Prepping for 2008: Awards, Bandsaws, and Perspective

[David Brinza]

The trophies are just trinkets - pieces of plastic and metal that can even be purchased from FIRST (say, if you decided to cut them apart). They serve a purpose for the winners and the sponsors - a bit of materialistic gratification, but they're not the goal for FIRST teams. We've given trophies to sponsors as a token of appreciation, but we also make sure they know that their support has resulted in scholarships and careers that might not have been realized otherwise.

The students who benefit from FIRST are the real "trophies". They go out, help change the world and thereby give the mentors, sponsors and the rest of the FIRST community rewards that truly count. When we don't win that piece of plastic or metal, there may some very visible disappointment and even frustration in the heat of the moment. This is the nature of competitive personalities found in FIRST and in many walks of life. Upon reflection, though, we remember what FIRST is really about and can celebrate the fact that we're all winners.