IRI Thanks
 

Wow... another great IRI. A huge thanks needs to go to all of the host teams for running the event flawlessly. Thanks to the champions and finalists for some of the best matches I've seen all year. Finally, Team 27 would like to thank 47 and 33 for being amazing partners and awesome people.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Thanks to all of the teams who made the 2004 IRI such a great event. The finals was one of the best I have seen in a long time - right down to the wire!

AB thanked most everyone during the closing, but I want to add my special thanks to a bunch of people who made it a great event.

Libby and Andy - my co-coordinators. Each of us has strengths and contacts to make the IRI come together. This was a fun planning team.

Paul and Dan and Josh and DJ - what a great announcing team!

Comau Pico for the machine shop

Scott, Nancy Hoff and the Cyber Blue Parent Crew - the parent crew took care of Friday night dinner (did you know they cooked about 1100 sandwiches!!) and the hospitality rooms for the volunteers and judges, plus helped with field reset, T-shirt sales, check in, and lots of other jobs.

Team 393 parents - helped with check-in, shirt sales, field reset and lots of other jobs.

Team 217 and 447 and others - for taking care of breakfast on Saturday morning and delivering the carpet.

Wildstang for the awesome Human Player game

Everyone who performed in the talent show

Jessica B for the fantastic National Anthem both mornings

Amanda M for UFH, organizing the talent show and lots of other small stuff.

Tom, Ken, Brandon, David and several others for the scoring and field work.

Jason and Matt from 234 for the video work, and Perry Meridian for loaning us the equipment

Ryan the DJ

LNHS and team 1024 for the school, sound system, power, and concession stand.

All of the FIRST people who came to see the IRI and talk with us about how we do it, and how it works!

Collin and Jason for the work with the judges, trophies and putting together the awards slide show.

Jon, the photographer.

IPD and Channel 8 for flying in to let us climb around their helicopters.

Delphi and Rolls-Royce for sponsoring Scholarships for our 2004 Seniors.

Team 45 for the electrical work for the pits

All of the students who volunteered to be tour guides

The judges who gave up a bunch of time to be there Friday and Saturday

A fantastic referee crew

Students and adults from team 234, 393 and 45 who set up the field, took it down, reset it after matches and did just about anything that was asked of them.

All of the volunteers who came in from all around the USA to help. Field reset, scoring, team queing, tour guides, pit administration, and on and on

And, all of the teams and businesses who donated backpacks. We will get a final count and get them to the school. You guys are awesome - there are about 60 backpacks for 2nd graders!

I probably forgot someone - apologies now if I did - but just to cover it -

Thanks to everyone else, too!

Chris Fultz
IRI Lead Coordinator, 2004.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Wow, I could just quote Chris and be done with it :)

But seriously, thanks to everyone who made this IRI the best IRI yet. A big thanks to all the people who filled in on my job, especially Saturday - Clark Gilbert did a lot of the music you guys heard on Saturday, so a big thanks to him for filling in for me and letting me drive / hang out / scout for my team.

Congrats teams 71, 980, and 269. You guys were unstoppable.

Thanks to 45 and 447 for being some great alliance partners.

Another thanks to 45, 393, and 1024. Obviously none of this would've happened w/out you guys.

All the volunteers who flew in and gave up their weekend to be on the IRI Crew, or Judge, or Ref, or whatever - Thank you.

Again, thanks to everyone who made this possible. :]

edit: I'd also like to thank whoever changed my winamp 5 skin color, because I like this one even more.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Opportunities abound at the IRI!!

Opportunities to meet new people and make new friends.

Opportunities to see robots you may have missed in the regular season - some of the best out there for sure!

Opportunities to show others what FIRST is all about and how fun robotics can be!

Thanks to IRI for giving us these opportunities - and for trusting me to ref my first competition. I will not soon forget it!

Sean

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Most of my thank yous have already been said, so I don't need to type them again, but I just want to repeat the thank you to Comau Pico for the machine shop. We broke a main drive shaft in our first match. If it wasn't for the machine shope, we would be done for the weekend before it really even started. Instead, we were able to go in, weld it, and we only missed one match. I really can't thank Comau Pico enough.

Also, thanks to our partners, team 980, and our opponents, 47 and 111 for what has to be the best FIRST match that I've ever been a part of (our last match of qualifying).

And thanks to team 47 for picking us, and 27 for being great alliance partners and great pit neighbors all weekend. It's too bad the Oakland County alliance was ousted before we really even got started. Also, thanks to team 45 and 234 for that third match of the first round. That was so close...one ball! Great match!

Thanks to everyone who made this event what it is...the best event of the year. The talent show was a lot of fun, the dinner and breakfast were very good, and, as usual, the competition was fierce.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Re: IRI Thanks
 

My list of thanks.

Chris Fultz - For helping me with everything I needed, giving me leeway where it was appreciated, and being the guiding light of the weekend.

Libby Ritchie - For being open, honest, appreciative, and most of all, a pillar of strength for everyone. IRI is always a blast with you around.

Andy Baker - The star of the Kamens. Thanks for the effort you've put in.

JVN, Jess Boucher, Ken Leung, Jeremy Roberts, Jtosh Hambright, Ben 'Bean' Lauer, and Chris Noble - Thanks for giving me somebody to hang out with all weekend. Always a pleasure with you folks. I had a great time and an excellent birthday, and all of you made it possible.

Ricky Quininininininnininininnnininones from Oconomo-what?! - You are amazing and wonderful, and an inspiring FIRSTer. Thanks for your dedication, your knack at making things seem better with a hug, and moreover for letting me say that the GMD of FIRST is one of my friends.

Jason Morrella - Thank you for wearing a tie.

David Kelly - If I had a right-hand man, you'd be it. You have helped me with every endeavor, every venture, every committee and project I have ever needed help with, and still stand on the sidelines to support whatever I do. You're amazing, kid.

Brandon Martus - You are an amazing Slash, but an even better friend.

The group from Thursday night's Formal Dinner - Thanks to everyone who came for going along with Jess and my crazy ideas and planning. I hope everyone had a great time and had a little fun being silly and playing dress-up. Everyone looked rather spiffy... maybe it was all the ironing Jess and I had to do? ;)

Dan Green - Your job is hard. Much respect for the play-by-play announcers... it's more difficult than you think. I'm glad I got the chance, I hope I did okay!

Tom Schindler - You took over the field operations without flaw. You even saved the day (and the Talent Show with the Kamens' act) when the scoring table set fire. You made me a promise - that the field would be ready to go at 9 pm - and you were done hours before that. Thank you for everything.

Big Mike - Thanks for being my goon bodyguard and taking care of some fools! And P.S. ladies - Big Mike knows how to DANCE!

Travis Hoffman, Goose, Maverick, and Team 48 - One of the sweetest birthday presents I received. It's good to know I'm still alive, too (I was worried! I still had a whole other day of competition left!). Karthik was there in spirit. I was crying, I was laughing so hard. Thank you so much.

Joe and Amy Johnson - Thanks for being good sports and putting on a great show. I'll be your Vanna White again any day.

To all the acts in the Talent Show - Thank you to the ridiculously hysterical judges: Jason Morella, JVN, Paul Copioli, Ken Patton, and Dave Lavery. Thank you to David Kelly, Tom Schindler, Meli Wheeler, and Cory McBride for helping get the field and music ready. Thank you to Linnea from 716 for doing an EXCELLENT job covering when we had a field malfunction. Thank you to the 1458 kids for swallowing other people's spit. A huge thanks to Andy, Ernie, Chris, Dave, and Brandon - you guys put 100% into this, and I hope you got 150% out. Everyone remember this: we signed the Kamens first!

Dave Lavery - The birthday present. It even SMELLS authentic! ;)

Josh Hambright and DJ Fluck - For the birthday song on Friday. Now I have to come up with ways to get even! :p

All those who submitted for the IRI UFH Award - Thank you for contributing to something great.

Someone asked me on Friday 'why I was spending my birthday with a bunch of geeks' (jokingly, of course). I wouldn't have had it any other way. Surrounded by friends and respected mentors, your presence has made this the best birthday present ever.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Andy Baker, Libby Ritchie, Chris Fultz: Another great year. It's hard to believe that was an off-season competition put on by a few FIRST teams. FIRST is lucky to have people like you who coordinate events like the IRI. Mentors matches? Talent show? Backpacks for 2nd graders? You've just raised the bar.

Andy, Chris, Ernie, Dave: On top of being amazing people, you are amazing musicians. I'm lucky to have been able to play with you guys, the whole experience was a blast. Thank you.

Ricky Q and Team 269: Thanks for letting me be your human player in the mentor match. It was fun, exciting, and slightly terrifying .. I loved it.

David Kelly: Thanks for everything. Your advice on & help testing websites, your encouragement and advice about FIRST 'stuff', and most importantly your friendship.

Tom Schindler: Awesome job with the field. I was impressed. I don't think there could've been a problem that you couldn't get fixed.

Ken Leung: It's always a pleasure to see you, Ken. I'm still laughing about seeing you wearing Andy's Ozzy wig, dancing around at the scoring table.

Jess Boucher: It's been 4 years(?) that we've known each other, and this was the first time we've met face-to-face? You're a great friend, I'm glad you're back in this FIRST thing. [strongmad]HOORAY FOR BOX.[/strongmad] (hooray for cookies, too)

Amanda Morrison: The talent show was smokin'! The first annual IRI UFH award was a success. Keep up the great work. And, as always, thanks for being an awesome friend.

Jeremy Roberts: I'm glad that you made it up to the IRI. You're doing great things for FIRST down in Georgia, and it's always a pleasure hearing about it from you.

Big Mike: I had never seen the White Boy Dance before, just read about it. It was very entertaining. Almost as entertaining as watching Paul Copi-oil and Andy Baker run from your bear hugs.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch of people. I'm sorry ..

Thanks to Everyone at IRI
 

I would like to say thank you, on behalf of my team, 716, to everyone who helped us at IRI. We had some major arm problems that required hours of rebuilding, and everyone really came through! I'd like to say thank you to teams 45 and 47 for being there with extra parts, and a special thanks to Team 571, Paragon who stayed with us until 12:30 Friday night rebuilding our arm. We cannot thank you enough, and I know I left alot of people out because there were so many who came to help us! I just wanted to say thank you again, and let you all know that we would not have been able to do as well as we did without any of your help and support. So, thank you again from team 716 to every one of you for your help! We truly appreciated it!

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Wow....This years IRI was the best yet.

Thanks to all of those mentioned above and many many more that helped make this competition the competition it is today. After witnessing all five IRI's and being there to help with the past four, it sure was nice to just sit back and enjoy the show this year as a spectator.

It really seems like only yesterday when we were moving the 2000 field into the Kokomo High School gym to start the very first 2000 IRI.

Thanks again to those past and present that have helped make this one of the best competitions in FIRST robotics.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Thanks to everyone for this whole weekend - those that planned it, set it up, worked it, and everything. I would list people but at the risk of leaving someone out, I'm not.

This was my first time coming out to IRI, I'm sure it isn't going to be my last.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

I want to thank Andy, Amanda, Brandon, Ken L., David Kelly, Jessica, John V Neun, Tom, Ben L., Jeff W., Chris Noble, Chris Hibner and all the others that made my first IRI event great! I had lots of fun and will be back next year.

I also want to specially thanks Andy Baker for allowing me the opportunity to ref. It was a great experience and I look forward to doing it more often. ;)

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Thanks everyone for the great time at IRI.

Quote everything before plus some. Me and my dad had a great time and were thinking idea after idea on the 8 hours home.

Indiana teams really know how to play and have fun. The team was thinking of going to Denver's regional next year but I hope to convince them to go to Purdue. Not the college, just the regional. We need to keep all our talent in-state.

Anyways, 1108 will be at IRI next year and will have shirts to trade. Can't wait to see y'all again.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

I echo everything that has been said above, as well as the following:

Andy Baker: Thanks for being an awesome head ref and putting me on the spot by telling everyone to talk to me about the hanging controversy! :ahh:

The Refs: You guys were awesome all weekend...can you go to every regional?

John Whelan and Katie Reynolds: I couldn't have kept the blue side teams queue-ed without you guys.

All Announcers: Even when your voices left you, your enthusiasm and spirit kept the field rocking. Dan and Paul, I can't wait to see you guys in action at Purdue in March.

All Talent Show Participants: WOW! What a night! From recycled toothpaste to upside down Dew...Top Gun to moving your arms in opposite rotations (finally more people that can do it!!!)...Sweet Home Chicago to Dean Simmons and the Kamens! And who could forget the judges and their valuable input?? I know I never will!

Finally, to all of the organizers and other volunteers that helped make the IRI possible, thank you for an awesome weekend full of some of the finest FIRST memories I will ever have. I was honored to be a part of the crew this year and am looking forward to doing the same for years to come.

Kev

Re: IRI Thanks
 

I will also echo all said above and add my own:

Andy Baker, Chris Fultz, Libby Ritchie, and teams 45, 393, and 234: Awesome! The event that you put on is just incredible and I'm glad I convinced my team to go in 2002 and that we have come back ever since. Thank you for all the work you do to make it come together.

Teams 71 and 980: Thanks for picking us and having the confidence to complete the winning alliance with us. Those finals matches were intense and cap our team's best year. Thanks again!

Teams 45, 234, and 447: It was tough to lose to our Midwest Champion Partners' alliance, but I would have rather faced no one else. Thanks for being great competeters and great friends.

Brandon Martus, Jess Boucher, and Mike Soukup: Thank you for being our team's all-star Mentor drive team. You guys performed just as well as I did, getting our robot to do everything we asked of you. Thank you!

Amanda Morrison: Dang girl, do you ever stop working?!? I'm am glad I finally got to sit down and actually talk to you and spend a great weekend with you in Indiana. The effort and dedication you put into everything that you did this past weekend continues to amaze me. Thank YOU!

Andy Baker and the refs: Thanks for being one of the greatest ref crews ever. Calls were fair and explained and no detail was left unclear. Great job!

Meli, DK, Tom Schindler, Big Mike, KT, Chell, Tyler, DJ, Clark, Kyle, Ken, Cory, and everyone else I met or saw again this weekend: Thank you for being awesome people and great friends. It was a great weekend to spend with all of you.

Anyone else I forgot, THANK YOU!

This last year of my 3 involved as a high school student has been my team's most successful and my personal favorite. Thanks to all who made it a great year, and don't worry, the greatest Mexican driver in FIRST will always be around it.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Well, after a lot of sleeping today, I'm ready to write this long list of thank yous to everyone that made this such a wonderful event!

First of all, thanks to all of the teams that made the 2004 IRI such a great event. The competition level was high and made for a very exciting two days.

BAX Global
THANK YOU! You have been good to us and we appreciate you all so much. We would be in trouble without you guys!!!

Chris Fultz
Thank you for all the work you did! I know you were running around like a crazy man, but it all came together! Great job!

Andy Baker and Refs
What can I say! Although we all know you are such a positive influence to the FIRST community....I must say I have a whole new respect for you. As I watched you and your band perform at the talent show, all I could think was "WOW!" You guys were GOOD!! In addition, you and the ref crew did an awesome job out there on the field. We all help make the IRI happen, but you bring a very special thing to this event...you are loved and admired by many!

Paul Copioli
Thank you for doing another great job of keeping things rolling and making it exciting. Please tell your wife and family thank you for sharing you with us just days after the arrival of a new baby!!

Dan Green:
Thanks for bringing your excitement and experience to the IRI! You and Paul have been so good on the mics! We appreciate it so much!

Josh H. and DJ F.
Hey! The new guys did an awesome job!! I see a future for you guys. Thanks for jumping in and bringing new faces to the announcing side of the IRI. You guys did a wonderful job! Josh...it was fun to see you again. Thanks for making me laugh so much!

Comau Pico & those that worked in the machine shop
Thank you so much for providing the machine shop and the assistance to all the teams that needed help! We appreciate you doing this so much.

Nancy Hoff and the Cyber Blue Parent Crew
What a nice group of people! Thank you for all the time, effort, and worry into the dinner. It was great!!

Team 393 parents
Thank you for your help both with the event as well as with the team!

Team 217 and 447 and others
Thanks for taking care of breakfast on Saturday morning and delivering the carpet.

Marci Cochran
You make me laugh! You are a good friend and I appreciate your friendship.

Dave Scheck and Wildstang
What a great HP game!! Thank you for running this competition. It was fun!!

The Women of Team 71/Marci Cochran
It was fun to be in the talent show with you guys. We weren't THAT bad...were we? :) You guys are so sweet and I love you to death!! You are a fun group of people! Thanks for the shirt, too!!

Thanks to everyone who performed in the talent show

Jessica B for the fantastic National Anthem both mornings. You have a wonderful voice. Thank you as well for the information on your business classes! We will have to email you and let you know how we do with what we implement at the high school level.

Amanda Morrison
You were awesome and full of energy. Thank you for organizing the UFH, the talent show and just being there with a smile.

Tom, Ken, Brandon, David
You did a great job, as always, with the scoring and field work. Thank you!!

Ken Leung
I just love you!! :) You bring out the best in people and don't ever apologize for that. You give so much of yourself to others and to the FIRST community and it doesn't go unnoticed!!

Jason and Matt from 234 for the video work, and Perry Meridian for loaning us the equipment

Ryan D.
Great job with the music!!

LNHS and team 1024, Carletta and Mr. Norman
Thank you for the providing an air conditioned school and for providing the concession stand.

Team 818
Thanks for coming down to Indiana!!!

Randy Lam
Thank you for coming! You and your team were so kind. We appreciated all of your help and your kindness.

All of the FIRST people who came to see the IRI!

Collin and Jason for the work with the judges, trophies and putting together the awards slide show.


IPD and Channel 8
It was a lot of fun to have you fly in to let us see the helicopters.

Delphi and Rolls-Royce
THank you for sponsoring Scholarships for our 2004 Seniors.

Team 45 for the electrical work for the pits

All of the students who volunteered to be tour guides

The judges who gave up a bunch of time to be there Friday and Saturday

A fantastic referee crew

Students and adults from team 234, 393 and 45 who set up the field, took it down, reset it after matches and did just about anything that was asked of them.

All of the volunteers who came in from all around the USA to help. Field reset, scoring, team queing, tour guides, pit administration, and on and on

Thanks to those who donated backpacks.

WOW! What a list. There are so many people that make this thing work. Chris, Andy and I hear many compliments about how well we run the event, but really, it's everyone that we simply coordinate that make the IRI a fun, exciting event. It's not just three people...it is MANY people that make it what it is! So, thank you to all!!

Re: IRI Thanks
 

I have to thank everyone at the IRI for once again making it the best competition in FIRST. It's non-stop fun.

I want to thank Andy for letting me ref. Sorry I had to skate early. I'll never do it again, I swear. So please let me ref again.

A big thanks to everyone for making the IRI such a good time for me: Ken Leung, Jeremey Roberts, Amanda Morrison, JVN, the Copioli brothers, Aaron Lussier, Jess Boucher, David Kelly, Jeff Waeglin, Andy Baker, Dave Scheck, and all of the others that hung out. I got to meet some new people (if only briefly), and I enjoyed that a lot.

Of course I need to thank Andy, Ernie, Brandon, and Dave for making the band a reality. I had a lot of fun, and I hope you guys did as well. A BIG thanks goes to Chris Fultz for getting us the PA and to Al Skierkiewicz for running the sound board. These guys did a great job - we didn't use the PA even once before the talent show, yet they got it sounding good in no time.

Lastly, I want to apologize to everyone for leaving without saying goodbye. Some friends of mine from Arizona were coming to Detroit Metro airport and I promised them they could stay at my place, so I had to be home on Saturday. I feel bad that the weather didn't pan out as forcasted - as it turned out, I could've stayed. What a bummer.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Here is my Thanks rambling...

My team (1018) - I had a great time this year, and even though the ending was not quite what we had hoped, all of you have made an impact on me.

Chris Noble and Stuart Bloom - Thanks for writing me excellent recommendations. I enjoyed haging out with you guys, and thanks for dragging me along to nationals also.

Chris Fultz, Libbie Richie, Andy Baker and Scott Richie - Thank you for coordinating the best off season tournament even, I had such a great time I was asking on Saturday afternoon if it was still Thursday.

Talent Show Judges/Participants - I had a great time watching, laughing, and admiring our amazing acts.

Amanda, David, Big Mike, Brandon, Tom, Ricky (GMD, baby), Melissa, John, Jessica, Ken, Jeremy, Cory, all my new FIRST pal/idols - (i'll let you try and firgure out which one you are!!) I had the greatest time hanging out with you guys on Thursday/Friday/Saturday. I will try to volunteer as much as I can next year so that I can see all you wonderful people again.

Students - I love you guys/gals, Keep up the hard work, and make something great of yourself!

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Team 1008 wishes to thank you all for a great event.
A special thank you to Sam from team 45 for your help reloading our program.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Team 447 (and I) would like to thank everyone who helped make IRI such a great time!

A special thanks to Teams 234 and 45 for the alliance partnership and a great ride into the finals.

Another thanks to everyone involved in planning, hosting, working, volunteering, competing, observing, etc. Yes, this even includes the Talent Show Judges!

Thanks to Rick and Team 217 for making 5am Saturday morning fun, even if someone did set the grill on fire! Sausage and eggs will never be the same now that I know you can make them on a grill!

Amanda, thanks for organizing the Talent Show. I had no idea there was so much talent in this FIRST family! I agree it should be included in all FIRST Events!

IRI is always a blast because...there's more than corn in Indiana! :rolleyes:

...and Libby...you rock!

Thanks also to Chris, Andy, and Scott, etc, etc, etc, ;)

Re: IRI was ...
 

Here it is Monday night in LA, and I'm still reliving IRI. Mike Kirkland, our lead engineer, woke up in his hotel room Sunday morning at 4 AM Indiana time (2 am Los Angeles time) and couldn't get back to sleep. He was reliving the adventure--his first IRI.

To all the IRI organizers, volunteers, family members and team members, thank you for inviting us and for letting us join your robotics family for this amazing experience. It was like a huge 2 day party with real time action thrown in to the mix, great music, dancing, entertainment, contests, and a bunch of people who really like to help others to have fun and to grow as people.

As to the competition, wow! Where else can you compete with so many awesome teams, teams of legend. And yet those very teams welcomed us and invited us to join the excitment, laughter and friendship that is IRI.

It was...a truly exciting, joyful, friendly, wonderful, amazing, thrilling, at times nerve wracking, but extremely memorable, awesome experience. I had very little sleep, but so much fun, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. So thank you all for the time of our lives.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

My thanks go out to pretty much the same people. Especialy to Andy, Chris, and Libby. Thanks for allowing me to come back and get involved again. You guys have no idea how much this all meant to me.
Thanks to all the CD'ers i got to see again. I missed you guys.
Thanks to DJ for being an awsome field announcer and rockin out with me.
Thanks to 461 for still being my favorite team in first.
Thanks to Kurtis, Rufus, and Marcie and the rest of 447 for making me laugh as usual.
Thanks to Paul and Dan for all the kind words and encouragement and something to look upto.
Thanks to the Kammens for making my weekend one to remember.
Thanks to Amanda for always being one of my favorite people in the world.
Thanks to the nobles, i love you guys like a second family.
Thanks to Carter and Jerry from 461 for hauling my butt around.
Thanks to everyone who made this weekend possible.
Thanks to the teams that provided food, the ritchies for the delicious cow we ate, and the 234 parent crew who fed all of us volunteers, Free food is always appreciated by this silly little poor punk kid
Thanks to anyone else i forgot.
This weekend reminded me why i loved FIRST so much and reinvigerated me with that magical letter "I" in FIRST. I realize now why i missed FIRST so much and why it became so important in my life, and now i realize why i will forever be as chris noble calls it. A lifer!

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Re: IRI Thanks
 

I know I wont remember everyone to thank, but there are a few that really stood out to me that I wanted to thank.

DJ Fluck- Dude, you are awesome. You put up with me and Meli all week (Or shall I say we put up with her!). You drove us everywhere, you let us invade your house. Thanks for all the fun times.

Andy Baker- Thanks for letting two total strangers come hang out with you at your house. Playing tennis and riding segways and just hanging out was tons of fun. Hitting DJ on the segway with a serve should definitely be a professional sport! Im glad I finally got to meet you.

Everybody else who I met for the first time, or saw again: you people are awesome, and the reason why competitions like IRI are so great. I can't wait until next year, because I'm sure I'll be back!

Thanks for one of the greatest experiences ever,

Cory

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Heres my list

Cory & Mel, thanks for coming and invading my "pad" I had fun even though there is nothing to do in this town as you learned other then go to walmart and play baseball....

Scott & Libby Ritchie, Chris Fultz, and Andy Baker- These people deserve a lot of credit for organizing this quality event and givng myself and Josh a shot.

Josh Hambright - Thanks for being an awesome MC along side. Amanda can't kill us now for her birthday embarassment :p Hopefully we can partner for a regional next year.

Paul "Copioil" Copioli and Dan Green - Thanks for the chance to work along side two pros such as yourself, hopefully this isn't the last time that I get to work with you guys.

Ben Lauer - Thanks for breaking my ribs when I tried to bearhug you after winning that scholarship. Oh congrats on that too :p

The Technokats - These guys have been great to me over the my last half decade with them. Its going to be odd next year not being in the shop.


Tom Schindler - Thanks for the fun again and you running the IRI field (no punches this time :p) maybe I'll work my way up to BAE next year.


Amanda Morrison for organizing the dinner and talent show

Dean Simmons & The Kamens - Thanks for allowing me to show up for your sound test/jam session the night before

Im sure there are more, so ill add later

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Because I'm not nearly as eloquent as some of the others who have posted here, and to avoid sounding like a broken record, I've only got two things to mention...

• Thanks to everyone who was at the event - the teams, the volunteers, the spectators...everyone. I know that I had a lot of fun while I was down there, and I'd love to come next year if I'm able to. As always, the event was made by the people at it...and just like in all other aspects of FIRST, the people involved were stellar.
• A special thanks to 393 and Libby Ritchie for giving us such a warm welcome. It was nice to see you all again, and it's great knowing that we've got friends down in Indy. I didn't spend as much time with you as other members of 818 did (I ended up sleeping instead of working on Saturday afternoon), but I enjoyed the times when we were together. Here's hoping that we'll be able to see each other again next year. :)

A bit more brief and blunt than I would have liked...but as I said before, I'm not a great writer. IRI was a great competition, and I'd love to be back next year, whether as a member of 818 or as a volunteer.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Silly me...I forgot a few more really important thank yous...

Randy Lam and his #1458 crew:
Dave, Chris, Eric, Paul, Dom, and Derek (the toothpaste people!)

Thanks for coming all the way to Indiana to experience this awesome event! I am sure it was worth your time!
Thanks for being gracious guests in my home and for making my team feel so appreciated. ...you guys are awesome!
We hope to see you at CalGames in September!

Another thanks to Carter Kizer for helping me with the "Media Tour Guide" group.

Thanks to all of the students who helped with the tours and gave up a two hour block of their time to be gracious hosts to visitors.

Another huge thank you to Libby, Scott, Andy, Chris, etc. for continuing to make this our favorite FIRST event every year!

...and Josh H. you are my favorite mowhawked person! Next time, bring enough of that stuff for all of us to do our hair!

IRI...holy cow!

Re: IRI Thanks
 

On behalf of myself and my team we would all like to say thank you so much for all the teams who helped us out. We really couldn't have done it without all the support from other teams. I would especially like to thank team 571 for their awesome support and help with technical repairs as well as teams 45,47, 808, the Archer Geeks and 469 for help and materials.
I also want team 65 to know that a really appreciated their wonderful spirit and great sportsmanship.
Also a big thanks to all the other teams and people who helped us out and told us they'd be there if we neede anything.

Thanks to all the judges,refs, mentors, officials, volunteers, coordinators, teams, teachers and friends that made IRI possible. It was great!

Re: IRI Thanks
 

I wanted to add something....

Has anyone heard the ENTIRE story of Team Emoticons and their RV trip to/from Indiana? If you haven't heard the entire story, it's a must to hear. They had so many problems with pulling their trailer....losing their trailer...their toolbox flying out the back of the trailer on the interstate, large, heavy items falling on top of their robot, crushing it, getting run over by a 4 wheeler while visiting relatives in Richmond, IN, and being trapped in the RV after live powerlines fell on their RV! I've never heard such a string of bad luck happening to anyone! So...I have to say, hats off to you for making it to the IRI and home again...ALIVE...and thanks for coming, despite the troubles you guys had.

Thanks to our first partner at IRI: Team 1243
 

Our first match at IRI was very exciting. Team 48 played a good, tough defensive game against us, while their partner Team 808 went and hung. We were trying to get a yellow ball, and Team 48 pushed us and then literally drove up the side of our robot. Finally (miraculously) we got the yellow ball, but Team 48 was still on our tail. Suddenly, our partner Team 1243 came out of nowhere and pushed Team 48 against the side and then blocked them, allowing us to cap the stationary goal. Team 48 climbed up on the platform and started working on decapping our goal. Luckily for us, our drive team had really stuffed the yellow ball in there. Team 48 went and hung, as did we and the score was then tied. In the last seconds of the game, Team 1243 removed the capping ball from the mobile goal, allowing our human player to drop a ball in just before the buzzer.

That was the first of many great matches.

I have wanted to thank Team 1243 for watching our back since that match ended. So thank you Team 1243!

Truth of the matter is, we owe thanks to a lot of teams. However...I am flying to Canada in 2 hours and need some sleep.

Who knows. I may wind up keeping this thread going until next year's IRI.

Re: IRI Thanks
 

I wanted to say thanks to Doug and the rest of team 980 for being generous enough to make me an honorary member of their team. I meant a lot to me to know that I had a place to go even when my team didn't come to the competition. 980 is definitely one of my all-time favorite FIRST teams, and their outstanding dedication to the spirit of the game astounds me. Even when they don't sleep at night (of course not, that's saved for the dinner table, right Doug? Sorry, couldn't resist..) they still pull off an amazing performance, and as a team.

Congrats to 71, 980, and 269. It was a great alliance. (And special thanks to 71 for all the free pencils ^-^)

To everyone, and I mean everyone that was at all involved with this competition, no matter if you competed, helped set up, worked the scoring, or just showed up for the heck of it. THANK YOU. It was an awesome experience, and I feel very indebted to everyone that was present, in person or even in spirit. I am so glad that I was able to see this competition.
It stands out to me as the true spirit of FIRST.

---Amanda

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Re: IRI Thanks
 

Oh, I'm already ahead of you. I'm talking George into it as we speak, and the prospects are lookin' good. ^-^

Re: IRI Thanks
 

I think that was meant for me. You're welcome, though much of the thanks needs to be directed to your regular programmer, who didn't make it hard to follow his trail.

IRI was unlike any of the regular season competitions I attended. Even though I wound up hoarse just from listening to the cheers and shouts, I like the fact that noisemakers weren't prohibited--they were mandatory!