TOUR GUIDE RESPONSIBILITIES

It is your responsibility to find a replacement if you cannot fulfill your assignment. Also notify Margaret Hooks at 656-3910 of your replacement. If you are unable to reach Margaret, leave word with Angie Mason at the St. George Art Museum, 634-5942, ext. 12. If you have any problems, other than schedule, please inform Ken Howell at 674-5304 or his assistant Phil Baker at 628-3883.

It is your responsibility to begin the tour on time and keep it moving. You should do your story telling or answer any lengthy questions while riding on the bus or walking to the next area. Give each actor the full 12 minutes. Give the actor a 2-minute warning of time by standing in the back of your group and holding up two fingers. If the actor goes overtime, they have been told the TOUR GUIDE will "gently" thank them for visiting with the group today, but you must move on to Brother ..............., who is expecting you.. We don’t want tour groups to cancel other scheduled events for the day or miss lunch. We need to honor the guests and the other actors’ time commitment.

Make the bus ride fun. Interact with the group while on the bus. When there are two buses, the driver or day captain may act as tour guide while on the bus, but the tour guide is to include everyone at each location.

Remember that this is a historical tour of the City of St. George. It is NOT a Church History Tour. We cannot, of course give accurate account of the area’s history without mentioning the Church. Be sensitive to this and do not use this as an opportunity to give missionary discussions.

Let the bus driver know if you intend to ride back to the museum after introducing Brigham Young.

Invite guests to visit the museum, which doesn’t open until 11:00 AM.

Thank YOU for sharing your time and talents!

This is a fun way to share our beautiful city and its history.

PREPARATIONS NEEDED FOR THE TOUR GUIDE

You will need a costume for the time period. This usually consists of a long full skirt, old fashion blouse, apron or shawl and a pioneer bonnet. Extra bonnets and aprons may be found in the upper level of the Social Hall (where the tour begins).

You will need a watch to help you keep the tour on schedule. You will need to carry a small note pad or piece of paper on which to write the name of the tour participant that you will use in the court trial. You may or may not choose to ask the person if they would like to participate. Usually, it is more fun if the defendant is surprised. You can judge by the personality of the person. It is better if the paper used is other than white in color. The judge’s bench is painted white and often the judge will not see the white paper on the white desk.

Pick up "A Stroll Through History", a walking tour guide for historic St. George at the Chamber of Commerce visitors’ center on the main floor of the old Court House. It will give you background information on all the buildings you will be passing during the tour. It is very interesting and informative.

Visit the sites on the tour. Read the plaques in the winery (lower level of the Opera House) and the plaque in the area to the west of Zion’s Bank (St. George Boulevard and Main Street). Walk to the center area of Ancestral Square to see the old jail. Take a tour through the St. George Tabernacle and visit Judd’s store. If you have not visited these sites previously, you will be greatly rewarded.

Visit the Chamber of Commerce to see the services offered to visitors. It is good to note any activities that are occurring during the week that you are the tour guide. Example: productions currently showing at Tuacahn, St. George Musical Theater, and special concerts. There is a handicap elevator at the rear of the Court House, but several times in the past it has been broken.

Two scripts have been provided for the tour guides. One copy contains the complete dialog detailing each historical story and point of interest. The other is a shortened outline of these stories placed within the time frame of the progress of the tour. It can be found on the web page under the title, “Summer Tour Schedule”.  A print-out of the latter may be useful as you are conducting a tour. It is well to read the script of the other actors on our web site to make sure that you do NOT tell any of the stories or events that they use in their dialogs. Also, there may be times when an actor may need a prompt with their dialog. The dialogs for the other actors are found on this web page also.

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23 May 2004