Personal Background Cements to Museum

With her degree in Land Use Planning, Lauree Borup worked for Tuolumne County’s Planning Department for 10 years before making a career change to real estate. She’s now broker/owner of RE/MAX Yosemite Gold. Living in the town of Groveland, known for its part in the California Gold Rush, Borup joined the local Historical Society Board. With her background in land use planning and experience in dealing with politicians, contractors, and contracts, she agreed to chair the Society’s Building Committee for what was to become the future museum and library building. The search for a location led to a site given by CalTrans to the Groveland Community Services District, which then sold it to the Society for one dollar. Once the Society had saved enough cash to get the project off the ground, it began soliciting larger donations and the process snowballed from there. The Society eventually raised about $750,000 for the building and parking lot, mostly from individuals, some from the Sonora Area Foundation, and NONE from the government. And this from a town with barely 3,000 residents. The completed 8,900 square-foot structure is now known as the Groveland Yosemite Gateway Museum and Library. The library opened in December 2000 and the museum opened in February 2001.

“The County was thrilled when we did this,” Borup says. “They thought it was fabulous because we built their branch library for them, so they took up the maintenance and utility costs for the entire building. It ended up being a win-win situation”.

From California Real Estate Magazine, October 2003

Article titled “The Power of One” by Joel Cone