disaster in israel regional

[Bob Steele]

My heart goes out to Michelle Graf.....
She was our emcee in Oregon.... she is a terrific person and a joy to be around.
I can't even imagine trying to keep this Regional moving and fun but I would be willing to say that I bet she gave her best the entire time...

I also bet that she will be one of the first to step up and volunteer to do it again.

Thank you Michelle...

As a longtime member of FIRST I am saddened by all of this...but we all need to remember that it is easy to sit back and criticize...

Walk a weekend in their shoes...(or a lifetime...) and see what you would do...

I hope to see the teams from Israel at Atlanta...and I sincerely hope that none of them are disheartened by all of this.... remember its not about the robot...(easy for me to say...)

I really want to congratulate the teams from Israel.... sticking with this... through the pain and stress and disappointment....I don't know if I could have done it... You guys rock!! Please remember that it really doesn't matter who wins...you all won... you all should get trophies... You are all our brothers and sisters....

Again... thank you Michelle and thank you everyone from FIRST that worked so hard to try and fix this under unbelievable stress conditions.

Washington Teams and FIRST loves you Michelle!!!