I remember watching the smiling face of Mr. Fred Rogers as he sang Won't You Be My Neighbor, while putting on one of his famous sweaters.
I particularly liked the way he somehow made me feel welcome, even though I sat on one side of a screen and he on the other.
It somehow never occurred to me that we were worlds apart. Mr. Rogers was able to convey his sincere invite into his own special neighborhood and found a way to maintain that mystique through the entire program with various characters and lines of communication.
I loved the concept of the Neighborhood Mr. Rogers created and never forgot it.
It doesn't surprise me a bit that here I am today, participating in a neighborhood that reminds me greatly of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.
From the moment I found Active Rain's Home Page, I was invited to enter into the neighborhood and become a vital part of a thriving real estate community. Immediately, I was invited to put on my own sweater by filling out the Profile and get more comfortable, a little at a time. Emails came quickly, welcoming me, encouraging me and sometimes even leading by the hand - some of us need more direction than others.
I've found several cul-de-sacs in the neighborhood I like to hang out at; and I have a few favorites that you're sure to find me at. There's Active Rain Newbies, where I met my first Active Rain friend, recently wed, Judi Morgan. I've learned much in this group and when everyone else is sound asleep at 3:00 am, I know I can find someone walking around, keeping patrol in the neighborhood over there, always at the ready to answer a question or provide direction.
There's Stage It Forward; I wouldn't even know of the Active Rain Neighborhood or the high real estate value it provided, were it not for Craig Schiller and Stage It Forward. The camaraderie, learning potential, and growth opportunities available to the staging industry and groups within Active Rain have blossomed thanks to Stage It Forward. I am especially grateful for those cul-de-sac neighbors and friendships that are forming.
You never know who is paying attention to your conversation here in the neighborhood and what might transpire when one of your neighbors overhears that conversation.
Active Rain's neighborhood has led me to another cul-de-sac, one I might not ever have heard of or considered had I not settled in the neighborhood and that is Buffini and Company, Coaching the Good Life! Though no stranger to professional and business coaching, this coaching has proven invaluable and the friendships I am developing even more treasured. A few months ago, I read something Fran Rokicki had written about Buffini and Company and decided to follow it up with a call to her. Being the professional she is, she took my call and the rest is history. I expect I'll be found in this cul-de-sac for a long time to come.
I know we all have our favorite cul-de-sacs in the Active Rain neighborhood; but at least one thing remains the same - We're all neighbors.
I particularly like the way you somehow make me feel welcome, even though I sit on one side of a screen and you on the other.
Won't you be my Active Rain Neighbor?
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