How do I help my area move to districts?

[Drakxii]

Originally Posted by Tanis

I'm going to go ahead and answer the original question: How do I help my area move to districts?

First, a few disclaimers: I am from Minnesota. I am not on the RPC, though I was on it for a year and know all of the members. I am a key volunteer, and I graduated college relatively recently (that is, I'm not an old man shooing rascally kids off my lawn).

Here are some real issues that need to be solved to move a region to districts:

• Where are these events happening? I don't mean give me the names of the small handful of school who currently host offseason events. For Minnesota, we need at least two locations every week plus one for the district championships.
• Someone needs to contact those locations. You need to be willing to drive to those locations and speak with representatives from the venue regarding contracts, timing, and logistics. Keep in mind that Minnesota is a large state and the proposed district spans the entire state.
• At this point, probably go back to step one because a few of your original venues were taken off the list because they are unavailable when you need them.
• Find funding for these events. Someone will need to go and speak to potential donors. Believe me, this will take a lot of potential donors. These donors also need to respect you and the organization (FIRST) that you represent.
• Find volunteers. Let's assume for a second that Minnesota has enough volunteers total such that each volunteer works two events (because that horse has been overbeaten more times than I care to count). Now you need to coordinate getting the right volunteers for 13 events (up from 4). They need to be relatively local to the area and/or willing to travel for the event. Your VC for each event should probably know these volunteers by name and a good VC will also have the same qualities as a good manager- they know where you want to be in 5 years and are working with you to get there. A VC isn't a once-a-year or maybe-I'll-try-this-out position.
• Coordinate the A/V aspect of the events. Who is webcasting each event? Who is running the sound board and projector? Do you have the equipment to do that? If not, go back to the fundraising step and then go through the process of acquiring equipment
• Find a place that can store your field(s). For Minnesota, this is a number greater than or equal to 2.
• Find people to maintain your field. It needs to be cleaned at least yearly, and things like road crates frequently need repair.
• Go back to fundraising because you also need to purchase fields.
• Figure out how to transport the field(s) to the events. The location Minnesota's field currently lives at between events doesn't allow anyone in under 18 and is only open during the workday M-F. The 2016 field also requires either two regular moving trucks or one semi, either requiring two drivers or someone with a Class A license (x13)

Those are the tasks I came up with in a few minutes of thinking, and I know there are a million more. Don't forget that the people we are currently asking to do these things are also currently responsible for 208 Minnesota teams and 4 regional events that need to continue running during the transition.

As much as I hate to say it, I don't think most college students would be good fits for many of these tasks. It's not because I think college students are immature or lazy, it's because of the time commitment many of these tasks require. College students should be focused first and foremost on college, and it becomes difficult to do that if you are trying to coordinate fundraising for 13 district events with executives from dozens to hundreds of companies. There is a reason that many have suggested that a 501(c)(3) is necessary: managing districts can easily be a full time job for a group of people.

That being said, these tasks can and should be divided amongst people. Regardless of who you are and where you come from, if one of these tasks sounds like something you would be good and and are interested in doing, talk to your RPC about how you can help out in that area.

Saying to your RPC "I want us to switch to districts" isn't likely to get you anywhere. Saying "I want us to switch to districts, I think I would be good at doing X, and here are a few ideas I already have on X" is much more likely to lead somewhere.

So, where could a potential volunteer find out how far Minnesota First has gotten with these issues and where they need help?

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by Drakxii

So, where could a potential volunteer find out how far Minnesota First has gotten with these issues and where they need help?

http://www.firstinspires.org/find-local-support

[Zebra_Fact_Man]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

http://www.firstinspires.org/find-local-support

Funny little quirk: why is there a Michigan, Michigan-Eastern, and Michigan-Western? All three list Gail Alpert, Regional Super-Director.

[gblake]

Originally Posted by Tanis

I'm going to go ahead and answer the original question: How do I help my area move to districts?
...

+1000

This was a good introduction that hit the highlights.

Obviously, everything you quickly summarized in your message also contains a zillion additional layers/details. And the devils are definitely in the details, not in CD threads.

Knowing how much work there is to do outside of the brief weekends of the events surely puts some disagreements into perspective, and shines a light on just how many, many opportunities there are to work together, establish trust, and OBTW, prepare for the blips in the calendar that are the actual events.

Blake

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by ehochstein

Al,

That was not directed at your post but the strictness of the policy. The person I quoted from twitter has been involved in MN FIRST FRC volunteering for many years. If they are that afraid of making any sort of post or comment, what does that say about our community?

Evan,
If possible, can you ask this person to PM me, I am trying to understand and want to help alleviate the stress if I can?
Al

[Knufire]

Originally Posted by Drakxii

So, where could a potential volunteer find out how far Minnesota First has gotten with these issues and where they need help?

http://www.mnfirst.org/contact


http://www.firstinspires.org/find-local-support

Mark, I believe, is also the 2015 Woodie Flowers Award recipient.

[ehochstein]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Evan,
If possible, can you ask this person to PM me, I am trying to understand and want to help alleviate the stress if I can?
Al

I'm certain they are monitoring this thread, however I'll share this message with them as well.

[E3 Robotics Ctr]

Originally Posted by Dibit1010

Sometimes districts are annoying. It's one more step to get to St. Louis

I thought the same thing, that was until Indiana jumped on board with Districts. And I have to say I enjoy them much more.
1. It helps those teams with lower funds attend more than one tournament.
2. It allows the Progression of Districts, District Champs, then Worlds.

I liked that it that it could cut down on the huge influx of teams attending Worlds. (I think it was 25%+ FRC teams attend world, with 600 teams spots and 200 of those got in because of a wait list..... I mean really? You are not filling all of the FRC spots and still you expand FRC but not JrFLL, FLL, or FTC numbers at all?)

Sorry back on track now.

Originally Posted by Karthik

In Ontario the large majority of key volunteers (FTA, LRI, Head Ref) are either a college students or have recently entered the workforce. These folks are some of the best volunteers I have ever encountered in all of FRC. I was just at the UMass-Dartmouth district event where I was blown away by the energy and skill displayed by the young volunteers working the event. In addition, I'm responsible for recruiting our key volunteers for VEX Worlds. 39 of our 73 key volunteers (MC/Announcers, Field Techs, Head Refs) are FRC alums in university or have recently entered the workforce. FRC alumni are a passionate and dedicated group who can most easily relate to the pressures that students go through in this program; I have a hard time seeing why anyone wouldn't want to channel the energy and talent these young people bring and use it to sustain and grow their local events.

Originally Posted by paunatime

This is 100% ridiculous.. Alumni in college are some of the most hardworking and understanding of the FIRST program.
"Rare " are not college students that hold roles such as:
over 6 FTA's in Michigan
over 20 Robot Inspectors in CA
over 3 regional committee members in Southern California
over 20 senior mentors being college aged
over 20 referees
More things like MC's, Game announcers, ect are also widely filled by college students. These numbers are just specific to the location I mentioned, these positions for college students are present nearly everywhere (except Minnesota). College students do well in this situation since they are the MOST passionate, understand the teams, and know the program. Alumni give back by volunteering since a lot do not have the time or resources to mentor.

I'm 2 years out of high school, I have filled nearly every key volunteer role you can imagine.
So many of my colleagues in FIRST CA that hold key roles are young college students, and that's because our state as a whole realizes that this generation is preparing to take over FIRST and we are utilizing them as volunteers that have experience inside teams.
The problem is that a lot of people play the "older age" card as a "maturity" card. The two are not mutually exclusive.

I love that there are those people like Karthik and Pauline Tasci and countless others that have the passion that creates such great young leadership! At the same time I recognize that not everyone in college age/20's has that type of passion, dedication and maturity it takes to be in a Key Role or a leader within FIRST & it's events. I know several people that are still a Junior or Senior in high school that have the ability to be a Key Role person RIGHT NOW! while at the same time I know people older that do not have what it takes to be in those Key Role spots. I know there is always going to be the people that hold the idea of "you are too young to know/understand/be good for this role" I still see that as a shrinking group of people as the Leadership does become more of a younger generation.

Originally Posted by Tanis

I'm going to go ahead and answer the original question: How do I help my area move to districts?

First, a few disclaimers: I am from Minnesota. I am not on the RPC, though I was on it for a year and know all of the members. I am a key volunteer, and I graduated college relatively recently (that is, I'm not an old man shooing rascally kids off my lawn).

As much as I hate to say it, I don't think most college students would be good fits for many of these tasks. It's not because I think college students are immature or lazy, it's because of the time commitment many of these tasks require. College students should be focused first and foremost on college, and it becomes difficult to do that if you are trying to coordinate fundraising for 13 district events with executives from dozens to hundreds of companies. There is a reason that many have suggested that a 501(c)(3) is necessary: managing districts can easily be a full time job for a group of people.

Originally Posted by Tanis

That being said, these tasks can and should be divided amongst people. Regardless of who you are and where you come from, if one of these tasks sounds like something you would be good and and are interested in doing, talk to your RPC about how you can help out in that area.

Saying to your RPC "I want us to switch to districts" isn't likely to get you anywhere. Saying "I want us to switch to districts, I think I would be good at doing X, and here are a few ideas I already have on X" is much more likely to lead somewhere.

So much this response! Districts takes a LOT of work. It needs to be something that everyone works on together on and asks What can I do to help make this move to Districts happen, along with sitting all at the same table to give input and ideas.

When is comes down to it, remember what FIRST is really about, it is about those students and helping to inspire them, we are just the volunteers at this point helping to create that path for them to get to their goals easier.

[plnyyanks]

Originally Posted by E3 Robotics Ctr

When is comes down to it, remember what FIRST is really about, it is about those students and helping to inspire them, we are just the volunteers at this point helping to create that path for them to get to their goals easier.

QFT.

[Drakxii]

Originally Posted by Lil' Lavery

http://www.firstinspires.org/find-local-support

Originally Posted by Knufire

Attachment 20435
http://www.mnfirst.org/contact

Attachment 20436
http://www.firstinspires.org/find-local-support

Mark, I believe, is also the 2015 Woodie Flowers Award recipient.

So... No quick way to know at a glance where MN FIRST is on the path to districts?

[E3 Robotics Ctr]

Originally Posted by Brandon Holley

Wow, what a thread.

Collin's points about mediation are spot on - this is a serious issue that shouldn't be swept under the rug. It's not about a single document, or event, or volunteer, its a serious cancer inside the FIRST culture of a region. If you haven't been a 20 something up and comer in FIRST, you have to understand that seeing the other perspective is going to be very difficult for you. If you haven't had the responsibility of running an event to ensure 60 teams have an amazing time, you have to understand that seeing the other perspective is going to be very difficult for you.

As a 28 year old, now running a team for almost a decade, event chairing official FRC events, I really empathize with the frustrations I'm hearing from the low-mid aged college students in FRC. I've been disrespected, ignored and singled-out. I've also overreacted, lost my cool and missed the point. I get it. I've been there. My team is filled with college-aged mentors with a sprinkle of upper 20 somethings, I understand the frustrations on both sides of this discussion right now.

As an early 20s FRC mentor and volunteer, FIRST regional committee and volunteerism felt a lot like an Old Boys Club. You needed to know someone, or you weren't going to be involved how you wanted to. It sucked, plain and simple.

Were my expectations probably overly ambitious? Yeah, most certainly. But this is FIRST - you have a massive base of extremely talented young people thats growing every year who are being programmed to change cultures and break through barriers. Can we seriously expect them to just take a back seat until someone deems them 'ready'? (Subsequently I think thats why reading that in a document, even if it was only distributed once is what set off this storm.)

I liken it to a performance review at any employer. If you're a young employee, your growth and career path is a topic that is extremely important. Managers need to ensure their employees have a clear understanding of what it will take to reach the next level. Where employees get disgruntled is when they don't have that visibility and there is infrequent communication about where they stand. This is is what I am hearing when I read the posts from the many college-aged volunteers/mentors in this thread. They basically don't see the path - whether it exists or not isn't the problem to focus on, its that these eager-to-help people don't see it.


Honestly, the best thing to happen to New England on a volunteerism front was Districts. The issue was forced and the floodgates were opened. The barriers were broken. We no longer could rely on Dave Goric to Head Ref every event, or Kate Pilotte/Jacob Komar to FTA every event. These are awesome key volunteers, but we needed to diversify and holes were filled.

The hard part is you have to make a leap at some point. You can inch the cliff closer and closer by training keys for years ahead of time, but at some point in time - the region will need to jump. You may not see exactly where the key volunteers will be coming from, but the point is if there is never a hole to fill, or even visibility through consistent communication, the potential key volunteers will never materialize.

I'm super proud of New England, and its why I'm bragging about it now. We have an awesome mix of veterans who KNOW THEIR SH*T, and a spectacular group of eager 20-somethings - each group is getting a chance to shine- and its awesome to watch.

-Brando

I can relate to this very much. Being in the program now for 16, going on 17 years. And being an assistant FLL coach starting in 8th grade. With still being one of the "young ones" in my 20's and even after running tournament for the past 6 years I still understand getting pushed aside due to age, unless people know my history within the program.

Can it be annoying or frustrating at sometimes, yes. Now I don't let those comments bother me and I just get on with what I am doing. I know that I have a lot to offer my community with my experience in FIRST now it is just making sure I use that in my most positive impact that I can.

I think the biggest thing that has helped me to start to break into the so called Old Boys Club, is to become part of committee and boards within the local FIRST community, this has helped to build connections for my self and others like me that are some of the younger generation.

And let me tell you I am blessed living in Indiana and growing up with Veterans, and knowing and seeing teams since 2000 like 234 Cyber Blue, 45 TechnoKats, 47 Chief Delphi, (Before they were a website), and 71 Team Hammond win on Einstein in 2001 live in person while I was still in FLL. I got to met the Andy Bakers, and Chris Fultz as well as countless other now veterans of the FIRST Robotics world when I was very young. While they may not remember me, they did have an impact on why I continue to do FIRST robotics today.

I will ALWAYS continue to learn from these people that came before me, when in passing, conversations I might have had with them, and even seeing how they handle situations at events when they arise.

So I urge my age group in college and in our 20's. Be more like a sponge, and soak up as much as you can from those veterans in your area that were cornerstones and pillars within the FIRST community. Those that have those core values instilled within everything they do. I know if we do that now, we will be able to create a better FIRST community for all, when we end up becoming the "Old Boys Club" and the generation below us starts to yell at us that "you don't understand us at all"

[Lil' Lavery]

Originally Posted by Drakxii

So... No quick way to know at a glance where MN FIRST is on the path to districts?

Sure there is. Reach out and contact the people involved. It's no more difficult than posting a message on Chief Delphi.

[Jsteel]

Interesting thread. There obviously is a lot more going on with this situation. As a FIRST mentor & volunteer from the West Coast, who has no idea what is going on in Minnesota, I wouldn't have any problems handing out that document to potential volunteers. I might tweak one or two lines if I was being picky, but overall it sure didn't come across to me as the negative approach that many are reading into it.

Like I said, the must be a lot more to the backstory here in order to create this negative trust level.

[cadandcookies]

I've been thinking about how I want to respond to this thread since it popped up yesterday. I have about a million things I want to say, some of which I've been meaning to say since I first saw the document around this time last year, some of which are in response to things people have been saying in this thread. I'm going to try to get through all of them, but first, I feel like it's necessary to highlight a couple of posts which have been somewhat lost or ignored in this thread; specifically from the only other two GOFIRST people who are familiar with exactly how this document was presented to us and our immediate reactions to it:
Those people are Ryan and Prath. I can confirm that they're both who they say they are and that Ryan's version of events is pretty much how things went down from our view. I don't think either of them covered exactly how we responded, which was that we got together and wrote up some feedback from the document (some of it positive, some of it critical). We sent that to the presenter and related parties, and then we moved on. According to Jon, the document was discarded after that, which is unfortunate, because even though it has some issues it still fills a very important role of setting clear expectations (even if it has some issues).

Please re-read their posts before continuing if you plan on continuing to talk about the document, regardless of whether you read the rest of my post.

Now, strap yourself in, because I'm going to try to respond to every post in this thread that I feel a need to (ie, someone else hasn't responded with almost exactly what I would say).

One thing I would also like to highlight is Jon's post:

Originally Posted by Jon Stratis

Would it help move the discussion onto more productive grounds if people knew this doc was killed over a year ago, and only distributed once? Seriously, everything about the doc is litterally

This document is around a year old at this point. People change, opinions change. I don't see it as hugely valuable to dig into this document and level accusations against MN FIRST or the RPC here. Without these people, many of the FIRST alumni here in MN would not be FIRST alumni, including myself.

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

As to maturity, that is also judged by how a volunteer presents themselves outside of FIRST events as well as when volunteering. While social media seems to be a benign entity, it is not and it is public. When a volunteer expecting a better role, complains in public, degrades staff or committee decisions and purports to know "the real reason" behind certain activities, that is never a secret. Volunteer coordinators need to know that they have the best person in each position because we are putting students at risk if we don't.

I completely agree with you on a lot of this-- it's important for trust to exist between the volunteer and the volunteer coordinator, and part of that is definitely how someone handles themselves at and outside of events. That being said, I think there has been a tendency to over-react in the past to things that don't really warrant any sort of reaction at all-- I remember getting a call last year about a tweet I made about being assigned at Champs before I was assigned at regionals. Not "Wow, the RPC is so incompetent for not assigning me," but just a "Huh, that's interesting (about being assigned to champs first)" Honestly through the entire thing I was just sort of shell shocked, because it felt like a huge reaction to something totally innocuous. I don't feel like that's a unique situation here in Minnesota. ilovepineapples highlighted some stories from volunteers here, and unfortunately I can say that I recognize many of those stories.

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

While many posters, presenting themselves as knowledgeable students in Minnesota, are arguing that the Minnesota committee is preventing a move to districts, you are not in position to know what the committee is doing. You have no knowledge of what it takes to move to districts, the restrictions placed on the committee by FIRST, the state and local jurisdictions, the financial needs or the on the demands for volunteers, including local committees. If you think that the committee is doing a bad job, I would point to the explosive growth in Minnesota, now at 208 teams. I would point to four regional events serving well over 50 teams at each event. I would point to the high standards for volunteers, especially judging staff and inspections. I would point to the expectation that more events are needed and the work they are doing to assist Iowa and Wisconsin. I would point specifically to the great LRI and inspection staff I observe at MN events. I would point to the preparation of rookie teams that allow them to have a great first experience. I think that Minnesota is doing a spectacular job for FIRST and I hold them up as an example for others to emulate.
It is rare to find someone who is still in college or recently entering the workforce to be able to handle the stress and demands of any Key Volunteer position. It is actually hard to find that in someone who has been around for years.

Speaking for myself and not GOFIRST or anyone else, my disagreements with the current establishment in Minnesota are not born out of disrespect for the incredible things they've done for our program or from a desire to "climb the ladder" and usurp the existing order. I think think there's a misconception that some of the alumni posting here (probably including me) think that we know it all, that we have THE ONE TRUE SOLUTION, that we don't understand the complexities of of running a team or an event. In part, this is true. I don't know what goes on in RPC meetings, and I don't know everything that goes into districts or regionals. If you feel that I've misrepresented my knowledge of these things, I apologize. The closest I've come to organizing an FRC event is being part of the planning committee for one of 2220's week zero events, which is on a different scale entirely from a double regional, but was certainly enough to impress on me an appreciation for how difficult it is to run an event. I can't speak for everyone, but I'm very aware of what I don't know, and have expressed (publicly and privately) a willingness to learn and grow. Returning to the point I was trying to get at though, I think that the perspective I have is a much more common situation that someone explicitly trying to climb the ladder. I firmly believe that if you treat alumni like the adults we are, and assume that we want to help, we can and will deliver. My belief is vindicated by stories from Michigan, New England, Ontario, and California, among other places.

I don't know if it's me you're referring to with this statement, but if it is I'd really encourage you to actually read what I've been saying-- and know that my disagreements are based on both the knowledge I have now (flawed though it may be) and a deep respect for the teams and everyone involved. If you (or anyone else reading this) feels that I haven't been fair in my posts on districts here in MN, I'd love to hear it in public or in private. A lot of my energy goes into volunteering, mentoring, and running training events, but some small percentage of it still ends up in posts here, so if you think that can be redirected in a more efficient way let me know.

Originally Posted by gblake

I wrote that folks who feel they are in different camps need to flush the past, and start talking to each other (not sniping in forums).

This is a lot of what's been holding me up posting in this thread. I'm tired of talking circles around making changes. I wanted to hold up until I could actually contribute something that would move this topic forward in a constructive way. The amount of MN drama that's been on here recently has been unpleasant for just about everybody involved, but I think it's something necessary to actually healing the situation here in MN. I've seen stories posted that I recognize and from people that I didn't know were running into issues here as well. I think for a lot of people here (who have posted and who haven't) it's a breath of fresh air to realize that they aren't alone in feeling like something is wrong here.

Originally Posted by Ginger Power

I don't believe I'm one of those students who has said that the Minnesota Committee is preventing a move to districts. I know for sure that I'm not one of those students who believes the Minnesota Committee is doing a bad job, to the contrary, I believe they've done a great job as evidenced by some facts you reference.

I would, however, like to be in a position to know what the committee is doing. Their decisions affect my involvement with FIRST, and the involvement of everybody else in Minnesota.

You are mostly correct in stating that I have no knowledge "of what it takes to move to districts, the restrictions placed on the committee by FIRST, the state and local jurisdictions, the financial needs or the on the demands for volunteers, including local committees." I say mostly correct because I do have some knowledge, but not nearly enough. I think everyone in the state would benefit from having a broad knowledge of the situation that MN FIRST is dealing with. There is no reason, that I can see, that would make secrecy a requirement.

If the general population has a broad understanding of the situation, we will be more equipped to help. If we understand what is going wrong, we can become a part of the solutuon. If the general public understands the issues, we can provide accurate, and educated feedback with an understanding for how difficult some issues are.

The fact is, people don't understand how the transition to districts will work, nor the problems associated with such a transition. Once that problem is resolved, we can start making real change happen.

I can not agree more with this post. FRC here in Minnesota is absolutely filled to the brim with passionate people who want to be a part of making this program a success. Some of these people are capable of volunteering in key roles, some aren't. Some might work at companies that don't currently support FIRST in Minnesota, some might know where we can find space to store fields and host events. These aren't tasks that should be undertaken alone by the current RPC-- but in order for the broader MN FRC community to help, we need to know what the issues are-- Bryan Herbst's post was the closest I've ever seen to that.

Originally Posted by Tanis

As much as I hate to say it, I don't think most college students would be good fits for many of these tasks. It's not because I think college students are immature or lazy, it's because of the time commitment many of these tasks require. College students should be focused first and foremost on college, and it becomes difficult to do that if you are trying to coordinate fundraising for 13 district events with executives from dozens to hundreds of companies. There is a reason that many have suggested that a 501(c)(3) is necessary: managing districts can easily be a full time job for a group of people.

That being said, these tasks can and should be divided amongst people. Regardless of who you are and where you come from, if one of these tasks sounds like something you would be good and and are interested in doing, talk to your RPC about how you can help out in that area.

Saying to your RPC "I want us to switch to districts" isn't likely to get you anywhere. Saying "I want us to switch to districts, I think I would be good at doing X, and here are a few ideas I already have on X" is much more likely to lead somewhere.

Bryan, I completely agree-- there are tasks on here that college students are not a good fit for. There are also ones that we are absolutely a perfect fit for-- want help with funding? We have literally trained hundreds of students to track down funding for their teams and present in corporate environments. Volunteers? We've already covered that discussion. Field maintenance? Sounds like a great thing for students to do on weekends we aren't volunteering. Webcasting? I know of several alumni who have some very cool ideas on how to improve and run webcasts.

We're very much agreed that this work needs to be divided, but it needs to actually be communicated first, ideally through semi-official channels. I think Ryan hit the nail on the head when he said that the majority of teams probably don't know much about districts, much less what they can do to help.

Thank you for this post-- it is the clearest communication I've seen on what we need to do to go to districts here in MN.

Originally Posted by Knufire

This is extremely insightful, and gives a great picutre of all that is needed behind the scenes for this to happen. I think if information like this was publically communicated from the RPC to the interested parties, I think a lot of the current animosity would be resolved.

I know GOFIRST runs the Summer Robotics Summit event; a community roundtable about the tranisition to districts and all the issues therein would, in my opinon, also help foster communication between the various groups in the state. I know members of the RPC have hosted roundtables at GOFIRST seminars before. I'd even be willing to personally go up and particpate.

As someone who is part of planning the Summer Robotics Summit, after some of the previous discussion on here and elsewhere, I am 100% on board with this. I'm really hoping we can make it happen and start making progress at the least towards educating teams on districts.

Originally Posted by E3 Robotics Ctr

When is comes down to it, remember what FIRST is really about, it is about those students and helping to inspire them, we are just the volunteers at this point helping to create that path for them to get to their goals easier.

Brian, I've agreed with a lot of what you've said, but I just wanted to highlight this because it's really core to what I and I think a lot of others believe: I am here to help and inspire these students, and that can take many forms, from volunteering to mentoring. Ultimately that's where I think almost all of us are coming from, and it behooves everyone involved to remember that.


As a final remark, I'd like to reiterate what I've said before: for all I disagree with the people who are currently running FIRST in MN, they still have my absolute respect. I find it disappointing that people have been taking some cheap shots (subtle and not so much) at their character. But my respect does not mean constant deference. I like to say that liking someone, respecting someone, and being willing to disagree with them are completely separate things. Disagreement is not inherently disrespectful.

Well, I think I just beat my personal best for post length. I'm sorry if you don't like reading; apparently I just really like writing (that's almost a chairman's essay and a half of content).

[Ginger Power]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to cadandcookies again.