The Robert Feddersen Memorial - Factory Five Legacy Award - Time to Nominate!

[Randy Jones]

It's time to nominate for the 7th Annual Robert Feddersen Memorial - Factory Five Racing Legacy Award!

Background on the award from Factory Five:


Factory Five Racing is proud to announce the ‘Annual Robert Feddersen Memorial - Factory Five Legacy Award.


Each year, nominations will be accepted from the Factory Five community for those individuals who completely embrace the giving spirit and helpful way of Robert Feddersen and many other Factory Five community members across the nation and around the world. Roberts kind heart will always be remembered through this award and help remind us to give what we can to help others."


There is a perpetual trophy and description of the award that stays in the trophy case at FFR and has each year's winner engraved on it. Additionally, a beautiful engraved plaque is sent to the winner as an award.


Here is what the description of the award says:

"Purchasing a Factory Five kit doesn’t mean you just get a car to build, you are entering a family that shares much more than wrenches, and you make friends that last a life-time. The community, or brotherhood aspect of Factory Five owners, is something that is hard to explain. It will take those who are not expecting it by surprise!



In June of 2008, the Factory Five community suffered a devastating loss. Factory Five customer, forum friend, and family man, Robert Feddersen, passed away after a sudden accident at home. He was a generous, loving soul who adored his wife Jill and two sons Liam and Alex and was the type of person that always made time for friends and made them a very important part of his life. He was taken too soon from all that loved him.


Robert was the type of person who would stop everything to help someone in need and often drove hours away to help a fellow Factory Five builder through a rough patch in their build. He was a teacher by profession, but it was also his passion and he was very happy anytime he could help someone understand something new. He wasn’t the know-it-all type of guy. If someone was struggling with part of their build, he would be right along side them if he could while trying to find an answer and helping in any way possible. It actually took him over three years to finish his own Mark III Roadster due partly to the fact that he was very busy helping his friends build theirs. He was also the self-proclaimed ‘Redo King’ who had endless issues with two different engines in his car but would just laugh at his challenges and joke with his friends about his luck.



Robert was a teacher and lover of life who held his family and friends close. He was a giver of time like there was no other and so many people’s builds were touched by his hands. He truly embraced the philosophy of helping all those that he could and was always happy doing it while asking for absolutely nothing in return. Robert Feddersen was a true friend to our community and will be terribly missed.


Factory Five Racing is proud to announce the ‘Annual Robert Feddersen Memorial - Factory Five Legacy Award.


Each year, nominations will be accepted from the Factory Five community for those individuals who completely embrace the giving spirit and helpful way of Robert Feddersen and many other Factory Five community members across the nation and around the world. Roberts kind heart will always be remembered through this award and help remind us to give what we can to help others."

The past winners are:

2009 - Greg Marsh
2010 - Paul Mastroianni
2011 - Karen Salvaggio
2012 - David Hodgkins
2013 - Don Vaught
2014 - Sean Lamontagne


So having said that, please nominate those people that you feel had the "way above and beyond, helping, giving spirit and brotherhood" that Robert (as well as the past winners of this award) have shown.

Please add a post to this thread stating the person's name and possibly the screen name here on here or 'the other place'. Most importantly, please write in as much detail as you think will be helpful why the person would be a great choice.

Nominations will be accepted until midnight on Thursday, May 7th.

I'm going to be cross-posting this on both this board and 'the other place' to make sure everyone has the chance to nominate the person they feel so strongly about.

Thanks!

Randy and the selection committee.

[Ray]

Randy,

Sent you a PM with my nomination.

Ray

PS: Thanks for taking on this task yet again. I know that it's a labor of love and respect, but, it's still a lot of work. Robert would be proud.

[MRSQSL]

PM sent

[Randy Jones]

Hi all,

This is a cross-post from the other forum for clarity:


Thanks for the nominations! There has certainly been a great amount of them so far which is outstanding! If you have not, please post (or edit) to include specifics about why you think the particular person should be considered as detail goes a long way to help the committee make the choice.

Also, I get a considerable number of submissions via PM as well so if that's the place you're most comfortable submitting, that's fine with us. (you can direct them to me)

Thanks again for the thoughts (and nominations) about your FFR builder brothers and sisters that have helped you during your journey!

Randy (and the selection committee)

[frankeeski]

In my mind, there is only one candidate this year for the award. Having had a hand in the past few years nominating Paul, David, Dr. Karen and Don, the averages are in my favor. I remember flying back to Boston in 2010 with Paul's son Phil for the presentation of the award and thinking to myself that Paul would have really enjoyed the Open House but was sadly taken from us before he could collect his award. It seamed really unfair that I was able to go to the award presentation but Paul wasn't. Two years ago I had the honor of being present for the impromptu Awards Presentation for Don Vaught. We were all on a weeks long Run/Cruise in and around Napa Valley. One of the nights we all got together for dinner Karen presented Don with the award. It was really special to be there and see the admiration we all had for Don and the knowledge that the award was very well deserved. I am actually trading e-mails with Don today, he is helping me through some tuning issues with a new ECU. The point being made is that all of the past recipients represent exactly what this award encompasses. Those within our community that go the extra mile to help others out.

I knew Robert. We weren't close and we had very different personalities. I remember having more then one heated debate with him but in the end you just can't argue with the fact that even with our differences, Robert would have done all he could to help regardless. My nominee for this year I have never met in person. My dealings with him on the forum have always been pleasant. My impression is that he is very "Cool Customer". I have never seen an outburst directed at anyone from him, although from time to time I have seen a bit of good natured ribbing. I have been building cars and Hot Rodding them since I first started driving. I rarely let someone new into my build world but recently ran into a question on power steering, high pressure/low pressure hose orientation and pressure valves. The info I was finding both on the forums and online were contradictory. I made the decision to send an e-mail to Jeff Kliener not even knowing if my reputation for rubbing people the wrong way, had at some point in the past, limited my chances of receiving a reply. Here it was, a Saturday, and you would think the guy's probably got a million other things to do today. But there it was, not just a reply but a diagram of the steering rack with an exploded view listing not only the parts but the orientation I was looking for. I saw my name mentioned once or twice on one of the forums last year for the Memorial Award. I remember thinking to myself that I really appreciated the acknowledgement from those that I had helped. But in the end, I still have a long way to go before I could even carry tools for those that have been honored in the past years. I feel the same way this year. I nominate Jeff Kleiner for the overwhelming generosity of time he contributes to this community. Cheers Jeff!

[FMJ]

I couldn't agree more. In the short time I've come to know Jeff, his knowledge and willingness to help others is unparalleled.

-Fred

[Randy Jones]

Hi all,

At this time, the nomination window is closed for this year. The team really appreciates the thought that went into the nominations and we look forward to meeting and choosing a winner to be announced at this year's Factory Five Open House in June!

Thanks!

Randy (and the selection committee)