The Chairman's Award

If there is any one tangible thing that epitomizes everything the FIRST Organization stands for, most people would tell you it is the Chairman's award. Awarded to teams with extensive inter-team, community, school, and sponsor involvement, it remains the most prestigious and sought-after nod FIRST can give a team. Some would argue it is more important and prestigious than winning a regional. Team 188 has always considered itself to be a "Chairman's Team" and has helped create literally dozens of teams in two FIRST leagues. Having famously served as Canada's ambassadors to FIRST in 1998, and then creating the Canadian Regional, our team has always placed a high value on not only the expansion of the organization into Canada, but in spreading its ideals and "Raising the Bar" in Canada by mentoring teams. This partnership between the United States and Canada was recognized when we won the inaugural Canadian Chairman's Award. But we haven't given up; we continue to strive for the expansion of Dean Kamen's dream to "change the culture" and we continue to submit Chairman's entries. We encourage other teams very strongly to do this as well.