Originally Posted by Rich Kressly

This is the year that we all realize the mission of FIRST with far greater success than ever before. How? Instead of making huge plans as an individual, we ALL make an individual promise to carry out these important, attainable goals.

- Relish you role, accept it as imperfect as it may be, and enjoy it. It matters not if you are a mentor, student, alum, or a support-person. You may never get a chance at it again.
***I've had my moments of utter frustration, but I can honestly say I've had a blast with 1712 and as an SM this past year. Although it's hectic, I get to hang out with REALLY cool people.

- Choose one person on your team, the one no one else is paying attention to, and inspire.
***I feel I started down this path with a few folks (a few really cool stories), but I also feel like I fell short with a few others.

- Choose another person on your team, the one who has really stepped up and hasn’t been noticed yet, and recognize.
***Oh yeah, the "black shirt" (ask me if you're really curious) is just one example.

- Choose a third person in FIRST, from somewhere other than your own team, and do one of the above.
***Yep, as an SM I got to recognize over 200 mentors at the Philly Regional with a certificate.

- Only think of Gracious Professionalism as a standard to work toward personally.
- Never use it as a gauge to point out someone else’s shortcomings.
***I think I did a good job of not gauging others "out loud", but I must confess I still do get caught up in this thinking. I need to be more personally aware of this ideal I've set forth, especially in my life outside of FIRST.

- Compete harder than you did last year.
***I think I may have personally fallen short here, but I can say that some on 1712 worked harder than they ever have.

- Share more than you did last year.
***As far as the robot goes, no. As rookies we had very little of value to share/offer. As far as "other" parts of FIRST go, I was able to share some of my thoughts/ideas with other teams in ways I never have before.

- Get to know a different part of FIRST this year, one you know very little about.
***I was VERY fortunate to be a part of FVC game design. This was very cool and I learned a lot.

- Do/Learn one thing this year that betters your future.
***My work with 1712 and school personnel directly led me to seek teacher's certiciation in Technology Education. In April I took the test and In May I learned I passed. As of late June I will now be certified to teach both English and Tech Ed (Robotics, CAD, etc).

- Do/Teach one thing this year that betters the future of your team.
***We got "underway" this year with 1712. A robotics course will be in the curriculum, our gifted 6th graders will be using the NXT system and an FLL model next year, and other steps are in progress.

- Do one thing this year that leaves FIRST in better shape than you found it in.
***I think so. Aligning FIRST activities with Education Standards in two states seems to be leading to better health of FIRST in PA and Delaware. However, we have lost an FRC team or two and there are still major obstacles to overcome in my region.

- Have the courage to carry the FIRST message into the rest of your life.
- Be willing to say, “I participate in FIRST because I want to change the culture for the better” even though you know many will not understand and may even laugh at you.
***I'll admit, this is hard for me. Many of my friends outside of FIRST think the robot thing is interesting, but explaining it to them still results in puzzled looks. I often feel like I'm monopolizing the conversation, so, at that point, I back off. I do need to find a way to "not monopolize" and get to the "core message" faster.

-It’s impossible to know who’s life you will change forever. Don’t miss an opportunity. I’m an optimist. Have a great season. This is the year.
***I'm still an optimist, I had a great season. I still have a lot more to do and to improve upon. How about you?

Namaste…