[Lil' Lavery]

FIRST shouldn't be about spreading FIRST. The ultimate goal of FIRST is to change the culture to one that appreciates science and technology and where careers in those fields are honored. Regardless of whether or not it's directly a FIRST program or not, teams should be applauded for their efforts to change the culture.
Part of the reason 842 won the Championship Chairman's this year, and the Championship Engineering Inspiration in 2005, was their involvement with other robotics programs (namely NURC).
I wouldn't worry about FIRST judges discriminating against the VEX (or other) competitions. Both teams I'm associated with have been involved with FTC for years, and both will be involved with IFI's Vex competition next year.