To all members of CD:
The last few months or so have flown by, and have been absolutely incredible. FIRST amazes me every year, and this year has proven so far to be one of the most gratuitious I have ever experienced. I have heard about great feats accomplished between teams, friendships forged, helping to get everyone on their feet. The teams of Indiana have been generous and considerate, and my team wouldn’t have happened this year without them.
Team 71: Without this team, neither 1020 or myself would be a big part of FIRST. Thank you to the mentors for being a giant help and inspiration.
Team 45: Thank you to Andy, Tim, and the rest of the TechnoKats mentors for holding the workshops every year. This year, so much was accomplished, and you’ve given my students more enthusiasm for the upcoming build season.
Team 135: Thank you to Phil and Holly for what they’ve given us. Because of them, our team has ample supplies. When I cried for spare tools at the Team Leaders Meeting and told of our hardware, Phil and Holly took it upon themselves and presented my team with a brand new, complete hardware set (plus some extras). It was more than we could have ever asked for.
Team 234: We owe this team so much. Because of the efforts of Scott Ritchie and David Kelly, my team will be a team long after I’m gone. Early in the year, 234 brought us some extra materials to use, and even a bandsaw and a portable drill press that they use for competition for us to use during the build season. Scott Ritchie saw our workspace in the basement of an office house here on campus, and has since made his efforts go toward bettering our team. Scott keeps in frequent contact, giving me names and addresses of companies, mentors, and contacts that would be willing to help our team. He’s given us fundraising ideas to help pay for the costs of traveling. Recently, he tipped me off to two Ball State professors who had heard about our team last year and were willing to help us out. For the 2004 season, our team now has two full machine shops to our disposal, computer labs, classrooms, and even handfuls of mentors (all of this opposed to working in a dimly lit basement on a cement floor). None of this would be possible without Scott.
Team 393: Libby Ritchie has also kept in contact and come up with ideas and ways to help our team. She has always given us good advice.
Team 1018: Always willing to lend us a helping hand, the RoboDevils have been a great team with great mentors.
Through our trials and errors we’ve been blessed with many bouts of good luck, and these teams and people are what make it happen. I may mention these in other posts, but there’s no way I can ignore the little things that people do out of their way to ensure the survival of our team. Thank you.
