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I'm not sure why this was posted now but my kid is involved with this and it is a great org. I was excited for him to get involved for many reasons but one of

by cowmix 7y ago

I'm not sure why this was posted now but my kid is involved with this and it is a great org. I was excited for him to get involved for many reasons but one of which I've been a pretty big fan of Dean Kamen (he co-founded First). However, over the past few years I've learned Dean is kind of a douche and the real star of First is (well, now was) Woody Flowers. He's a great example to all the kids and his philosophy of "graciousness professional" is no bullshit. It is a great way to roll out tech / STEM to kids.

dang 7y ago
(It was posted a couple months ago and we invited a repost because it didn't seem to have been discussed on HN before.)
jeremymcanally 7y ago
Dean's a douche? I haven't experienced that having met him several times (even being to his house for a supplier thing when I worked at a company that gave FIRST a ton of stuff). But I guess I could see how folks might form that opinion since he's definitely no Woodie Flowers in terms of social skills. :)
- cowmix 7y ago
  I regret using that word. The few times I saw him speak he was either a) obviously drunk b) hyping up the military like no one's business or c) just kind of bragging about whatever. It was shocking. Then I saw Woody speak a few times and it was like magic. When my kid first got into First I keep asking him about Dean (again, I was a fan) and he was like, "no one cares about him."
  - willis936 7y ago
    My dad worked at DeKa for a few years. There are a collection of things, such as compulsory gifts that employees need to work on in their personal time for Dean, that make me think “douche” is an acceptable descriptor. However, I helped start an FRC team over a decade ago and my family is still active in mentoring. It’s a great program with great results.
LukeShu 7y ago
I was involved in FRC all through highschool, and later volunteered with a team for several years. Woody truly was the star. I hadn't heard that he passed--I am saddened to learn of it now. As a volunteer in FIRST, the highest recognition you could hope for is the Woody Flowers Award. As a student I was incredibly fortunate to be around several (then-or-later) Woody Flowers Award winners as mentors.
Knufire 7y ago
As a longtime participant in this program, I'd say this take is pretty spot on. Woodie wasn't just the star of FIRST; competitive robotics based STEM education was basically his brainchild, building out from his work on the MIT 2.007 course. He really was the true ethos of the organization.

by cowmix 7y ago

dang 7y ago

(It was posted a couple months ago and we invited a repost because it didn't seem to have been discussed on HN before.)

jeremymcanally 7y ago

Dean's a douche? I haven't experienced that having met him several times (even being to his house for a supplier thing when I worked at a company that gave FIRST a ton of stuff). But I guess I could see how folks might form that opinion since he's definitely no Woodie Flowers in terms of social skills. :)

cowmix 7y ago
I regret using that word. The few times I saw him speak he was either a) obviously drunk b) hyping up the military like no one's business or c) just kind of bragging about whatever. It was shocking. Then I saw Woody speak a few times and it was like magic. When my kid first got into First I keep asking him about Dean (again, I was a fan) and he was like, "no one cares about him."
- willis936 7y ago
  My dad worked at DeKa for a few years. There are a collection of things, such as compulsory gifts that employees need to work on in their personal time for Dean, that make me think “douche” is an acceptable descriptor. However, I helped start an FRC team over a decade ago and my family is still active in mentoring. It’s a great program with great results.

LukeShu 7y ago

I was involved in FRC all through highschool, and later volunteered with a team for several years. Woody truly was the star. I hadn't heard that he passed--I am saddened to learn of it now. As a volunteer in FIRST, the highest recognition you could hope for is the Woody Flowers Award. As a student I was incredibly fortunate to be around several (then-or-later) Woody Flowers Award winners as mentors.

Knufire 7y ago

As a longtime participant in this program, I'd say this take is pretty spot on. Woodie wasn't just the star of FIRST; competitive robotics based STEM education was basically his brainchild, building out from his work on the MIT 2.007 course. He really was the true ethos of the organization.