[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 115 (Thursday, September 12, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1565]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO RUDD MAGERS MAYER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 12, 2002

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Rudd Mayer, a loving mother, tireless worker for the environment and 
passionate citizen of Boulder, Colorado, who tragically passed away on 
August 13, 2002.
  Rudd spent most of her life raising a family, but in her late forties 
she became a member of the Boulder-based Land and Water Fund of the 
Rockies working primarily on energy efficiency and renewable energy 
issues. Her work was essential in getting Colorado's publicly owned 
energy utility to include wind power as part of its energy supply 
portfolio. The success of that program is direct proof that Rudd was on 
to something. She was instrumental in encouraging consumers to pay a 
little extra for ``green energy'' such as wind power. She was the main 
force behind the program to allow consumers the choice of acting on 
their beliefs of a cleaner environment by helping to implement and 
promote renewable energy options.
  In addition to her important work, Rudd was someone who held friends 
and family close and instantly drew people in, constantly forming new 
friendships and acquaintances. Rudd's presence would light up any room 
and her enthusiastic personality contributed greatly to gatherings of 
groups and individuals.
  Rudd was first, and foremost, a mother. When her kids were growing 
up, she was always there after school, and set a table for six without 
fail. Rudd was incredibly active, and exercising was a huge part of her 
life in Winnetka, Illinois. She was an accomplished tennis player, 
platform tennis player, rollerblader, hiker and skier. She also enjoyed 
golf, mountain biking, and swimming breaststroke with her head out of 
the water wearing Ray Ban sunglasses and a floppy white hat.
  Rudd knew she belonged in the west ever since her father took her on 
a train to Yellowstone when she was about ten years old. When she 
arrived in Boulder in the 90's it was like coming home. Once in Boulder 
she lived in a solar heated house in Sunshine canyon. Refusing to use 
electricity, she would wake up every morning and light a fire to heat 
the house. During the winter she would sleep in full ski wear.
  Her first job in Boulder was at the Boulder Book Store. She grew to 
be a nationally recognized ``green power'' marketing expert at the Land 
and Water Fund of the Rockies. Shortly after her retirement, Rudd's 
energy program received a rare unsolicited grant from the Rockefeller 
Foundation.
  What we will remember in the end is more than her big smile, huge 
heart and sparkling eyes. She was truly an inspiration without bounds 
to our family and everyone who knew her.
  Rudd had always believed in the river of life; she believed that all 
things had a purpose, and she would have said there was a reason this 
time for her to go.
  Attached is a news story marking her passing. Those that had the 
pleasure of knowing and working with Rudd will miss her bright smile, 
her love of life and her passion for enhancing our quality of life.

  Boulder Activist Rudd Mayer Dies; Environmentalists Say Wind-Power 
                        Proponent Will Be Missed

                            (By Katy Human)

       Rudd Mayer, an energetic environmental advocate and the 
     driving force behind Xcel Energy's successful wind-power 
     program, died unexpectedly of heart failure Tuesday. She was 
     58. The tiny, husky-voiced woman commanded great respect in 
     Boulder's environmental community.
       ``All day long, I've been getting e-mails from Rudd's 
     colleagues about what a pioneer she was,'' said Susan Innis, 
     green-power marketing director for the Land and Water Fund of 
     the Rockies, an organization for which Mayer consulted.
       Several years ago, a merger settlement forced Xcel, then 
     Public Service Company of Colorado, to develop a wind-power 
     program, Innis said, but she said WindSource would have been 
     a quiet, sidelined program without Mayer's input.
       Mayer and several colleagues developed a sophisticated 
     marketing scheme for the wind program, which lets Xcel 
     customers buy ``green'' power for slightly more than 
     traditional electricity from coal-fired power plants. More 
     than 23,000 households and businesses in Colorado are now 
     signed up, according to Xcel figures.
       Several organizations praised Mayer's work with awards, 
     including the President's Council on Sustainable Development, 
     the Environmental Protection Agency and the Center for 
     Resource Solutions.
       Mayer's former colleague Kelley Green said her friend's 
     greatest legacy is not WindSource but simply the attitude 
     Mayer brought to her work.
       ``There are lots of people who do really amazing and 
     wonderful things for the environment,'' Green said, ``but 
     there are few that do it with her spirit, her integrity, her 
     commitment, her joy.'' Mayer was born Sept. 8, 1943, in 
     Washington, D.C., to Dorothy and Rudyard K. Magers. She spent 
     most of her childhood in Evanston, Ill., and graduated from 
     Smith College with a bachelor's degree in art history.
       She married Richard Mayer, her high school sweetheart, said 
     Brooke Mayer Larson, a daughter. The two later divorced but 
     remained friends.
       Mayer lived in Boulder for about a decade, and the West 
     suited her, Larson said. ``She's such a passionate person. 
     She loved the mountains, the land, the desert. . . .''
       Mayer had some health problems as a result of childhood 
     illness but was one of the most enthusiastic and energetic 
     people around, said Claudia Putnam, also of the Land and 
     Water Fund. On Tuesday morning, a friend of Mayer's drove her 
     to Boulder Community Hospital because she was having trouble 
     breathing, Putnam said.
       Mayer is survived by four children--Larson, Alexandra Mayer 
     Druker of Palo Alto, Calif., Taylor Mayer of Billings, Mont., 
     and Campbell Mayer, who has been traveling around the world--
     and five grandchildren.
       The Mayer family is planning a ``memorial celebration'' at 
     10:30 a.m. Monday on the lawn in front of the Chautauqua Park 
     Dining Hall in Boulder. In lieu of flowers, the family has 
     asked donations be sent to the Land and Water Fund to support 
     wind power.

     

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