Question of the Week!!! (7/19/04)

[Rich Kressly]

Wow. Only one huh? Not to slight any of the dozens I could list here - mentors and students from 103, mentors/volunteers from around the country, ...
I'm going to say Meredith Rice from 433. 433 is a team that 103 has worked closely with in the past. Since my old HS Physics teacher (Bob Foell) runs the team I have always made an effort to stay in contact with them. They've got a super bunch of mentors and students and they're fun to be around. As a senior this past year Meredith (along with some other great senior leaders) took it upon herself to champion the cause for outreach among team members and out into the community and she also put together 433's first ever Chairman's Award submission. This led to a Judge's Award at the SC Regional, but it doesn't stop there. I also saw, thanks again to Meredith and others, that 433 had great young recruits who were, at the end of 2004, groomed and ready to continue the community outreach and Chairman's process for the team. I will always remember 2004 as the year 433 became a "complete" FIRST team in every sense of the word and how the spirit and determination of a single individual elevated the experience for the entire group. Thank you Meredith and good luck at the University of Delaware.

[Billfred]

I'm going to second Meredith, with honorable mention to the rest of the Firebirds at Palmetto. Between the fiveish of them, I think it really sank in that nobody in FIRST will bite...much. It helped me at least (and probably the rest of the team, too) sort out how everything worked, from meeting other folks to begging Fisher-Price motors off of other teams (namely us).

And even afterward, thanks to the wonders of AIM, she's been pretty helpful in listening to ideas and giving me some ideas for next year (even if she doesn't know it yet).

Long story short, she's just sple--wait, can't say that word (in-joke)--cool.