Maria Boyes, one of our more recent Board members, brings a background and passion that is integral to preserving homes and communities. A graduate of the Newhouse School at Syracuse University with a degree in communications, Maria has worked as a journalist and public relations specialist in New York City. She relays that she has always been interested in the “power of communication” and states, “I find myself drawn to the story that comes along with a person or a found object-- particularly a house.”
Maria is also a licensed New Jersey Realtor with Coldwell Banker. She’s very cognizant of the importance of reaching out to young buyers as well as more senior sellers. To those groups, she stresses there is value in an older home and it does not always need to be bulldozed for new development but can be restored and maintained into the future. This connection between communication and real estate is an integral component towards historic preservation.
When first married, Maria and her husband were moving out of the city and drawn to classic architecture. They soon realized their best approach was to buy a “fixer-upper” and purchased an old Victorian that had been converted into a two-family house. Eventually, they brought it back to a one family and Maria’s continued interest in preservation and local volunteering led to her recruitment to join the Westfield HPC.
Maria’s involvement in PNJ began when she volunteered to write for the newsletter and soon joined the marketing committee. As Chair of the Westfield HPC, she wanted to become better informed as to best practices and recognized the preservation challenges within municipalities. As a trustee of PNJ, Maria brings her firsthand knowledge of these issues to the Board and works to ensure that the resources and expertise of the organization are communicated to other HPCs throughout the state.
As a realtor, Maria hopes to demonstrate that older homes do not always need to be replaced with a modern, “trend of the moment” new build. She notes that preservation creates a “sense of place, a sense of time, and a sense of character” and that if you “completely remove every stitch of what once was, then you are not only destroying history but there is a sameness that takes over… a flatness.” Her advice to senior homeowners interested in selling their homes is to not rush into a decision. “Be a little patient, and the right buyer (probably a young couple) will come along. Just like we did.”
PNJ is thrilled to have Maria and her knowledge, passion, and commitment to preservation as part of the Board of Trustees.
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