Quote:
Originally Posted by RoboMom
I am in awe of the quality and the numbers of volunteers who take time off from work and school, pay their own way (or convince their companies to fund them), travel thousands of miles through rain/snow/thunderstorms/high winds on buses, cars, planes and trains to work hard in return for a t-shirt, a pin, some meals and a lot of thanks.
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I don't know about the other volunteers, but I certainly got more out of Atlanta this year than a t-shirt, pin, and a few free meals. I said it in another thread, but this year was one of my best experiences with FIRST. I've met so many amazing people this year, people who I'll be friends with for a long time. I really enjoy just being there and watching amazing robots surrounded by people who really care about the robots, the matches, and the program as a whole. Though I payed for the trip out of pocket, and standing on the floor of the GA dome for 3 days straight definitely was tiring, and I had a whole bunch of school work as soon as I came back, I wouldn't trade it for anything else.
Additionally, I was thoroughly impressed by the amount of thank yous I got. During the Galileo award ceremony, the referees were out on the field giving out medals. There were so many people who, while they were recieving their awards, took time to thank the referees for their time and effort as volunteers. Even walking through the pits meeting the teams I recieved a lot of thank yous.