Chairman's Award -- is the bar too high now?

[smurfgirl]

Yes, Miss Daisy set the bar high. However, this shouldn't deter people from submitting for the Chairman's Award, it should inspire them to see what a big difference one team can make. As with most teams, my team started our community outreach programs a few years ago because we saw a need in the community. There was no thought of Chairman's associated with our activities partially because we knew we had no chance compared to some of the amazing teams in our area. Three seasons after we began doing significant outreach work, we finally convinced the team to work on the Chairman's Award because of the value of the process. It's an amazing and inspiring experience to be a part of compiling the stories necessary to submit for the Chairman's essays. Different talents are used, it gets everyone involved in a new way, and it passes on important values and pieces of team history to a new generation of students each year. Once we embraced the Chairman's Award submission for the process, rather than for the sake of winning the award, we benefited so much more from it. This is the beauty of the Chairman's Award- you don't have to be the Championship Chairman's Award winner to benefit from the work you put into it. Everyone gains something from being a part of the process. I'm really proud of the students on my team for changing their attitude towards Chairman's and winning, because they've gained so much from putting together a submission for the past two years.