This is a tough program - definitely one of the most difficult things I've ever done. It takes everything you've ever thought you knew to new heights and then demands more of you. It is a balancing act to get everything done before your deadlines, and there are very few extensions. One day late and you miss your shipping deadlines, two minutes late and you miss a competition match. Over the past few years, my role has changed significantly, as any leader's has. I've learned to be very adaptable to people changes, in our case talented students that graduate and go off to university, or co-op students that return after a placement at GM. I always have to have a plan and a backup plan and try to avoid the fires before they get out of control. I've also learned how important it is to create good working relationships and connections with all the people involved no matter what their ages, because, just like in the real world, talented, dedicated people are a true find and are crucial to making the program even more successful.

The thing I love most about FIRST is that it teaches you everything about risk and rewards - something that as an employee of GM in our current economic climate we have to be able to readily do and to get it right. The season is too important to everyone on the team. It takes a lot of dedicated hours from people of all walks of life, some of whom give up a lot in their personal lives to be part of this program. I like to use the saying, "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it." It takes a special type of person to excel at this, and after all that hard work, you want to make sure you get the most success you can. You want to leave nothing to chance. So over the years I've learned to learn from the best: We standardize our methodology and practice repair procedures to make them as efficient as possible, we carry spare parts inventory, we analyze how we perform against how we expected to, we watch teams that beat us at something and talk them about how they were able to do it. We run it just like we would a business team at GM, because we know from best practices that those methods work. Take a team's methods of success and learn from them - it will only make you stronger.

Some people might read this and wonder: "Why would anyone do something like this in their spare time? It sounds a lot like work."

And in one way it is. For any successful program there has to be structure and protocols. But in the end, it is the students that make all the difference and they are the reason why I keep coming back year after year. I measure the successes of our team not only by the number of trophies or awards, but also by the enthusiasm and passion I see developing in the students. Last year I had a quiet Grade 9 girl who barely said a word, but who has a fantastic talent for machining. When I asked her what she wanted to do with her life, she said she liked machining but she was really more interested in drama. She worked with one of the best GM toolmakers I know for the 2007 season and produced some fantastic results - high quality, high tolerance machine parts that drew the admiration from even the most jaded senior student. When she returned to the team this year, I barely recognized her - the passion she developed last year and the confidence she gained in her skills made her want to take on a leadership role in everything she did. She started in the fall by mentoring a Lego League team, working to learn the mentoring side of the program. With dogged determination, she machined any part we gave her, and would accept nothing less than the highest quality parts. She regularly put in more hours in the shop and practicing than anyone else on the team, including the mentors. I was not surprised when she became our main base driver, the most stressful job there is, nor when she took over the mechanical pit at competition, creating her own checklist for her mechanical team to follow. She has the FIRST passion, and it seems that nothing will stop her. When I ask her today what she wants to do, drama is still up there. But she now she wonders: "Do you think I could participate in a play while I am taking Engineering?" At the end the year I presented her with a pocket tool kit and an Engineering Notebook, typically used to organize and document design concepts. I am really excited to see what she'll do with both of them and am glad I'll be able to guide her as she excels towards her ambitions.

Each day I'm part of this team, I’m inspired by the people who also share this passion. There are high school students balancing school, family, part time jobs, friends and the demands of the team with greater successes than a lot of adults I know. I'm inspired by the parents who plan their vacation days around our events, just so they can more fully support their children. I work with a group of mentors and parents who are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure the students have the best advantages. Niagara Falls is an area heavily dependent on the US economy for tourism, and in the era of the high Canadian dollar, it is making it more and more important that we reach out into our local communities and strengthen them in whatever way we can.

This program is inspiring, but also it is a constant reminder that the world is always changing and we need to be searching creative and innovative ways to keep up with it. And to keep up, we need to be aware of knowledge and learn how to obtain that knowledge in whatever way is possible. FIRST Robotics is my insight, not only into the world of technology, but into the minds of our future leaders, engineers and scientists. This program aims at encouraging youth, but in the end it always ends up inspiring the mentors as well.

For more on our team, check out our Web site.