LYNNWOOD — Some visitors to Snohomish County want to know where to shop. Others are after a good hiking trail. Many need to satisfy a hankering for fresh Pacific Northwest seafood.
The volunteers at the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau visitor information center in Lynnwood hear it all, and they are happy to help. The bureau is looking for new volunteers to staff visitor centers in Lynnwood and Snohomish and at the Future of Flight museum.
Among the volunteers are Connie Coleman of Everett and Linda McFarland and Gene and Dorothy Morehouse of Lynnwood. Combined, they’ve got about a decade of experience at the visitor centers.
Small touches at the Lynnwood center include a wall map where visitors can use pushpins to mark their home states and countries. A stepstool, like the kind toddlers use to brush their teeth, is posted underneath the map to help kids reach.
“They come from all over the world,” Dorothy Morehouse said, looking at the pin map. “Isn’t that marvelous? It shows where they originated from, and it is really, really neat.”
The ladies organize the racks of fliers and keep them tidy. They like to keep up to date on current events so they can make good suggestions to visitors, Coleman said. They once took a group trip to Darrington to learn more about offerings there.
Coleman likes to recommend hotels, hiking and camping. McFarland says a trip to Mukilteo and Whidbey Island is worth a few hours’ time.
Restaurants in Edmonds are often a good bet, Morehouse said.
“We like to send them to a place with a view,” she said.
They get the occasional odd request, citing a tattoo parlor and a knife-sharpening shop as examples. Some folks even need help planning family reunions in the area.
The volunteers keep troves of maps and printed-out directions. Directions are a favorite item for women whose husbands insist on using fickle GPS devices, they said.
In addition, Coleman said, “we are a source for classroom assignments, a really good one.”
Tourism bureau volunteers gave 865 hours and helped 1,606 visitors in November alone, said Stacey Pfeiffer, the visitor services coordinator. Volunteers are asked to work at least one weekly shift of up to three hours.
The opportunity is especially good for retired folks, college students and people looking to learn more about the area, Coleman said.
“We really need more,” Morehouse said.
Rikki King: 425-339-3449; rking@heraldnet.com.
How to help
For more information about volunteering for the Snohomish County Tourism Bureau, including in the visitor information centers, contact Stacey Pfeiffer at 425-348-5802 ext. 10 and stacey@snohomish.org. The centers are in Lynnwood, Snohomish and Mukilteo.
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