Parents

Parents are our most important and most abused resource that we have.

In some cases we cater to the parent, for example we start VEX Robot Sessions at 6:30 and at 8:30 PM we are done and packed up and the roboteers are waiting for the parents.

In some cases we cajole the parent to be queue managers, crystal managers, scheduling teams for events. (At the last minute)

Or we convince them to stop at a fast food place for 20 burgers, 12 chicken sandwiches, 18 fries, and four 2 liter bottles of soda. Oh yes, it's 11PM, we said we would be done at 6, but the fast food place is open until midnight.

We talk them into driving to a far away event, dragging 8 roboteers, on the promise of lunch and some great shopping. (Hey, it's the largest Target within 50 miles, think about the shopping!)

We tout our engineering, our smarts, our roboteer students, our mentors as being positive change agents for their children.

We take the most important things in their lives, their children. We turn them into roboteers, mechanics, welders, programmers, wrench turners. We send them home with cuts and bruises and exhausted after some events. We send them back with experiences and life skills that will last them for a life time.

We ask parents to make a leap of faith, extend and expand their original limited commitment to more time and more money, a personal commitment that never seems to end. We ask them to trust us, and for the most part the outcome is worth it.

We are thankful for you, the parent, that gives up so much from year to year to make us successful!

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