Chief George R. Boatright was born in Greybull, Wyo. in the spring of 1944. His family moved to southern California where he grew up and attended school. He graduated from Monrovia High School in 1962. After graduation, he entered the United States Air Force for a four-year enlistment. After his military service, he worked for Bendix Field Corporation at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California on Lunar Orbiter, Mariner, and Surveyor unmanned space flights.
Chief Boatright entered law enforcement on January 2, 1969 when he joined the Anchorage Police Department, which was, then under the direction of Chief John Flanagan. He worked in many capacities: patrol officer, traffic officer, communications supervisor, supervisor of Police Community Relations, patrol sergeant, and as Detective Sergeant in the Property Crimes, Crimes Against Children, and the Metro Drug Unit. He retired on June 2, 1997 with over twenty-eight years of service.
Subsequent to his retirement, he continued his education by entering Wayland Baptist University at Anchorage. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Human Services with a minor in Criminal Justice. Concurrently joined the Palmer Police Department as a temporary employee late in 1999 during a time when the department suffered from severe understaffing. He subsequently worked for the department in a variety of capacities from patrol to interim Chief of Police until he accepted the position of Chief of Police on a permanent basis in September of 2001.
He is spends a good part of his summers boating and fishing the Susitna River system while the fall is dedicated to hunting and camping. His grandchildren play a significant part of those activities.