Calling All Volunteers!

The Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau depends on volunteers to help staff our two facilities: the main one across the street from the Fairgrounds and our seasonal satellite office down by the Yosemite Junction.

Volunteering at the Visitors Bureau is unlike any other kind of community work.

1. You get talk passionately about what you love about living here and to share your experiences with visitors who are here to explore our history, take in a little culture, get in some outdoor recreation or just plain relax. If you enjoy living here and enjoy sharing your favorite places and experiences with others, here’s your opportunity.
2. You get to meet people from all over the world. While the bulk of our visitors come from the western US, we get a fairly significant number of people from Europe, the Pacific, Asia and Latin America. It’s an opportunity to interact with folks from everywhere. And don’t worry, the majority speak English and if they don’t, we have some volunteer translators who can help.
3. You can help people create memories that will last a lifetime. We’re blessed to have Yosemite, our Gold Rush history in our local communities as well as Railtown and Columbia State Park, incredible scenery, outdoor recreation of any kind imaginable, a greater variety of dining options than we’ve ever had before and outstanding live theater at realistic prices. It’s pretty hard to find any location in the world with the variety our area offers.

I know that some of you reading this are thinking, “I wish we had fewer visitors; especially on the holiday weekends. Too many people means too much traffic and everything is crowded.” Bear in mind, that much of what we do have to enjoy depends on outsiders as well as locals to make it work. Tourism is our largest private sector industry and many local business depend directly or indirectly on tourists continuing to enjoy visiting the Mother Lode.

If you’d like to learn more about being a volunteer, call Pat Newton at the main office (533-4420) or email her at patn@mlode.com and let her know that you’re interested in being a volunteer. A few hours a month of your time just might make our next visitor feel really special.