Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/320652
Last year, during a discussion about tourism, Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta suggested it would be interesting to survey county realtors to learn why their clients decided to buy homes in the area. Some might have seen the community for the first time as a result of their children partic- ipating in a rowing competition at Nathan Benderson Park, for example, he said. On Sept. 25, 2013, Commissioner Nora Patterson reported to her commission col- leagues that she had discussed the idea with members of the county's Tourist Development Council (TDC), which she chairs, and they were "enthusiastic about doing [the survey]." Virginia Haley, president of the county's tour- ism office, Visit Sarasota County, told the commissioners that same day that she had worked with county staff to develop the sur- vey. "We'll work on deploying it with the Venice [Area Board of] Realtors and the Sarasota [Association of Realtors]," Haley added. On May 15, Haley shared the results with the TDC members, calling the responses "very, very interesting." Venice's quaint atmosphere has been cited by new county homeowners as one reason they chose to settle there. Photo by Norman Schimmel WHAT ENTICES THEM TO BUY? VISIT SARASOTA COUNTY SURVEYS OF REALTORS OFFER INSIGHTS INTO WHY PEOPLE CHOOSE TO RELOCATE TO SARASOTA COUNTY By Rachel Brown Hackney Editor