There are a few forum owners online that I would consider to be my forum role model or mentor and I'm always looking to see what they've done with their forum or how I might be able to learn from their successes. Having an online forum owner mentor is such a benefit to the forum owner or admin as it gives them hope that forum life is not all in vain and some forums really can succeed.
I definitely have one role model when it comes to owning a forum. He owns one of the biggest MyBB forums online and his work definitely inspires me to work harder to get my forum successful.
A couple of them happen to be staff members, but we've also made special ranks exclusive to members who have contributed some of the best discussions to our community.
Well yes, we all have forums that we belonged to, contributed to, and of course there is a certain amount of emotional connection to those forums. You can never erase your beginnings! After all, they opened your eyes to possibilities.