By Marty Proctor
On June 27th, South Lake Robotics launched a new robotics team program based in Groveland. The team, FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC), is for all students grades 8-12 throughout South Lake County whether in a public school, private school or homeschooled. The South Lake team will join school teams from Lake Minneola, East Ridge High Schools and an open membership team from Eustis. The newly-organized South Lake team will build robots, strong relationships, and leadership skills.
At the launch, Andrew Milluzzi, FIRST® Senior Mentor for Central Florida explained how the program and organization will be created and operate based on the framework provided by FIRST®Robotics. Joyce Walters, Operational Partner, FIRST®LEGO League Jr. and FIRST®LEGO League and Tania Thollebeke, Chief Volunteer – Mom’s Guide to Robotics Inc. spoke on what youth robotics programs mean to South Lake County.
“With the Ocado/Kroger announcement, we now have momentum and a local path to AI and automation” stated Dan Murphy City Community Redevelopment Agency Manager. “A team like this can lead to a lot of positive impact for area youth as well as the City in general.” The attendees included Dan, Council Person Deena Sweatt, John Ter Louw, Finance Director and David Brown, IT Specialist from the City in support of the new program.
“Building robots is only one aspect of what the team has to offer. FIRST®Robotics is a hands-on STEM learning experience for graphic arts, public relations, social media, marketing, web design, computer programming, and mechanical and electrical engineering” stated Mark Vitek lead mentor. “There is something for everyone on a robotics team.” Having a lead mentor engaged, local support and an established path to getting the team started creates the opportunity to get this team off to a quick and running start for the upcoming school year. The first competition would be scheduled to kick off January 2020.
The next meeting is scheduled at the Lake David Center, 450 S. Lake Avenue, Groveland at 7:30 pm on July 11.
For more information about the new South Lake Robotics FRC Team, or to sponsor a team for the upcoming season, call 352-272-5969. or visit the website at lakecountyrobotics.wixsite.com/home. Additional information about the FIRST®programs may be found at http://www.firstinspires.org.
