Fran Hiestand is the queen of Tennessee Aquarium volunteers.
Hiestand, 70, today becomes the first nonpaid worker in the attraction’s 23-year history to log 10,000 hours.
In his book, “Outliers: The Story of Success,” author Malcolm Gladwell popularized the “10,000-hour rule.” Gladwell says it takes at least 10,000 hours of practice to achieve world-class mastery of any skill.
Using that metric, Hiestand is now a world-class volunteer.
Mark KennedyHer experience bubbles up when you ask her about the Aquarium’s 10,000 residents. After being at her post for 22 years, Hiestand can tell you about many of the Aquarium’s creatures by their nicknames and idiosyncrasies.