Last month, I had the pleasure of meeting with Chris Wendel in Traverse City, MI.  Chris and his brother, Tim, were ABV clients when we did a pilot in 2008.  They are the force behind Buffalo Nation, a popular blog about the Buffalo Braves basketball team from the 1970’s. Tim Wendel is also the author of the book about the team, “Buffalo, Home of the Braves.”

I last spoke with the Wendels about a year ago, right after their book had come out. I was curious to see what’s new with their community and as usual, Chris had some great stories.  (Tim lives in Washington, DC, and I’m sure that someday, we’ll meet in person.)

Chris and Tim continue to attract kindred spirits into their community, including former players.  Part of their magic is taking fans back in time, to re-live fond memories. Take a look at this five minute video of Chris to learn more.

My take-aways from the visit:

• Think broadly in terms of your community of kindred spirits.  When Chris talks about the people they’ve connected to because of this work, I’m struck by who has shown up that they never imagined.

• Building a community takes time.  This work is still unfolding, even after several years of blogging and a year after the book was released. New projects, adding value to the community, show up.

• Give your community a visceral experience, one that touches on more than one of the senses. Chris talks about how the photos and audio interviews with former players are some of the most treasured items by the community. 

My thanks to Chris for taking the time to sit down with me and share stories and a cup of coffee. I’ll be back.