“Gotta love the people in FIRST”

[FoleyParent]

“Gotta love the people in FIRST” was the first thing my son (alum of team 910 and now college mentor) said as he climbed back into our minivan that was off on the shoulder of northbound I-69.

The story behind the quote….
A wheel locked up on the family owned truck hauling our robot and pit stuff back to Michigan after IRI this weekend. We (minivan with 7 of us) also pulled over shortly after the Indiana state trooper did. I am sure we made a curious site: State trooper car, flashing lights and 10 people with matching blue tie-dyed shirts on the roadside It was not 10 minutes before another car full of FIRSTers returning from IRI pulled over to see if they could help. They were from Fighting Pi, team 1718. It seems, another Fighting Pi car had driven by first (too late to stop), but called back to another car behind them, so that they could stop. And so they did…

“Gotta love the people in FIRST!” followed by him saying “That’s why I love FIRST!” It is so true, it is the people involved in FIRST that make it what it is.

And the rest of the story (just in case you are curious)…
As it turned out, we were able to let team 1718 continue on their way home. We had 2 other cars about 30 minutes ahead of us who shuffled some people around so that only one of them had to turn around to pick up the stranded. The kids in the truck returned home to Michigan. But our parents, whose truck now rests in a Ford dealership’s parking lot, are getting to see a little more of northeast Indiana than they had originally planned on. Hopefully their truck can be repaired and they can return home on Monday.

No matter the trouble, IRI is always worth the trip!

[dancingfool]

That's what we do! We all help each other out whether it comes in the form of robot parts and scouting info, or just concerns. I'm glad that you guys were able to make it home okay. i agree IRI was completely worth it! What an intense competition.

[kstl99]

Another example. This year's GSR in Manchester was my first ever regional. A friend at work loaned me his video recorder to use and I carried it around all day Saturday. At the end of the day our team was sitting in the upper balcony when we needed to go to the field to collect our medals for being finalists. Like a fool I left the recorder under my seat with my flannel shirt. When I returned the balcony was empty and the shirt and recorder were gone. The team had not seen it and security had not had it turned in to them. Just as I could not put off leaving the arena any longer a security person came over to me asking about the recorder. Someone had given it to them. They could have easily walked out with the $1000 item and never been noticed.

Gotta love the people in FIRST.

[GaryVoshol]

Originally Posted by FoleyParent

I am sure we made a curious site: State trooper car, flashing lights and 10 people with matching blue tie-dyed shirts on the roadside

You should have put on the Foley Freeze hats too!

[vance]

People involved with FIRST are a good breed. If the world had more people like the FIRST base we have, we'd be so much better off.

Hopefully everything goes well with the truck, glad to here all the students got home safely.

[MishraArtificer]

Graciously and professionally...it's how we roll!

[dancingfool]

Originally Posted by MishraArtificer

Graciously and professionally...it's how we roll!

I like it! lol we First'ers aren't 'normal' I guess. Whatever that word means now a days, but I know I wouldn't have it any other way.

[Dustin Shadbolt]

Awesome story. It's just how we are in FIRST.

[kjolana1124]

Hearing stories like this make me smile. It's just great to know that, at the end of the day, people really do care about each other. Maybe it's a New England thing, but I know around here if that happened 9/10 times the driver would keep going. And I bet you 8/10 times they stop, it's because it's one of us.

FIRST, altruism one step at a time (normally that first step starts with something along the lines of "Team 1124 needs a 7/16th wrench...again")

Luckily, we only ship our 'bot from SLP to Minneapolis, like ten miles or so, but we would still have looked odd with eight people in orange shirts along a highway

That is, unless we do two regionals next year. (input: should we?)


Thaine