[Dan 1038]

Dane,

I have to say that I really enjoyed working with you guys over the season; from the early Innovators planning session with your team mentors held last spring at a Frickers off I-75, to the robot demo we did in Vandalia last fall to help drum up support for your team, capped off with our Mock Kick Off in December which you guys attended along with four other young teams. Prior to Pittsburgh, I was impressed with the organization and initiative you guys had... That being said, what I observed from your team in Pittsburgh blew my mind! Not only do you "Get it" in a FIRST sense, you were able to build an amazing machine and compete with some of the best teams in FIRST. And, the more important part, is you both understand and exemplify the values of FIRST. Coopetition, check! Gracious Professionalism, check! Team spirit, check!

As anyone in project management will tell you, the concept is the easy part of a project - executing the concept to make it real is the trick. Your team was able to grasp and execute the concepts of FRC; build a team, teach the values, create a business model, get funding, design/build/program a competitive machine, and keep the exuberance flying through the entire process! That, my freind, is exactly what Dean was shooting for when he created FIRST. In my short FIRST career, the only other rookie teams I have seen tackle the challenges of building a competitive team on par with yours have all been direct offshoots of veteran teams with veteran mentors actively involved. You guys proved that is not a requirement, how cool is that?!?

One of your mentors said something to me during the finals while he was helping fix the wheels on your 'bot, he said "They didn't have anything like this listed in the brochure!"... As the sweat was dripping down his brow, I saw the hint of a smile poking behind his mask of determination... He gets it!

I look forward to seeing you guys perform again next week at Buckeye, hopefully we will be as competitive as you guys were last weekend. Enjoy this year, you deserve it!