OK folks, every now and then, in between my musings, I like to write a blog just to acknowledge someone for a random act of kindness, a great blog they wrote, or just to thank them for whatever they did to help me in my quest for stardom.

This is one of those blogs and it is dedicated to Brad Andersohn, one of the community builders here on ActiveRain.

Recently I wrote a blog about the passing of a dear family member, my cousin Millie. I didn't write it for the points, or to get any special notoriety. I wrote it because it was cathartic in helping me to celebrate her life and to let the world know how a lesson this special person taught me has helped me in all of my endeavors.

The blog was warmly recieved by you, my ActiveRain family, and your comments really helped me to realize the importance of the relationships I've made here in the Rain.

Brad commented, as he frequently does, so I wrote him a thank you email. His response is what prompted me to write this blog.

Here is the "conversation" we had:

Thank you Brad for your kind words regarding my cousin Millie. I had no idea that post was going to be so well received. My true intention was just to write a eulogy for someone who really touched my life and helped to shape me into the person I've become.
The response from the the ActiveRain community was overwhelming. It just goes to show that even though many of us consider one another rivals and competition, when the @#*! hits the fan, we're all just one big family coming together.
So, again, I thank you for your kind words and for making ActiveRain one big family reunion.
You're a good man Brad and I'm a better person for knowing you.

Craig

And his response:

Craig - what a touching email. When I featured your post, I knew the community would come through.
We aren't just a network or community, we really are just one big family.  The important people like you
will always have a place and family on ActiveRain.  You can take away the network, but you could
never take away the relationships and friendships that have been established.  God Bless!  :-))

Brad

Now I didn't tell Brad I was going to post our emails to the masses. But I wanted everyone to know that this isn't the first time Brad has been there for me. When I first started with ActiveRain, Brad called me directly and guided me through a lot of the steps to start up correctly and to be effective here. He's also answered numerous emails with my questions.

He is a true gentleman and if you don't know Brad, you don't know ActiveRain.

Please subscribe to Brad's blog, read his posts, listen to what he has to say and take action! Just on his home page alone, there is a wealth of information, tutorials and links to everything you'll ever need to be an internet savvy marketer ...and a better person.

People come and go in your life. But some of them make a difference along the way. Brad Andersohn is one of those people.