Making a Difference at Hartman's Liberty Gas Station

One of the six or so youngsters visiting Garrett County over the Labor Day weekend that got one of GaCo's top spinners at Hartman's Liberty Gas Station in Accident, Maryland.

Most every Labor Day or Memorial Day weekend you can catch students from FRC 1629, GaCo, offering "full service" at the Liberty Gas Station in the Town of Accident, Maryland. It's more than just a fundraiser. It's an opportunity to share with Garrett County visitors about our program and, if there's an eight year old present, an opportunity to engage our passion. This past labor day weekend we gave away at least six of our top spinners as well as dozens of our GaCo cards. But what I appreciate the most is that it provides an opportunity for "inspiration" to happen - like everything else in FIRST robotics.

Inspiration goes both ways. While providing full service on Monday a mom pulled up and enthusiastically greeted us with "I know who you are!" She recounted how her son was in one of our Tech Camps about fifteen years ago and, as a result, is a grad student at Carnegie Mellon studying Analytical Biochemistry and heavy into Computer Science. She was so excited to see what the program had grown into. On Friday we were able to share our GaCo cards with a career Marine stationed at Quantico, VA, who does systems integration and teaches Computer Science as part of his job in the Marine Corp. No doubt, he'll be using the GaCo cards we gave him! Many more "magical" moments happened, but wanted to mention these in particular. They truly inspired me and hopefully we inspired a few along the way.

It's all about making a difference - through providing opportunities for "STEM Ready" kids and sharing our passion. This past Labor Day weekend is a perfect example of how GaCo does just that. We used the time and resources that have been given to us to make "STEM-Ready" moments happen for others. This is what GaCo is all about. Thank you to everyone who makes this happen!




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