the way Lori is,” said her husband and biggest advocate, 4th Judicial Circuit Judge Tyrie Boyer. “She does not have idle time.”
No time to collect a speck of dust.
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“I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.”
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A small town of about 5,000 in the farm country of eastern South Dakota was Boyer’s home growing up.
Her father had served in World War II, worked construction, then as a feed store clerk.
He smoked Camels — a habit that eventually took its toll when he developed emphysema.
Her mother had an eighth-grade education, but stayed more than busy. She was a fantastic seamstress, worked at a hardware store and library while being a voracious reader.
Boyer fishing at the lake with her father was a constant — the walleye was a much better prize than the pike.
“It’s a very different life there,” said Boyer.
She enjoyed it, but wanted more.
After high school, she went somewhere almost the opposite of small-town South Dakota.
She went to Washington, D.C., and Georgetown University to continue studying foreign language. Her initial aspiration was a career in something like being an interpreter at the United Nations.
However, Boyer soon found out the people who had those jobs generally grew up speaking many different languages while she was learning from books.
She turned to political science and worked on Capitol Hill for U.S. Rep. Frank Denholm, a South Dakota Democrat.
She jokes she did important work — writing congratulatory anniversary and birthday cards. But she also received a taste of doing policy research.
After Georgetown, she decided on law school and the University of Florida. The people were nice, the opportunity was there and, besides, warmer weather was better than those brutally cold South Dakota winters.
With hard work came success — a member of the top-tier Order of the Coif and an editor of the Law Review.
She took a keen interest in real estate and land use issues and clerked at Jacksonville-based Mahoney, Hadlow, Chambers & Adams, one of the more prestigious firms of its era.
She had done so much by her early 20s and decided on Jacksonville. At the time, it was a banking and insurance mecca with just enough seasonal change and character to suit her goals.
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“I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in a magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.”
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After several years with Mahoney Adams, she and colleague Lynn Pappas decided to hang their own shingle in 1982.
Nowadays, Pappas is at Gunster and occasionally comes to council for business. She says her former colleague hasn’t changed — she’s still as thoughtful and intelligent as always.
“Frankly, the city is lucky to have her,” said Pappas.
Boyer broke away from the firm when she met Ron Nemeyer, a developer with Connecticut roots, in the mid-1980s. They married, purchased a San Marco home, spent time in both places and had a son, R.J.
Years later, tragedy struck. Nemeyer was diagnosed with leukemia and eventually succumbed to it in 1993.
“You can’t fall apart too much,” Boyer said.
Not being a single mother with a 5-year-old son and tending to all of the business.
Friends and family from his side rallied to help and she remains extremely close with them.
Several years later, she met Tyrie Boyer by way of a set-up from neighbors Don and Elena Moran. They’ve been married since 1997.
She plans the vacations, precisely researching where to go and when to leave to ensure everything is seen.
A weekend getaway to the farm usually means a truck full of plants for the garden.
And on “relaxing” weekends, he said she’s often in the yard getting dirty doing work.
“She never stops,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what it is.”
Lori Boyer has given the same kind of attention to the neighborhood. When she moved there in 1987, she became an active member of the San Marco Preservation Society.
It was the type of commitment she could afford at the time, being a single mother. And it paid dividends for the area. With the preservation society, Boyer had a major role in the construction of the Southside Park tennis courts and Balis Community Center.
As a council member, she helped usher in the renovations and improvements to San Marco Square and surrounding area.
“She’s been a driving force in every major project,” said Zimmeman Boulos, a longtime resident and society member who has known Boyer for 30 years. “She’s always been our inspirational leader.”
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“The function of man is to live, not to exist.”
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Time is a precious commodity for Boyer.
Her calendar is often packed to the brim from the time she steps into City Hall. And “free time” slots usually end up being anything but. There’s always something to do.
A recent Monday:
An open few minutes at 8 a.m. were filled by a discussion about a bill for the Navy-Notre Dame football game. Then came the Finance Committee meeting, where she had a couple of bills to explain.
In the 15 minutes before another meeting, Boyer and her assistant, Nicole Spradley, shared ideas about Thursday’s installation.
Suddenly, a respite: A land use hearing scheduled for the next day has been canceled. Boyer pumps her fist like an athlete celebrating — it would have taken a couple of hours to review.
Hours that now can be spent on something else.
Spare minutes throughout the day are spent catching up with council staff. She wants their input on committee days. And when someone isn’t in her office, Boyer is glued to the computer reading and responding to emails.
Lunch: A salad at her desk, bites intermingled with typing.
And behind her is a coffee pot, where she can quickly get a caffeine boost.
Does she drink a lot of coffee?
She offers a stuttered laugh, the kind of response that says, “What kind of question is that?”
On and on it goes. People, meetings, pop-ins.
Spradley calls it an “easy day.”
By 6:30 p.m. when many people are home or heading that way, Boyer listens to the proceedings of the Millers Creek Special District board at Havana Jax. She’s not there to talk. Just listen and help if needed.
If it wasn’t Millers Creek, it might be the Brierwood or Englewood neighborhood associations. Maybe San Marco Preservation. There are plenty of groups in her district.
So much for “easy” days.
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“I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.”
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John Crescimbeni enters his 16th year as a council member Friday. Boyer stands out as “probably the most in-depth” person he’s ever worked with.
Crescimbeni is similar to Boyer in many respects — both put in long hours into what’s considered a part-time job, both spend time extensively researching subjects, tackling issues and asking tough questions.
But he admits even Boyer exceeds his own efforts.
“I used to compete with (former council member) Clay Yarborough for who worked the most,” said Crescimbeni, “but she has passed us.”
Crescimbeni will serve as Boyer’s vice president for the year and jokingly — or maybe not — told the audience during the installation ceremony he’d be willing to hand out energy drinks to his colleagues or consult the Energizer Bunny on how to keep up with Boyer.
“She is trying to invoke change and create a better city,” said Crescimbeni recently.
She also has tried to build better council members.
Reggie Gaffney was one of 11 new members who took office a year ago.
He said Boyer taught him the ins and outs of drafting bills and the overall process, which can be tricky for new members.
For those types of efforts, Gaffney often refers to her publicly as “my favorite council member.”
Outgoing council President Greg Anderson has been a longtime fan and said Boyer is “well prepared” for her ascension.
She’s doing so with a plan that will have here colleagues staying busy, but one that could pay dividends for the future.
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"I shall use my time.”
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Ambitious is the word many of her colleagues use when describing what lies ahead for the year.
Already she’s unveiled a structure that’s putting six newer council members at the helms of standing committees — a way to gain experience and empower the newer class. Each of those groups will be tackling different longer-range topics throughout the year.
There will be voluntary lunchtime learning programs for council members each Monday beginning this month. Early broad topics deal with the budget and emergency management protocols.
Be bold. Dream big.
It’s the message she conveyed to everyone Thursday. It’s the message author Jack London alludes to with ashes rather than dust.
Boyer said she realizes not everyone can spend the time she does on the work — that’s not fair. However, she wants to give her 18 colleagues every opportunity available to pursue what they can.
Boyer has just a year to achieve the agenda she’s laid out.
With her, it won’t be time wasted.
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