The Boice Nice Project Board at a Boise Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting in 2021. From left to right: Sayoko Kuwahara, Rourke O’Brien, Julia Kertz Grant, Phillip Thompson, Shawn Shepherd Davis and Nancy Buffington.
Treasure Valley Spotlight: Jennifer Mauk, Jack Marr, Sayoko Kuwahara, Rourke O’Brien, Julia Kertz Grant, Phillip Thompson, Shawn Shepherd Davis and Nancy Buffington
The Boice Nice Project Board at a Boise Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting in 2021. From left to right: Sayoko Kuwahara, Rourke O’Brien, Julia Kertz Grant, Phillip Thompson, Shawn Shepherd Davis and Nancy Buffington.
Jennifer Mauk moved to Boise from Miami, Florida after visiting her cousin here around 20 years ago. Her cousin left her purse in her convertible with the top down and Mauk told her it would be stolen.
Her cousin just shook her head, saying it would never be stolen here. Sure enough, when they came out of the store, the purse was still there.
“I literally threw my purse (in) and I said: That’s it. I’m moving to Boise,” said Mauk, the executive director of Buy Idaho. “And I did. I resigned from my job.”
Mauk’s story isn’t unique and The Boise Nice Project has some data to back it up. The project was started in 2019 and has grown to include professors from Boise State University and partners from local businesses. The group is dedicated to identifying, preserving and increasing the community’s kindness.
It is a 10-year project and the team has accomplished a major step: a survey of 637 people.
Jack Marr was the lead investigator of the project. The clinical assistant professor in international business at Boise State University found that a great majority of residents, 58%, say Boise to be extremely nice, while 28% say the city to be fairly nice and 12% say it is average.
President and co-founder Rourke O’Brien said the project is planning for an event that will help connect people of different groups in the Boise area.
“Some of the different pockets of people don’t feel like they’re part of the community,” O’Brien said. “So we have some ideas we’re going to pursue to change that, bring them in together so that we have more sense of community.”
