Travis,
I think you bring a point that is often forgotten :
Bringing awareness of FIRST is a T.E.A.M efforts, it needs "Enterprise Coordination" where PR, Communications (Internal), executive sponsors and others are all aligned.
I think is always very cool when a senior executive at my company speaks at a regional and we get to see it on the company internal news.....it usually spark the interest of others....
Sometime it takes many "impressions" before someone get sold on FIRST Robotics, and the next step helping then figure out how to get involved and coordinate it within the organization.
Cheers,
Marcos.