As Dad recounts one of his stories from high school, a tale of overcoming obstacles and learning from mistakes is heard.

Lansing Michigan – 1985. The Science Olympiad national championship. Rick Meverden is a senior on the Neenah High School Science Olympiad team. Recruited for his mechanical prowess and brilliant mind, his team counts on him to win.

The goal is simple, use the trajectory device to shoot a marble as close as possible to a nail in a sand pit. All he needs to do is input the calibrations from the calculation sheet and it’s home free.

But he doesn’t have the sheet. The tension is palpable.

He’s left the sheet at home. The panic sets in, his entire team counts on him, and he’s let them down. Pity appears on the faces of the other teams, for they had worked so hard to make it to the finals, and to see another team get booted because of something so simple is sad to see.

“I was in the doghouse.”

Rick’s instincts engage, he pictures the sheet, and recalls the calibrations. Three shots are taken. Close, closer . . . missed.

The third shot missed completely . . . or so the officials thought. The marble hit the nail on the head and bounced out of the sand pit, a perfect score.

The officials wouldn’t hear it, through all of Rick’s and his team’s protesting, the officials stand their ground.

But good sportsmanship prevails that day, when other teams who witness the perfect shot speak up. One kind member of an opposing team confronts the official and backs up Rick’s claims.

One good act paves the way for others to voice their support, leading Neenah to 3rd place in the competition. The near disaster turns to victory, and a lesson in preparedness.