UFH: Alan Skierkiewicz

[shyra1353]

Congratulations and thank you so much for all your help. I wonder if you know how much your advice and feedback has actually helped.

I was actually reading one of your posts earlier today and thinking "Why is he not a UFH??" and then I saw the UFH symbol next to your name .. so again congrats and thanks for all your help

Congrats to Al!

He is an inspiration to his team and many others. Al is always in the pits helping out....if it isnt his team he's in someone elses pit providing his positive and useful insight. Thanks for all of your help and support to the FIRST community!

[Andy Baker]

Al is one of those mentors who we all learn from. I am inspired by the help he gives on these forums and his effort to help teams throughout the year. Each year, it seems that the TechnoKats learn something from Al.

Also, Al is one of those knowledgeable inspectors, like Mike Martus, who takes the time to completely inspect a robot at a competition. Students and teams deserve this sort of quality treatment. Al has a unique way to be strict with a team while inspecting, but fatherly and nice at the same time. It is obvious that his focus is for the safety of everyone involved with that robot he is inspecting.

While these things are impressive, they don't really show the impact that Al has on his team and others in FIRST. If you get to know Al, you will also get to know his wife, Dottie. Both are great people. Dottie is somewhat of the "team mom" at Wildstang, from what I can tell, and keeps those 'Stangs in line with cookies, cheering, moral support and encouragement. She is always looking out for the students, as is Al. At many competitions, Dottie and Al have gone out of their way to make my family feel comfortable in the stands. My kids have received countless Wildstang stuff over the years, and they really get a kick out of it.

Al and Dottie are part of what makes FIRST great. They are both role models for us all.

Andy B.

[Chris Fultz]

Al - congratulations dude. Excellent!

I enjoyed working with you as 'sound guys' for the IRI talent show!
For those of you who weren't there, Al was even able to make Andy B. sound like a real singer - aaahh, the magic of a mixing board!

Hope to see you at a competition soon -

[David Kelso]

Hi Alan..

You have offered assistance so often to those seeking electronic help via the Delphi board. . You are one of those solid people who make 111 as tremendous as it is. Glad to see that you got some additional credit for your role. Some day, I may actually get to meet you.
dave kelso

[Josh Hambright]

Congrats Al,
Over my years of involvement in FIRST i have learned alot from you and you were always available to help me out here on the boards and a few times at competition! For that i am grateful. Your unsurpased knowledge, generosity, and gracious professionalism is truely commendable and something all of us should strive for. You are definately one of my FIRST heros!

[Steve Yasick]

Thank you Al for all your help over the years. Congratulation

Steve Yasick

[Andy Baker]

Not only is Al an Unsung FIRST Hero, but as of last weekend, he is an Emmy Winner!

Al is part of a team at WTTW in Chicago who won an Emmy for "Category #42 Outstanding Achievement for Individual Craft Achievements Off Camera – Technical Achievement".

Here is a link to the nominations.

This is very cool. Good job Al!

Andy B.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

I would like to say thanks to everyone for posting here. It has been a real emotional experience hearing all the kind words. At competitions there is so much to do and so many people to meet, I forget how many of you I talked with. It is nice to know that some of you actually remember. Thanks again, I can't wait to see some of you in the next few months. Hope you will be attending Purdue, MWR or Atlanta and I will see you there.

[MikeDubreuil]

Congratulations Al, this was a long time coming! I'm sure you are an excellent asset to your team; because, your participation on this board in support of the FIRST family is simply phenomenal.

[Redhead Jokes]

A warm wise wonderful man. You deserve this. Congrats!

[sanddrag]

I really hate to generalize this so much but I second everything said above. Al has been a great help to everyone on these boards, providing detailed, in-depth explanations to all of our questions.