Longest post I've ever written for CD.
As a first time Volunteer Coordinator I want to start out by thanking all of our wonderful volunteers that we had this weekend. Every time that I saw a volunteer, they were working hard with smiles on their faces. This was an amazing event, but it was only that way because of the effort from our volunteers.
I want to especially shout out to a few volunteers who almost never get publicly recognized:
Cheryl and the other wonderful people managing our four safety glasses station:
I worked that job at Waterford for a bit, and I know how boring it can be to sit there all day, but every time I saw you and asked “How’s it going?” you smiled and said, “Great!” You did an efficient and great job making sure our tables were manned all the time, and I want you to know how extremely grateful I am that you donated your time this weekend to help us out there. In my opinion, that is the most under-appreciated but important volunteer roles in FIRST. On Saturday we had hundreds of visitors who had never seen a FIRST event before, but you helped them feel welcome in the pit areas, and that is how we can really spread the message of FIRST. Thank you!
My ladies that worked the volunteer table:
This is another job that takes you away from the field and your team all weekend long, but you ladies always had a smile for me when I went up to our room to get something or grab a coffee. I definitely could not have done my job without you helping to check people in and help volunteers find where they needed to be. You were an enormous help to me personally, and I know that the other volunteers were always grateful to see your smiling faces as they came in the room for meals. Dana, you rocked at helping out wherever I needed you this weekend! I appreciate you taking care of things for me on Wednesday! It was nice to know that I didn’t have to worry about anything that day so I didn’t have to miss class.
The gentlemen at the practice field, especially Andrew!
I was so nervous to have five ramps set up there with 64 teams wanting to use them, but I never once had to worry about it! You were amazing! Andrew, I can’t even imagine how exhausted you had to be Thursday. You stayed there all day long and helped queue the endless line of teams and make sure everyone was safely using the ramps. We didn’t have any problems at the practice field. The teams were patient with each other, and our practice field attendants were the best!
Queuers!
Cindy, we always can count on you! Thank you for taking the lead here! Koko Ed and Kevin, it was awesome to have some out-of-staters working with us! I hope that you enjoyed the FiM spirit and will come back again next year! Every time I was around the field, it was wonderful to see your smiling faces. Ed, I love your stories. I’m still laughing about them now!
Our gentle, sweet and hilarious Pit Admin!
A special thank you to the Sweet family. Jane and Russ, you run a flawless pit table, and we are a million times thankful that you could join us this weekend. I didn’t get a chance to give you a hug before you left for the day on Saturday, but next time I see you, you better believe that I’ll have a big one for you! Dan, you too! Between running our replacement parts, giving me crap about anything you could think of
and helping with crowd control, every time I saw you, I knew that we were in capable hands. Thanks, buddy!
And lastly, a few key people:
Pat, our Scorekeeper:
You are a constant steady rock in the midst of the controlled chaos that is a FIRST event. Nothing phases you as you efficiently take care of things behind the scorer's table. We are lucky to have you on board. Alex, you make me laugh every time that I talk with you. Thanks for helping out with Pat and being on call during elims even though we needed your space at the table. Your positive attitude is inspiring and contagious. Thanks, kid.
Tricia and Alex: thanks for taking care of our judges! They seemed so happy every time that I saw them! You two are awesome. Tricia, thank you for the kind words and vote of confidence on Friday. I know Pam has always appreciated your help over the years, and now I fully understand why: you are amazing.
Jason, our Field Supervisor:
Oh Jay, I don’t even know where to start.
Probably should just go with this: ~~~
Thank you for the constant laughs all weekend and for being our “Jack of all Trades!” Our field crew was great, and it was because of your leadership that we were able to keep things moving along smoothly. The friendship that we’ve created over the past year is awesome, and I always look forward to seeing you at FIRST events. Thanks for the constant jokes over the headset! People probably think that I’m crazy, because I’d be in a room talking with volunteers and would just bust out laughing at something that you said through the mic/headset.
Refs and Inspectors:
As always, we have the classiest crew up here! Thank you for taking care of our teams. Your job is not easy, because it revolves around telling people when they’ve done something wrong.
Zebras: you guys looked great this weekend. I hope that you had fun, and I’m glad that we had every single one of your on board! Alan, thanks for taking the lead here!
Inspectors: one of my favorite moments of the weekend was looking over and seeing a bunch of you sitting on that camera-stand with the sign that said, “Robot Inspector Storage Area.” A few of you took care of other jobs for me over the weekend when you weren’t inspecting: thank you SO much for this! I know that Marjie missed inspecting, but was happy to leave her job in capable Cheri’s hands! Ike, you did an awesome job as lead inspector. Thank you for all of your help with the production crew as well. I hope you realize how respected and appreciated you are in the FiM and FIRST community.
Rob and Eric: It is always a pleasure working with you. You looked sharp in your new FTA shirts! Eric, your endless energy and positivity is contagious. Rob, you are always cool under pressure. These are two guys that I know I can rely on no matter what. As FTAs, they truly live the FIRST Spirit. They care about every single team and robot that is at their events and on their field, and their main goal is to make sure that all of the teams, students, and volunteers have a positive experience.
Tom, Bob and Teams 830 - the Rat Pack and 469 - the Las Guerillas:
What an exhausting weekend, and yet you stayed until 10:30 to help with fields takedown, clean up and other last second jobs to finish off the weekend. We are unbelievably lucky to have such a dedicated crew that takes care of our fields, once again always with a smile on your faces.
Lastly, but not at all least: Marjie Jenkins, our event coordinator.
You did an absolutely amazing job. The event was brilliant! You handled everything flawlessly. Thank you for all of your hard work planning this. I’m having a hard time coming up with words to tell you how impressed I am with how you took care of *everything* this weekend. Thank you for the opportunity to be your Volunteer Coordinator. It was, hands down, the best FIRST experience that I’ve had. You are a wonderful person, and I’m honored to have worked with you this weekend.
What.An.Epic.Weekend.
Thank you!