FIRST & Fortune's 400 Billionaires

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by Bharat Nain

...How is DeVos connected to FIRST(just wondering)?

I am not saying he IS connected but it would not surprise me because DeVos is part of the Amyway fortune and they are huge over near the Grand Rapids area. AND... ...Grand Rapids, MI is a hotbed of FIRST activity -- If I recall, at one point the nearby town of Holland had more willing sponsors than they had high schools.. But... ...I am just speculating. Anybody from Grand Rapids way know of any FIRST connection to DeVos?

Joe J.

[Joe Johnson]

Speaking of Billionaires that are likely to support FIRST, has anybody tried to get this guy involved?

#64 James H Simons

I have never heard about him until this article came up on reddit.com
PUTTING HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MATH IS

From the article, it is clear that if he knew about FIRST, he's likely to become a supporter. Look at this quote from the final paragraph of the article:

His insouciance reminded me of something his friend Shelly Wenig had said: "Here's a guy with the privilege of doing anything he wants, and he chooses to do the tough one."

Reminds me of Dean.

Now how do we get to this guy????

Joe J.

[Mark McLeod]

Simons is on the radar of the local Regional Committee. Several business leaders are assigned to getting him on-board in some capacity with FIRST.

We can only hope.

[Joe Johnson]

Originally Posted by Mark McLeod

Simons is on the radar of the local Regional Committee. Several business leaders are assigned to getting him on-board in some capacity with FIRST.

We can only hope.

Sounds great. Is anybody from the Western Michigan regional working on DeVos?

I would think that each regional commitee should take a look at this Map and see if they can get their local billionaire to the regional one way or another.

Joe J.

[Luckyfish05]

Originally Posted by Joe Johnson

Sounds great. Is anybody from the Western Michigan regional working on DeVos?

Joe J.

I can't be postive that this is the case, and my roomate who was up there with me isn't postive either, but I'm like 85-90% percent postive that Devos was at the Western Michigan Regional at Grand Valley State University and spoke Saturday morning. I don't know though if he's helping to support any of the local teams or not though.

Andrea

[Bharat Nain]

Originally Posted by Joe Johnson

Sounds great. Is anybody from the Western Michigan regional working on DeVos?

I would think that each regional commitee should take a look at this Map and see if they can get their local billionaire to the regional one way or another.

Joe J.

If billionaires like DeVos offer some help in the infrastructure and the overall system of FIRST, we would benefit more than any amount of money they can offer. I read somewhere that Microsoft has created the highest amount of millionaires around the world and Alticore has created the second most. With the growth FIRST is experiencing right now, it is vital for us to seek more help from successful figures.

[Mark Pierce]

Mr. DeVos did come to the West Michigan regional last year. He seemed to enjoy the event and spoke briefly to the crowd. As far as I know that was his first involvement in FIRST. Of course, at the moment he's concentrating more on running for Governor than his roles as businessman and philanthropist.