Petition for President Obama to attend the Championship!

[Cory]

Originally Posted by falconmaster

Team 842 Falcon Robotics was never invited and we would love to have gone....Oh well...

2011 was the first time under Obama that HoF teams have been invited, afaik.

[JohnSchneider]

We had the governor of Texas come to the Dallas regional a few years back and they made everyone leave the pits during the morning while they had the security team do a sweep of all of the pits. Took ages.

I could only imagine the time it would take for 400 teams and in such a large venue.

[lynca]

Great idea to raise awareness about FIRST. The logistics look difficult to make this actually happen.

While browsing this site. I found another interesting petition about the NASA sequester cuts.

This article from NBC gives a bit more detail about the cuts to NASA. Sounds like this has the potential to impact FIRST.

[MaadHatter]

Hey everyone, this is my first time posting on ChiefDelphi. I saw a petition to the government trying to get President Obama to come to St. Louis and witness the competitions. I thought this would be a great opportunity for all the teams going to St. Louis, and if the President ever talks about his visit there, it would also increase the awareness of FIRST. Anyways, I'm trying to get as many people to sign this as possible, all you have to do is get an account on whitehouse.gov, takes very little time and the site is very secure, and then just sign the petition. I ask in the interest of FIRST and all the teams going to St. Louis, that everyone who reads this signs this petition. Also, if you could also share it with the rest of your team members, and then they could share it around, that would be great. Here is the link to the actual petition.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pet...souri/KZGdHPKC
And here is the link to the create an account page if you don't already have an account.https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/reg...souri/KZGdHPKC
I hope we can get President Obama to St. Louis! And I am very sorry if this goes against any of the forum rules, I tried looking through it and couldn't find anything. Thank you!

[dodar]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

I, for one, vote nay.
I foresee security measures that would bog down the event and make it unpleasant for the attendees.

How would it be any different than having Bush Sr come to Atlanta?

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by dodar

How would it be any different than having Bush Sr come to Atlanta?

Former President G. H. W. Bush was a former President when he spoke at the Championship in 2008, having left office some 15 years previous.

[BrendanB]

Originally Posted by dodar

How would it be any different than having Bush Sr come to Atlanta?

While I'm sure there would be some security protocol for a former President (a few body guards) the protocol for the current President of the United States is much higher.

As if inspection was a hassle imagine secret security inspection.

[dodar]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

Former President G. H. W. Bush was a former President when he spoke at the Championship in 2008, having left office some 15 years previous.

Doesn't matter. Former presidents still keep their entire secret service for life.

[rick.oliver]

I agree that the security would be a nightmare.

Perhaps a live feed from where ever his schedule has him on that day?

[JackS]

Originally Posted by dodar

Doesn't matter. Former presidents still keep their entire secret service for life.

That law was changed either towards the end of Bill Clinton's administration or shortly thereafter. Former presidents only get 10 years.

Anyways, this is a nice theory, but, in practice, security is a hassle. I do think that the CCA team being invited to the White House is a fantastic gesture though and I do hope it continues.

-Jack

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by Libby K

Just FYI, our president totally knows what FIRST is -

-He was on i.am.FIRST: Science is Rock and Roll.
-He's invited Hall of Fame teams to the White House after their wins
(except, not yet to 1114 - I think their invite got lost at the border )
-He's invited teams from all FIRST programs to the White House Science Fair each year.

He knows FIRST - it's just a matter of getting him in the right city at the right time.

I can speak of this now since its after the fact.
When Obama came to Hawaii, there were talks of some members of our team possibly having dinner with him with regards to Robotics, since he visits one of his close friends in Waialua annually.
Somehow, the plans changed when he had to go back to Washington cutting his stay short in Hawaii, then coming back again to finish his vacation.
Members of our team will probably read this and ask me about it, since I told no one.....

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by dodar

How would it be any different than having Bush Sr come to Atlanta?

I heard when Bush Sr. went to the Florida regional years ago he was placed too close to the volunteer lounge and the Secret Service wouldn't let the volunteers in to have breakfast. We don't need disruptions like that occurring.

[dm224a]

I was scrolling through the White House petition website and found this petition.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/pet...souri/KZGdHPKC

[Jay O'Donnell]

I believe there is already a thread for this from about a month ago. I'll try to find it, or someone else can post a link.

[ghostmachine360]

http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=115359