Team 461: Stepping Up

Robotics is an integral part of FIRST, but the Chairman's Award is even more important. It is the soul of FIRST, the place for teams to show off their success in spreading the message of science and technology to society at large. It highlights team successes in non-technical areas and also shows the growth of teams and FIRST.

In 2007, WBI 461 wrote about how the team rebounded from the twin challenges of a large graduation class and the success of the previous season. Like the 2006 submission, it is part essay and part discussion: the pages are peppered with quotes from both veteran members and rookies. The essay discusses specific actions that WBI 461 has taken throughout the year to step up to those challenges. The submission also describes the community service and promotional activities of the team. The Chairman's Award was submitted at the St. Louis Regional in St. Louis, Missouri. The submission helped WBI win the Engineering Inspiration Award at the regional.

Please see below for links to a PDF of the document as well as a PDF of the PowerPoint presentation given to the Chairman's Award judges. We have also included a supplementary document that was given to the judges: the script read by the announcer at a Purdue University women's basketball game where Rowdy Pete 7.0, WBI's robot in the 2005-2006 season, shot hoops with Purdue Pete, the Purdue mascot.