Visitors display at show
Sugar Pine Realty-Better Homes & Gardens has four offices throughout Tuolumne County to help homeowners market their property, and is the only real estate office in the county authorized to use the Better Homes & Gardens name."Better Homes & Gardens is a great name for us," said owner Emmett Brennan, "because it typifies what we do. We represent the home and family."
Emmett started Sugar Pine Realty in a small building in Sugar Pine in 1977. The company franchised with Better Homes & Gardens in 1985.
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It will also have books for sale and copies of Tuolumne County's 1998 guide book, which will be given away at the show.
The Tuolumne County Chamber of Commerce will share the Visitors Bureau booth, offering information about all of the programs the chamber provides.
People may pay $1 to spin the chamber's "wheel of fortune," which will have a prize on every spot, and a drawing will be held each half-hour for a free mystery gift. Proceeds will go toward chamber programs.
The visitors bureau promotes tourism in Tuolumne County. Besides attending trade shows and the state fair, the bureau advertises in "Motorland," in San Francisco Bay Area newspapers and on valley radio stations.
The four telephone lines at the bureau are constantly busy, said Office Manager Pat Newton, with people asking questions ranging from how to get overnight accommodations to what to do on a given weekend.
"We get all kinds of questions," said Newton. "Some of them aren't related to tourism, but we answer them anyway, and if we don't know the answer, we find out."
The bureau has two offices. The headquarters is at 55 W. Stockton Road in Sonora, and the second office is at the Junction of Highway 108 and 120.
Information is provided about area attractions, overnight accommodations and restaurants at both offices, plus historical books and souvenirs.
The film commission makes it as easy as possible for companies that want to film here. When a company, such as Universal Studios, calls asking for a certain location, such as a brick church or a scene reminiscent of New England, pictures of area scenes fitting that description are sent to them immediately.
Scouts will show them various locations in the county, and the commission staff will help them arrange permits necessary for what they are planning to do, as well as helping arrange such things as overnight accommodations.
"Filming benefits the whole county," said Newton. "Tourism and the film industry go hand in hand."
Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau
55 W. Stockton Road
532-4420
Yosemite Junction
984-4636