Building the FIRST Pipeline: Team 1816 Helps Launch Edina’s first-ever FTC Team; Mentor Recognition: Woodie Flowers Award presented to Team 1816 Founding Mentor Mark Lawrence.
In September 2008, The Green Machine helped launch Edina’s first-ever FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team, Team 2887 – The Bucket Brigade. Many of The Bucket Brigade’s members, students in grades 7 – 9 at Edina’s Valley View Middle School, would in later years become integral members of The Green Machine. Another highlight of the 2009 season was the team’s selection as one of 18 “beta –test” teams in the nation to test a new robot control system. The Green Machine collaborated with two other veteran Minnesota FIRST teams on six weeks of testing, and then presented seminars to other teams on the new technology, including seminars at Minnesota Splash, which in the 2009 Season attracted 500 to 600 participants.
In competition, The Green Machine finished in fourth place in qualification rounds at the Minnesota North Star Regional, reaching the finals, but losing in the final match. “Best Website” awards at two regionals, and a first-ever Autodesk Visualization Award for the team’s “Green Power” animation, were evidence of the team’s strong presence in non-build areas. Team 1816 also took pride in the well-deserved recognition of one of the team’s founding mentors: at the North Star Regional, Mark Lawrence, a Team 1816 founding mentor and Director of Technical Operations, won the Woodie Flowers Award, presented by Woodie Flowers himself. The award, named after the FIRST cofounder and MIT professor emeritus, celebrates mentors who “lead, inspire, and empower using excellent communication skills.”