Blossom Valley Realtor plays Santa Claus early |
A couple of months ago, Bruce McGuy and his family were thinking of moving to a bigger house somewhere else in the South Valley. After all, they figured, with three kids, two adults, and relatives who come and stay for long periods of time, their house just wasn't doing the job.
So, McGuy put a for sale sign out on his lawn in June. In some form or another, McGuy Said, some 300 people told him not to go. How could anyone be loved so much? It's a picture that brings to mind the predicament of George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, when everyone but Bailey wanted Bailey to stay in town. Well, like Bailey, Mr. Santa Claus himself, McGuy, a Realtor with Blossom Valley Realty who gives a substantial amount of his income on the sales of homes to local elementary schools, Little League teams, and other benevolent causes to help his community, decided against moving for a few more years. However, he can sleep comfortably with the knowledge that it is a wonderful life for someone who seems determined to make an indelible impression on the South Valley. His latest venture has been to help his local residents fix up their houses by painting them and doing minor outward changes to the landscaping. One neighbor, Dana Cook, who lives on Tandera near Allen Elementary School and just a couple of block from McGuy himself, was grateful to have McGuy come out for a couple of days at the beginning of the month, painting her house and clearing away some of the shrubbery. |
“I don't know that there's anyone like Bruce McGuy who comes out and helps people,” Cook said. When McGuy approached Cook with the idea, Cook said, “It was too good to be true. There are so few people willing to go that extra mile-so few people who are reaching out all the time, willing to do good things... Bruce does from people what i do for animals.” Cook is involved with the rescue of cats that are left abandoned in empty homes and on the streets, doing what she can to get them fed and find them homes. “Real estate is supposed to be a community business... the world according to Bruce,” He said and laughed. McGuy said Blossom Valley Realty will probably be fixing one house every two months, along with all the other contributions to the community. Cook, a retired Realtor who worked in real estate in the mid-'70s, said that McGuy's community approach to real estate is how the industry used to be and should be today. For Christmas, McGuy is working on making wooden rocking chairs for toddler and seeking support from associations to volunteer time and money. Who says Santa Claus isn't real? |