Chairman's Award Concerns

[KelliV]

It is not the FIRST public's job to judge the validity of a team's statements. That is in the hands of the judges, many of whom have been judging Regional and Championship Chairman's Awards for years now, I'd like to think they are pretty good at what they do.

What I advocate instead is to talk to the teams who have submitted a Chairman's Award, wether you are entering or not. While simply watching presentations are all well and good, please keep in mind that a 5 minute presentation cannot come close to explaining an entire team's history. Going to a team's pit and talking to students and mentors who helped plan and execute their events will provide you with much more information.

This year while in St. Louis or at your respective regionals take the time to talk to students and learn how they ran their events, started other teams, and gave back to their community. Learn from each other, isn't that what FIRST is all about? Inspiring others to spread the word and give back to the communities that have already given so much to the teams. Rather than wasting time fact checking every little comment to disqualify someone's claim why not do something more in your community? Strive to inspire more! If you're upset a team claimed they helped the same rookie you did, create another rookie team next year, host an offseason event! Tell people about FIRST at Pancake Breakfast's! Alert the presses! Take Photos! Get your team out there in public, once you see everyone you help along the way their thanks will be more important to you than winning a trophy, and sooner or later the judges will take notice. Winning the Chairman's Award should not be all about the trophy, it's about the journey to get there and celebrating your team's accomplishments.