How do I help my area move to districts?

[Collin Fultz]

Originally Posted by Ilovepineapples

Collin, I apologize if I caused you any confusion. Each paragraph is an individual account from a different volunteer, if you have additional questions or clarifications feel free to PM me.

Ok, that helps. It certainly seems as though there are potential volunteers who have had negative experiences. I took your original post as more a question about you specifically ("How do I train key volunteers?"), which is why I asked what volunteer experience you had. I apologize for misreading this.

Thinking on the letter, I can absolutely appreciate both sides' viewpoints. I do think it's a little troubling that so many people's response to "This document is a little offensive to me." is "No it isn't." instead of "That was not our intent at all. How do we fix it?"

It almost seems like it's gotten to the point of needing some type of mediation between the two groups (which I'm assuming are the GOFIRST students and the MN Regional Planning Committee). Certainly, you both share the same goal: To continue to grow access to FIRST programs throughout your state, so that every student has the opportunity to participate in this life-changing program. A neutral, independent mediator may be able to help both groups build on their own success and move forward. Honestly, I have friendships with people in both groups, former GOFIRST leaders and the RPC members in MN. They are all some of the best people in FIRST that I know. We even snagged one to lead us here in Indiana.

There are many, many things that precede an area. What could you start doing this year, right now, to help? My first idea would be to start more off-season events. The two years before we made the switch (2013 and 2014), we hosted 4 off-season events each summer in the state. That gave us 6 events a year for a state of around 50 teams. Two of these events were strategically placed in locations to determine feasibility as district host sites. The 2013 off-season state championship was at Perry Meridian HS, which is hosting a district event this year.

These off-seasons are a great opportunity to show that a location can provide a planning committee, fundraise to support an event, pull volunteers, and provide a location suitable. It also gives more people the opportunity to try different volunteer roles in a low-stress environment.

The most important thing, I think, is to come at this from a place of common ground. If you approach the situation negatively, I think you're more likely to get a negative reaction. If you approach it positively, I think you'll get a better response. Disagreement can be both healthy and productive, as long as it's done in a respectful, gracious, and professional manner.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask.

Thank you!

-Collin