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Posted by Greg Mills.

Engineer on team #16, Baxter Bomb Squad, from Mountain Home and Baxter Healthcare.

Posted on 8/3/2000 8:03 AM MST


In Reply to: Is the Chairman's Award fixed? I believe so..... posted by Vinny Bushemi on 8/2/2000 2:47 PM MST:



:
I am sorry that you have been disappointed alot by the decisions of the panel of Judges that FIRST assembles each year. I'm not sure where you got your information but each student on the Baxter Bomb Squad raised over $1,000 last year. That is possible because of the community support that we receive and that support is there because of the outreach programs that the team is involved in. I am very disappointed by the thoughts that our students have a free ride, it seems that the Judges that got to see all the submissions were perhaps a little better educated. We have had finance problems every year and at this very moment are at a crossroads about how to fund next year. A big part of my job has been behind the scenes dragging some money from different sources. Besides even if we have all the money in the world, what difference does it makes if we used it to further FIRST?

This does raise an important issue. Winning the Award was a great thrill and it felt very good that all of our hard work didn't go unnoticed, however, it was tempered somewhat by the knowledge that some of my good friends on other teams that were also deserving were not rewarded. How could the HOT team (#67) not have been a finalist? I believe that one winner is not good for the FIRST community and that the top five % or so should be named a winner. In Industry there are numerous awards (Malcom Baldridge Quality Award, etc) that go to companies that are deserving regardless of the number of winners. I am very excited that our team has been a finalist for five straight years but many people have the idea that we were losers those years and finally 'won'. The 2000 team was very deserving but the 1999 team was just as deserving and helped lay the groundwork that makes us the team that we are. I become very upset when someone says that our '96, '97, '98, & '99 teams were 'bridesmaids' just because another team out of the top five was named winner. I seriously believe that the current award needs to be changed. The negative side of alot of good teams being 'losers' does more harm and discourages what the award was intended to foster.

Vinny, while I disagree with you thoughts, thanks for bringing up the subject. I hope it has allowed the responses of two Bomb Squad students (Vannessa & Becky) to be heard.

Greg Mills
Proud to be a member of the Baxter Bomb Squad