Before I comment on the merits of the change, I would first like to applaud
a) the demonstrated thought process of pros and cons;
b) the clear communication of changes;
c) the awesomeness that is Frank Merrick.
Ok.
I think this change is good. We make improvements with the robot from our first regional to our second, why not the Chairman's presentation? I am curious how other "one regional only" awards will be handled in light of this change. (I'm looking at you, Dean's List and Woodie Flowers awards)
To pick up on something mentioned earlier, one thing that has always seemed odd to me is that even though Chairman's is the most prestigious award, it comes with a nice blue banner and a bid to the Championship while Engineering Inspiration lacks a blue banner, but comes with a $5000 prize to pay for the automatic bid to the Championship. The market value of a blue banner is $200 (plus shipping). It seems like an odd juxtaposition of prestige and funding.