It seems that’s a topic on the minds and in the mouths of many people on the web these days.  There’s a million paid trainings that purport to teach us exactly this:  how to win fans, grow your list, and make a zillion dollars in the wild west of the world-wide web.

But for a change of scene, let me tell you a story set in the even more amazing off-line world.  A cold world in which animals run free over snow and ice, and a wise elder interprets the secrets of their lives in the tracks they leave behind.

Once upon a time a woman named Kate signed up for a winter tracking workshop at a local wildlife refuge.  She showed up for the training on a January day so cold it made her eye-lashes ache – but she merely stamped her feet to stay warm and shake off the cold, because she was so excited about this opportunity.  Tracks had always fascinated her and she couldn’t wait to be guided into the refuge by experts who would help her learn and understand.

She was not disappointed.  She was placed into a group led by an energetic, keen-eyed, and incredibly experienced middle-aged woman, while the others followed a kind-eyed, welcoming older woman onto a different trail.  For a couple hours, Kate walked and stopped, walked and noticed, walked and scanned the snow, bending low to peer at tracks printed like runes in the powder, assessing their depth and freshness, the presence of scat or feathers, blood or bent twigs.  It was like the best detective novel she’d ever read.

When the workshop was over, the groups came together and milled around, still frozen but smiling over all they’d learned.  Kate found she was still curious about the domestic habits of beavers and asked the older woman a few questions.

The woman, kind sage that she was (and is), took Kate and her friend Kathleen across the ice to look more closely at a beaver lodge.  She spent another half hour or so explaining the construction of the lodge, the social organization of these amazing animals (who take in their grown children when things are dire – just like our own mothers and fathers!), and create defenses against coyotes who venture over the ice to investigate the possibility of beaver ka-bobs.  She seemed to know them as well and as intimately as good friends.  She respected their wisdom and resourcefulness.  She spoke of them with true affection.

Kate was staggered, not only by the depth of this woman’s knowledge but by her passion for wildlife – a passion that led her to share so much extra time teaching and guiding beyond what was promised.  That day, Kate became a true-blue fan for life.

Of course, I’m the Kate in the story, and the amazing expert is a real woman named Rona Balco.  She heads up The Friends of the Oxbow Wildlife National Refuge here in Massachusetts.  Every year, I write a check to support the work they do.  Just a few minutes ago, I sat at my kitchen table and wrote another check and a note to Rona.  Truth be told, I don’t find myself in the Refuge very often.  But I still write a check and I rejoice as I do it.  Why?

Because I want to be part of Rona’s mission to protect and sustain such a wonderful place.

Because Rona gave me a truly unforgettable experience and much of it was simply HER – her knowledge, passion, generosity, excitement, spirit, and presence.

Because, quite frankly, Rona herself IS what I want to support because as far as I can make out, there aren’t too many Rona Balco’s in the world.

Rona doesn’t have a website and she’d be the last person in the world to see herself as a treasure, but she is.  And just by being who she is, she has gained many, many friends and supporters for the Oxbow.  As long as Rona is there, I’ll write my check.  And when Rona is gone, I’ll write my check in her memory.  Always.

So that’s the secret to winning true-blue fans who will love you forever:

Do your thing.

Do it with your whole heart.

Share it with anyone interested.

Keep doing  your thing.

 

PS:  Click the link if you’d like to visit or learn more about the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge.

PPS:  I’d love to hear your own stories of true-blue fandom.  Who or what do you support no matter what – and what was it that won your love and loyalty?