New Flag Donated to FRC Team 225

[Jeremy Hudek]

Hello, ChiefDelphi World! This is my first post ever on this site, so bear with me.

I don't know if this post will be taken down because of the guidelines, and I don't even know if I am in the wrong forum, but I will give this post a shot. I don't know if this post will make it through by the moderators, but I think it will get posted.

When I was at the Indiana Robotics Invitational a couple weeks ago, I want to give an FRC team a surprise while I was there. I gave the team a nice-looking brand new flag.

The FRC team was Team 225, TechFire. They are based out of York, Pennsylvania. And if you ever checked them out, trust me, they are a powerhouse!

Over the past three years they have been awesome. They have won numerous competitions, including the MAR Springside-Chestnut Hill Event three times, they have won the Greater DC Regional, and they are the MAR Championships for this year. They have also won many awards including Excellence in Engineering awards, and a couple Dean's List finalists. Talk about hard work!

They also do a lot of outreach events and volunteer many hours at community events over the summer, spreading the word of FIRST. Heck, I wish my robotics team was like this more often!

They also have a lot of mentors who are very passionate about FIRST and the impact on the youth due to this amazing program. They also know a lot about the yearly games and they have amazing strategies to share.

But what touches me the most is their story and their mission. York, Pennsylvania was a booming manufacturing town. But due to outsourcing, jobs were lost and there was literally no hope for this town. I can relate to this story. I live in a city called Joliet, Illinois, which is near Chicago, and it was also a booming manufacturing town as well. There was a huge steel mill that provided my city jobs, but also due to outsourcing, it was shut down due to global competiveness. I believe that with this FIRST robotics program, many jobs such as engineering, programming, and mechatronics would be created and provide hope for the future. I believe York is a key city for these professions.

But enough of their story, let's get to the point. The reason I donated Techfire225 a brand new team flag is because I was so proud of their accomplishments and their mission. I would have given them a large sum of money, but I wanted to do something different by improving their branding and image.

In the past, they used a flag that I believed it wasn't going to help them in the future. As the team gets new students, mentors, and sponsors, I believe that this professionally-made flag will show how great and professional they REALLY are.

TechFire was not the first FRC team that I gave them a brand new flag. I gave my local robotics team, team 4241, Joliet Cyborgs, a brand new flag for their team. Like 225's old flag, I didn't think it was the best interest of the team, so two days before my high school graduation ceremony, I surprised the media mentor of the team with a nice, printed, professionally made flag. I was recognized at my school's Board of Education meeting and the Cyborgs' community exhibition, where they showed the public their robot. I was even featured on local newspapers.

I'm not posting this thread for fame, but I would just like to share this to anyone that cares. I know this is my first post on ChiefDelphi, but I just want anyone to know how graciously professional I am.

[Mike Marandola]

I was about 5 feet away when you gave 225 the flag and was curious about the backstory. That was really awesome of you and the flag looked great!

[Jeremy Hudek]

Well, thanks for the thanks! It really means a lot to me.

I have been trying to send a thank you e-mail to the team on their website, but unfortunately I have never gotten a response back. It's been about three weeks since I sent them the e-mail. Maybe they are busy with their outreach programs, which I commend them for!

BTW, it was originally going to be a two-sided flag, meaning the Techfire logo would have been on both sides, but due to budget constraints and concerned manufacturing problems, it was made as a plain, single-sided flag, meaning the the logo was reversed in the back, but it still flies pretty good! I used a portion of my birthday money to order this flag.

I also got a picture of myself with some of the team members and the flag! Check it out!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6xbtrc1fks..._2750.JPG?dl=0

I've even met some of the students and mentors while I was at IRI, and I had a blast! This was my first time at IRI, and I really enjoyed myself!

Good luck, 225!

[DonRotolo]

That is awfully nice of you to do that.

I agree, TechFire is a great team, and deserving of kindness.

As for the lack of response: It's a school team, and this is the summer. Wait until September.

[Ben Martin]

Jeremy,
Sorry about the prior lack of response. As Don mentioned, things get crazy during the summer (vacations, etc) -- sorry we missed it.
Thank you for your generous donation of the flag. I know many of our students were happy to receive it and have it be waved at our matches at IRI. We are happy to add it to our many and constantly expanding team spirit resources.
Thanks again for the gift, and I hope you have a fantastic rest of your summer!
-Ben

[Clem1640]

It was a very nice gesture, and TechFire is an outstanding team.

[orangelight]

That's a good looking flag

[Jeremy Hudek]

Here is a side by side comparison for you to look at.

As you can see, the old flag was tearing apart. It was a homemade flag and it was at its last breath. But with this new one it is made with a strong material and it has sewn professionally so the flag can last for many years to come.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3edw8gedhk...rison.jpg?dl=0

Oh, and BTW, in the end it says at the end of my post how graciously professional I am. I didn't mean to offend someone with that phrase, but I have never been on an FRC team before due to obligations. I'm just saying this because I, too, can be graciously professional, because I am a proud supporter of this organization called FIRST, and by giving 225 the flag, it shows it. I once again apologize for that arrogant comment.

[ScandallB225]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Hudek

Here is a side by side comparison for you to look at.

As you can see, the old flag was tearing apart. It was a homemade flag and it was at its last breath. But with this new one it is made with a strong material and it has sewn professionally so the flag can last for many years to come.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3edw8gedhk...rison.jpg?dl=0

Oh, and BTW, in the end it says at the end of my post how graciously professional I am. I didn't mean to offend someone with that phrase, but I have never been on an FRC team before due to obligations. I'm just saying this because I, too, can be graciously professional, because I am a proud supporter of this organization called FIRST, and by giving 225 the flag, it shows it. I once again apologize for that arrogant comment.

Jeremy, thank you again for thinking of us at 225. There is a great similarity between our hard working cities. I believe a part of Dean Kamen's vision is to bring back the industry to America that made the USA great.
Coming from a wrestling background every time I hear Joliet, IL I think of the famous tournaments hosted there. That was some great competition.

Hope to see you again next season. And btw anyone who meets you knows that you are not arrogant. Sometimes we are not able to choose the correct words to express our intended message. It happens. You be the best Jeremy that you can be.

[Jeremy Hudek]

Here is my article about me three years ago about me donating the Cyborgs flag if you are interested. I am very surprised that it's still up there:

http://patch.com/illinois/joliet/jol...n-from-student

Enjoy!

[Bob Steele]

This was a great thing to do!! I hope I see more posts from you and your support of FIRST teams. Branding can really bring a team together and I know that when a parent made us our first flag back 10 years ago it really brought the team together.

It has proudly flown over our team for the last 10 years in Atlanta and St. Louis.

I am sure that Team 225 will proudly fly this flag for many years of inspiration to come!! I hope to see them at St Louis this year!!

Thank you for supporting these young engineers of the future!

[bEdhEd]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Hudek

I know this is my first post on ChiefDelphi, but I just want anyone to know how graciously professional I am.

You didn't need to mention this. I could already tell that you are a gracious professional by your actions.

Now i'm getting inspired. If I had the money, I would design and donate new team flags to all the rookie teams at Sacramento this year as a welcome to our home regional! Someday...someway.

Welcome to CD by the way!

[Jeremy Hudek]

Now i'm getting inspired. If I had the money, I would design and donate new team flags to all the rookie teams at Sacramento this year as a welcome to our home regional! Someday...someway.

Perhaps this website would help:

http://www.americanflagstore.com/cus...ted-flags.html

As you can see on this website, this flag company offers low prices for just making one flag. In the past, you had to order a minimum amount of flags to place a custom order, wasting yourself a lot of money. But nowadays you can order one single flag for a reasonable price.

A typical 3' x 5' flag costs $99 to make, according to this website, which is much cheaper than other websites, so you get a good deal.

Hope this helps!

[Ben Martin]

We flew the flag at our other offseason competitions after IRI this year. Thanks again Jeremy!