How did you thank your mentors and sponsors? 2006 Edition

[IraJason]

Hey everybody, I saw that there was a thread on this subject, and decided to post in it. Little did I know that it was for 2005... Since that was the 2005 edition, I figured starting up the 2006 edition for this season was a good idea.


So let's go everybody! Thank whoever made a difference for your team this season!


But anyway, I got one big thank you here that everybody on my team will agree with:

RICH KRESSLY! : Since he moved to Lower Merion last year, we have started up our team (Dawgma), created a class based on VEX, and gotten quite a bit of public awareness for FIRST in our school district. Without his hard work for the last year and a half, we would not have a team, and our team would not have had the huge amount of fun that we did this year. He has poured his entire life into our team to put a fully functioning robot into that crate this year, and we are extremely grateful for everything that he does.

Jennifer Sciandra and Katie Cooper: Our two other teacher mentors, who handle scouting and programming respectively. Thanks again for all that you guys do!

Mr. P: Our big friendly tech club giant. He lets us use his room everyday after school to build the robot. He also had to sacrifice the bathroom that used to be connected to his room so we could have a work area. Sorry about that...

Mr. Piperato, Mr. Barbato, and Dr. Savedoff: Our school Principal, the Head of Technology of our school district, and our school district Superintendent respectively. They all have been very supportive of the team, coming down on a few occasions to see the progress of the robot and praising us on what we've done. They also meet with Mr. Kressly to make sure we get the funding we want and are able to start FIRST related programs in the district. We all are thankful for their support.

We're lucky to have so many people be in support of our team, but hopefully the list will grow as time goes on.

[ChuNalt787]

Our sponsor Mr. Arnett has been more dedicated to our club than any teacher has ever been to any club at our school. He formed the robotics class which competed in Coco Best and FIRST. Both rookie teams. With no shop in our school allowing us to do what we wanted to do he opened his home to us every week day and weekend. He let us use all his tools and his entire family was very supportive of us. It is obvious that he lost alot of sleep by doing this.

In building the robot we actualy broke his chop saw. It was just due to being used alot however we felt that Arnett deserved a nice new saw so everyone on the team pitched in some money and we were able to buy him a brand new 200 dollar ridgid saw. Its so nice and smooth and has all the new bells and whistles that his old saw didnt have. What was better was that we were able to give this to him on his birthday. He definately deserved it and in my opinion should get the volunteer of the year award for the Houston regional since he was our only sponsor and was there every single meeting.

[Rick TYler]

Honoring mentors. Heh. My regards to you students who remember to do this.

[James1902]

All 1902's mentors have been absolutly amazing this year. They have put up with so much crud that came up this season. They have taught me and the other students on the team so much. One of our mentors Dan Richardson, a college student, agreed to let us use his garage "temporarily" untill we could find a build space. Then six weeks later we shiped the robot from his garage. Another mentor Mike Walker who was our lead programer would not stop helping and working and teaching. Yet another mentor Robbie Wallace donated alot of his tools and wisdom. George Wallace came over stright from work to help as much as he could. All these mentors did all this while doing school work from UCF!!! Our only profesional mentor Doug Leapord also donated a boatload of his time to help us with our programing and electronics.
I would like to thank them profusley an say that without them our team would not be around.

[Nuttyman54]

Sarah Good: Without her, the team wouldn't be able to exist. Period. She stepped in as our Staff Advisor this year due to our old one having moved and not being able to put in the time. She signed up only to allow the club to continue its existence, but inevitably ended up attending almost every meeting and staying late to supervise. THANKS!

Teri Faught: Also a staff member who filled in when Mrs. Good couldn't. She let us use her room as a meeting area, which made life much easier. THANKS!

Bruce Moxon: Our main mentor. He's responsible for much of our Coporate contacts, and is very VERY good at keeping things simple and keeping people on task (which is probably why he's a manager at his company....) THANKS!

Jerry Morrison: Not originally a mentor, but sort of got "Sucked in" (being my dad might've had something to do with that) Advised us on how to keep priorities straight. Without him, we may not have shipped a working robot. THANKS!

Michael Schuh: Superivised, helped with prioritizing, just an all around great guy to have. Also let us use his garage for an all-night programming session. THANKS!

Gano Chatterji: Helped us optimize our launcher design by using MATLAB and basing data on the prototype. THANKS!

Trish Moxon: Not specifically a mentor, but she helped us with grant application, finances and reviewed our Chairman's submission. Very level-headed and enthusiastic. THANKS!

Wyn Schuh: Also a "non-mentor" Responsible for the awsome bumpers! Also helped superivse and cooked meals. Unbelievably dedicated. THANKS!

Sheri Morrison: Always there to help out in a pinch. If it needed doing, she'll find someone to do it, or do it herself. Superivised the all-nighter to get the robot running before ship. THANKS!

And lastly a shout out to:
Mr. Miyano - for letting us use his room for meetings.
Mr. Leonard - for letting us use his personal mill and lathe to build the transmissions.
Mr. Dumlao - for getting the machined parts done quickly and accurately, and for being so enthusiastic!
The Parents - for supporting their students' efforts and making this a great season thus far!
The Science Teachers - for putting up with our presence in the science wing, including, but not limited to, playing Pink Floyd and The Beatles after school.