Remembering Len Joeris (Balsa Man)

[aldragon]

Thank you Balsa Man for all the help you have provided for everyone on the towers forum. No matter the question or when someone was in need of aid, you were always there to help us. You always provided long, insightful post that helped us build a better tower. Thank you for your time and contribution to scioly.

[FrogLegs]

Dear Jean and Ben,

Thank you for sharing this news about your father. I am certain it was very hard for you, but hope you find a little bit of joy knowing how much he meant to us nameless, faceless friends of Science Olympiad. I discovered this forum my first year of coaching Bridge, almost 3 years ago. I have zero background in science, but wanted to support my son in his passions. Bridge and Towers have now become a passion of mine, and your father was a big part of that. As a quiet observer, I have learned so much about techniques to try with my team. With hard work and his help, my teams have grown so much, achieving what I never dreamed possible a few years ago. What a gift he shared with the rest of us. I always looked forward to reading his posts and will miss his humor, wisdom, and guidance.

I have communicated his passing with others at the State level. It turns out they already knew - he was a bit of a legend. I hope this knowledge brings you a little bit of comfort and happiness. Balsa Man will be very sorely missed.

xoxo

[baker]

For those who would like to know a little more about Len...
http://www.vesseyfuneralservice.com/fh/ ... h_id=13050

[Crtomir]

So sad. I only started corresponding with Len at the end of last season. He really understood Towers and he wanted everyone to be able to get good at building towers and understanding how they worked so students could get better. He will be sorely missed in the Science OIympiad community.

I'm still in disbelief.

[EastStroudsburg13]

I've been meaning to post here. Len has been a helpful member of this site for longer than I've been here, and his helpfulness dates back to past iterations of this site. My lasting impression of him was when last year, I was thrown into supervising Towers at Penn, so I came here to try to get pointers for how to run the event. Len was immensely generous and helpful in giving me tips for how to run the event, even with limited resources, so that when the competition came around, it ran with minimal hitches. I believe he had a positive influence on everyone he interacted with here, and I expect that many people's appreciation for balsa events can be stemmed from his own passion.

He will be missed, and he will be remembered.

[emilyshangg]

We are in shock. Everyone on our team venerated Len Joeris, and he was a greater help to our team than we could ever say, so thank you so much.

Rest in Peace, we'll miss the special presence he brought to our community. His passing will leave a hole in the towers community, and I can't stress enough how much we'll miss him.
Stay strong

[Macgyver]

As a builder, reading his insights and tips were what kept me interested in build events.

He will be missed. I'm sorry for your loss and will be praying for your family.

[coachchuckaahs]

BalsaMan was a model for mentors to Science Olympiad and other events. His patience combined with knowledge and sincere willingness to inspire young minds was incredible. I did not coach Towers, but flying events. However, I would visit the Towers forum to read his posts. His efforts have inspired me to seek additional teams to mentor in our Region, in order to improve the Science and competitiveness in flying events. He will be missed, but his legacy remains to inspire the next generation of mentors.

Coach Chuck
Albuquerque Area Home Schoolers

[Crtomir]

In fond memory of Len Joeris, our kids wrote "Len" on their tower they tested at the West Liberty-Salem Invitational on March 3rd. Their tower weighed 6.9 g held all the weight (15 kg), scored 2882 (Division-B) with the bonus, and placed 2nd. Back at our school, our team decided to take a picture of their still-standing tower and post it here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eux948o9uovpd ... n.JPG?dl=0

Thank you, Len, for teaching us the physics behind good tower design.

[dholdgreve]

In fond memory of Len Joeris, our kids wrote "Len" on their tower they tested at the West Liberty-Salem Invitational on March 3rd. Their tower weighed 6.9 g held all the weight (15 kg), scored 2882 (Division-B) with the bonus, and placed 2nd. Back at our school, our team decided to take a picture of their still-standing tower and post it here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eux948o9uovpd ... n.JPG?dl=0

Thank you, Len, for teaching us the physics behind good tower design.

Well done, David and Crew!