February Challenge: Share The Love And The Memories
With the last post for the Challenge, I was inspired by a phone call I recently received from ActiveRain's best Ambassadress.
For all that have been here a while, getting a call from Margaret Rome is not uncommon and regardless of when the call comes in, respect and admiration for the caller takes precedence. Madame Rome is very close to one of the original Charter Members of the platform having joined in 2006. I had the good fortune to meet her at a RainCamp in Washington DC where she was surprisingly not the focal point of the day.
The honoree on that day was the legend known as Lenn Harley. ActiveRain I'm sure had that RainCamp in the DC area just to honor the platform's first 1,000,000 point member. I know that she would not have driven there just for the event and was picked up at her home, given a room for the night, and then after the proceedings, driven back to her castle in Leesburg, VA. She read a lot of posts and if you managed to write something that sparked a nerve with her, then you got 'The Call" and before that call ended you knew that the next blog you wrote better be thoroughly researched and correct.
Another classic of the original special bloggers was Jay Markanich, an inspector that wrote about his experiences and any who read them had to become wiser. His knowledge of homes seemed endless and he wrote with such detail and photos that he would have set the standard for any who would like to be considered an inspector. I also had the good fortune to meet Jay at a RainCamp.
While taking a vacation to FL, I found my way to the Villages and spent some special time with Beth Atalay of Clermont FL. She is every bit the real deal and sweet and personable. She especially hit it off with my wife as they share some common Eastern Med heritage. We discussed all manner of things that day and even got the first view of a new listing she was putting on market.
Back in our home state of CT, I have had the good fortune of meeting a couple of blogging stalwarts and have made friends that the platform allowed me to meet.
In Wilton CT we have Dagny Eason, who has gotten notoriety on the platform for her exceptional Meet-ups which have gotten attendees from around the country. In her business world, when we first met, however, she was just separating from a large New England house to form her own boutique agency, Dagny's Real Estate. Now with at least 8 agents personally trained and mentored she is establishing her brand in Connecticut's Fairfield County.
I appreciate the friendship I have made with George Souto and again it was through the platform that we met even though our businesses have never been more than 15 miles apart. While George may not be keen on thrill rides, our drive to RainCamp Boston left him permanently scared. We have had common clients and I still reach out to him when I want an answer to a lending issue for which I know I'll get the unabridged version.
There is a vacation theme that allows me to meet fellow ActiveRain members. Such was the case when we went to Arizona to appreciate a couple of special wonders, The Grand Canyon and Anna Banana Kruchten. As I waited in the parking lot of a coffee shop I was looking for a large yellow shape to come tooling into the lot. It was a small disappointment when she stepped out of a normal car with her husband and we spent a couple of hours just talking and visiting.
While I can go on as I have yet to mention other's I have met, such as Michael Thornton, Barbara Tadaro, Karen Fiddler, Jeff Dowler, Kerrie Laguardia, Sheldon Neal, Richie Alan Naggar and the list goes on.
These people taught a lot of us how to write and post properly. They are held in high esteem for the roles that took on ActiveRain to teach entertain and guide a lot of us who knew very little about blogging at the onset.
February Challenge: Share The Love And The Memories
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