Dear Jan,
In the spirit of cyber-hugs, I wanted to take a moment to remind you of what an incredible influence you have had on me, on my development as a nurse and as an IBCLC, and - indirectly - on the mothers and babies with whom I have worked.
I met you first as a newly married, (and newly-pregnant) young nurse entering the "normal" mother-baby field from the high-tech and (at that time) not very mother or baby friendly NICU environment.  You were a dynamic leader at Providence Hospital back then, championing the causes of women and their families, instrumental in the nascent movement to normalize and de-medicalize childbearing.  I've met plenty of good nurses, plenty of leaders in the many years of my career  -- why do you suppose that your concern, enthusiasm and vitality stand out so clearly??
(Is it a figment of my imagination, or did you really have a bumper sticker in your office in those days which read "Women Unite - Keep it Tight", referring to Kegel exercises?)
We both moved on, but how delighted I was when my path finally led me to BSC and you turned up as my instructor!  Your approach to the adult-learning process not only brought a test-phobic woman with borderline self-esteem to a successful conclusion of the course, but taught me skills that I would use for life with my clients, my own BSC students when it came time for me to teach, and my staff. 
Do you suppose it is coincidence that I came to the BSC course, at the urging of one of the peds I work for, a rather meek and under-employed nurse acting as little more than a medical assistant, and emerged a stronger, leadership-oriented woman who now supervises a staff of 15 in that same peds office, writes patient-education literature, runs a telephone-triage program.....?  Not likely.  I am sure that there is a direct connection.  I warmly recall our written conversations, your willingness to listen as I whined and ranted about the state of affairs in my workplace, your gentle but firm confidence in my ability to have an impact on that situation.  And indeed, I did.
You, and the others at BSC, waited patiently for me to gather the courage to take the IBLCE exam, letting me know that you believed that I was both valuable without that title and quite capable of obtaining it.  It took some time, but I finally took the plunge - and survived to tell the tale!
I grow more every time that I hear you speak at a conference, or read a post of yours on Lactnet.  You have always made it clear that you believe in mothers and babies, believe in the naturalness, the art and the science of lactation.  Your case stories always illustrate the empowerment of the mother at the same time that that teach another tidbit of lactation management.
I'm sure I've used up my allotted space in this issue of Lactnet by now, so I'll stop.  I thought of sending this post privately, but in the end I decided that it might have a greater impact this way.  Sometimes a public hug is an even stronger statement!
Love and gratitude, 
Willow