Melaleuca employees clean up Idaho Falls River Walk, Rexburg’s Eagle Park as part of service project
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IDAHO FALLS — Melaleuca employees again rolled up their sleeves Thursday for a pair of large-scale community cleanups in Idaho Falls and Rexburg.
More than 200 employees gathered along the Idaho Falls River Walk, while another 30 pitched in at Rexburg’s Eagle Park — continuing what has become a yearly tradition of service for the company.
In Idaho Falls, nine groups of Melaleuca team members spread out along 2.5 miles of the Snake River to trim brush, clear debris, and improve access to the riverbanks. Together, they put in more than 600 volunteer hours and filled three 30-yard dumpsters with dead wood, branches, and trash.
“This service project has become a yearly tradition for us,” said Melaleuca CEO Jerry Felton. “We enjoy working alongside the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, and it’s rewarding to enhance a place that so many in our community enjoy.”
City leaders say projects of this scale are difficult to accomplish with limited resources.
PJ Holms, Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation Director, called Melaleuca’s efforts “some of the largest single-day service projects in Idaho Falls history.”
In Rexburg, Melaleuca employees collected 12 bags of garbage and 150 pounds of scrap metal from Eagle Park—hauling away everything from a shopping cart to a discarded wheelbarrow.
The afternoon cleanup also came with a surprise. A herd of goats, brought in by the city to eat overgrowth, managed to escape their enclosure. Volunteers quickly switched tasks, helping corral the animals until the owner arrived.
“At the request of a city employee, our team members stepped up to help,” said Melaleuca HR Business Partner Maria Garcia-Mendez. “While unexpected, it was handled with positivity and humor — and the city was very appreciative.”
Company leaders say these efforts reflect Melaleuca’s mission of “enhancing lives,” and provide a boost to local communities just in time for fall.
“Thank you, Team Melaleuca, for living our mission,” wrote Chief Human Resources Officer Jamie Reynolds in a message to employees. “You’ve enhanced the lives of not only the Parks and Recreation team, but also the tens of thousands of people from our community who visit the Greenbelt.”
Now in its third year, Melaleuca’s cleanup projects have become a seasonal tradition in eastern Idaho—one that strengthens community ties, improves public spaces, and, sometimes, even helps round up a few runaway goats.