Welcome Vanessa Renkel-Meyers, one of the Yosemite Chamber's newest business members, a Realtor with RE/MAX Gold Real Estate in Groveland, AND our Chamber's new Board Member-at-Large.
Vanessa grew up camping in the Sierra, riding dirt bikes throughout Tuolumne County, and exploring Yosemite with her family. But during the week, they lived in Menlo Park. She graduated from St. Mary's College with a degree in Liberal Arts and a focus in communications.
Born in the middle of the Millennial generation, which numbers 72 million people in the U.S.A.. Vanessa was raised with internet and cell phones, and she applied this knowledge as an event coordinator for Sparks Global Events and Marketing. While working with clients such as Google and Twitter, she longed to follow her own entrepreneurial spirit. Making the difficult decision to leave the Sparks corporate world, Vanessa took her marketing skills to help run, expand and re-brand her mother's home daycare that has been in business in Menlo Park for more than 30 years.
Originally looking at properties in Sonora and LaGrange, her Realtor and now Team Leader at RE/MAX Gold, Lauree Borup, a 33-year veteran of local real estate, convinced her to look at 60 acres with a log home behind Tenaya Elementary School. Like so many of us, she fell in love with Groveland. "I was attracted to being here because it already felt like home," Vanessa says. "That was the lifestyle I wanted to be around all the time. That, and being my own boss."
She purchased the home in 2018, and moved to Groveland full time in early 2020. During the pandemic, she finished the required classes and got her real estate license. She established a business as a professional home organizer, and opened a HipCamp called Rockingbird Meadow on her large property. Her next step is creating a stronger web presence on Youtube, Instagram, and Facebook, and passing on her enthusiasm for our area to buyers. Vanessa's skills in photography and video are particularly valuable to sellers, helping to maximize their home value.
Vanessa's parents were both born in Uruguay, giving Vanessa the gift of being bi-lingual in Spanish. Her grandparents have settled in LaGrange, and she visits them often. She shares her home with Maine Coon cat Mein, and a talkative Cavapoo mix named Taco. Besides being a success in real estate, Vanessa's other dream is to establish a regular beer- and wine-tasting event in Groveland, ideally at her own Rockingbird Meadow. She plans to get involved in event planning and marketing with other local organizations, and her appointment to the Yosemite Chamber's board of directors will give her the opportunity to demonstrate her marketing and planning skills to the benefit of our community.
Welcome to the team, Vanessa! We'll see you around town.