[robotstoo]

I'd like to post a suggestion on behalf of the regional staff in Richmond that Gabe contacted. While I have seen a lot of passion on the part of the student team members, there is a very vital piece missing from the effort: the adults who work with your team. While it is important to demonstrate in person what kind of change that FIRST has made in your lives, I cannot stress enough how very crucial it is to get the adults involved - The teachers, engineers, alumni, and most importantly, your parents.

With six years' history, you have to have some pretty impressive statistics and stories to tell. Take the next few days and get them together. Your team alumni should be getting home from college starting this weekend. Contact them directly and enlist their help. While it is great to have testimonials from other FIRST teams to help support your case, without clear, visible support from the adults on your own team, your effort may not succeed.

Best of luck to you all. Go out there and fight the good fight.