Good News: ShovelBums is approaching its 25th anniversary in April, which sounds like a great excuse for a big party at the SAA's in New Orleans, doesn't it?
More Good News: My kids' FTC Robotics team, Technados #7693, won the Michigan Robotics State Championship in December. Out of 90,000 participants from 61 countries in 7,000 teams, they have earned one of the 160 spots at the Robotics World Championship in Houston this April. I have been coaching my kids' team for years. This year is particularly special as it's my youngest son's last year, and he is the "Drive Coach" for the team. My middle son, having aged out, is now a team mentor.
Bad News (for me, but probably not for my liver): The Robotics World Championship coincides exactly with the SAA's in New Orleans! Unfortunately, this means I won't be able to attend the SAA's at all :-( Kristy and I had been really looking forward to it!
Mixed News: I'm reaching out to ask for donations for the Technados' trip.
We are thrilled about the kids competing at the Worlds. It's going to be a big challenge, especially since every other region allows FTC teams to include members from 6th to 12th grade, whereas Michigan only permits 6th to 8th graders. In 9th grade, students must move up to a more advanced robotics level for 9th to 12th graders. However, our team has a lot of spirit and is actively training for the competition (in fact, I'm heading to a team practice right after sending this!). While the kids were confident about making it to the Worlds, we hadn't budgeted for it, so we're now in fundraising mode.
If you can spare a minute and a buck, we'd greatly appreciate it! We accept donations through snail mail, GoFundMe, and Venmo (if you use Zelle, please drop me a note, as the QR code for it was glitchy). The Technados' lead coach, Misty O., coordinates our fundraising, so you'll see her name on the donation landing page.
Any amount is appreciated! I'll be reaching out to companies directly for support, but if you have a contact person (POC) who might be interested in helping, please email me. We have different levels of sponsorship available. ShovelBums will be on a lower one, but if you're donating individually and want to contribute "For ShovelBums," I will add it to my ShovelBums donation. Maybe we'll raise enough to put a sticker on the robot (being a coach doesn't get me perks, other than the joy of doing it! Lol!). Detroit NBC 4 Segment on the Kids that aired on Feb 20, 2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp89JeZIabg
Thanks for taking the time to read this and if able to help out that is much appreciated!
Best,
R. Joe
Here the team is hearing that they won the Michigan State Championship. My son Sawyer is the the black shirt leaping :-)
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