RIP Gert Boyle
Chairman of the Board
Columbia Sportswear

by Lisa Hollenbeck, Alpine Shop Co-owner

"The outdoor industry has lost One Tough Mother. Gert Boyle, Chairman of the Board (she hated the term “chairwoman”) and former CEO of Columbia Sportswear, died on Sunday, November 3, 2019, at the age of 95." reported SNEWS.

I want to be like Gert.

Seriously, in so many ways.

I met Mrs. Boyle in person on two occasions.

The first was at the Ski Show, during Columbia's One Tough Mother campaign, which made fun of Mrs. Boyle's reputation of being One Tough Mother while demonstrating her commitment to the quality of the brand.

Columbia Sportswear provided free lattes in the mornings at the Show. I stopped by one morning early and was the first in line. As I waited for the barista to arrive, I noticed a couple people browsing the racks.

I turned the other way and saw Mrs. Boyle walking down the aisle from the back showrooms. She stopped dead in her tracks and pivoted.

"Hey!" she yelled, toward the back toward. "We have customers out here!" Just like in the ads.

The second time was when we were invited to a Premiere Dealer event at headquarters in Portland, as part of Columbia's campaign to remind Specialty Outdoor Retail that we are important to them.

Mrs. Boyle appeared on stage in a dramatic entrance, and then addressed the group. She asked us to collaborate with her to improve the Columbia line. She invited us to talk to her right there if we had something on our minds.

I got up and walked over, a little nervous about addressing a luminary in our industry.

"I'd love to carry our Plus Sizes in our stores, but they don't fit right. They give you bubble butt, which is the last thing we plus size women need," blurted then-size-22 me.

She immediately called the head women's design over, and asked her to talk with me. Talk about feeling heard!

There is a reason you are a legend, Mrs. Boyle. Thank you for the inspiration.

Lisa Hollenbeck
Alpine Shop Co-Owner

PS I received a text about Mrs. Boyle's passing, while the women on our team were participating in the Women's Luncheon here in Denver at the Grassroots Connect trade show.

I did not expect to be so overwhelmed with emotion that I shed a few tears as I shared the sad news. So many women in that room, young and old, had been inspired by Mrs. Boyle.