A big thanks from a rookie mentor after our very first First event....

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WOW! Sitting here with a cup of coffee trying to decompress all thats happened since Jan 8. Too much to express at one time and too soon to get it all down in one comment....which would make for a very long comment at that.

THANK YOU to everyone who helped us at the Microsoft Regional! I couldn't remember every name if I had tried, from random team members, inspectors - you guys were more than great, can't say enough for them! To everyone who just stopped by to chat or was there in our moment of need, you name it they were not only nice but helpful and willing to go beyond the call of duty. Where is this kind of behavior in the real world?

Sure everyone's there to win and competition takes over and we all want to come out on top, to say otherwise is denial at best, but beyond that when you see these kids digging in deep and working together under the pressure of competing and not wanting to let their alliances down, seeing them put someone else in front of themselves...incredible.

We came in 17th at the end of qualifying, we were just hoping to SURVIVE let alone have any level of field success. We learned a lot - as much of what NOT to do as what to do, had far less problems than we feared, had our share of tense moments and tight spots but we came out with pride in ourselves and our brave little toaster. We even got our kicker to function and didn't throw a chain in the last two rounds we played.....for us that was huge.

Ok, enough rambling. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, I cant wait to do this again, this has touched me deeply and I am grateful for the experience.

Mike