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

[pfreivald]

Originally Posted by dtengineering

I think it all comes down to what motivates you... if you're doing good things for kids and in the community just so you can win a banner, a hunk of shiny plastic and a high-five from the judges, then you might be disheartened by how hard it is to win.

If you're doing good things for kids and the community because you want to do good things for kids and the community... then you're going to win every year. Maybe you won't win the Chairman's award, but you'll be inspired by those who do.


Jason

Amen. Is there somewhere that we can make this a permanent banner for FIRST?

[ebarker]

Dean occasionally comments on the ‘bounce bounce’ pastime so here is a little story.

This conversation reminds me of a lunch I had with college basketball coach Tony Ingle. Tony has earned the distinction of being selected Coach of the Year at the High School, Junior College, and NCAA Division II level. He also is the only NCAA Division II Coach to win two national Coach of the Year awards.

In my early years as a FIRST mentor we were talking about team building, team dynamics, building 1st class teams, etc. He summarized some advice that I thought was spot on.

A coach / mentor has to always balances three things.

….Program Growth – the care and management of the program.
….Team Growth – the care and management of the current team.
….Personal Growth – the care and management of team members.

IMHO,

The Regional Chairman’s Award (RCA) reflects the team’s current and very recent team’s efforts. It is the personal and team growth piece plus a little slice of the Program Growth pie. The program growth plan may stretch over many years.

The Championship Chairman’s Award is the capstone to the long term program growth strategic plan. It is the summation of many teams, many students. It demonstrates the work and planning of a super-team where a super-team is the summation of many teams. It is the super-team’s work over a long period of time.

If your team wins a CA after you graduate you are still part of the winning CA program. Your efforts are part of that program that the award recognized.
Even though you may not be on the ‘team’ the year the CA is awarded, you are definitely part of the team’s program, therefore part of the CA award.

That is the definition of the CA. The bar isn't "too high". By definition it is the recognition of a program that is a summation of many great teams.