FIRST is truly a volunteer driven organization.  Volunteers serve as partners, team mentors, team coaches, event organizers and event volunteers.

Thanks to those who have volunteered as team mentors for the EngiNERDs:
Mechanical– Mike Masica and John Boehnke
Electrical– Tom Kiihr and Joe Nickola
Safety– Tom Kiihr

 Programming– Brian Young

The 2008 Grand Blanc  FIRST Robotics team, the EngiNERDS, have had 24 students show interest in participating on the team.  The students are split into sub-teams according to the following engineering disciplines -  Mechanical, Electrical and Programming.

The mechanical, electrical, and programming teams are currently working on design ideas that can be adapted once the season’s challenge is announced in January.  The team will have a chance to build a prototype robot as part of their preparation for the 2008 season.

FIRST Robotics has finally made it to Grand Blanc High School.  The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) is an annual competition that helps young people discover the rewards and excitement of education and careers in science, engineering, and technology.  FRC challenges high-school-aged students– working with professional mentors– to design and build a robot, and compete in high-intensity events that measure the effectiveness of each robot, the power of the team strategy and collaboration, and the determination of students.    

Fifteen years ago, the initial FIRST Robotics Competition took place with 28 teams in a high school gym in New Hampshire.  In 2007, the largest-ever FRC includes over 1,300 teams from 7 countries competing in 37 Regionals and the FIRST Championship at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. 

The competition stages short games played by remote-controlled robots by a team of 10-20 high-school aged students along with their engineer mentors.  Each regional competition

FIRST Robotics Teams rely on Mentors to lead the team as well as coach the students in the skills necessary to design, build, and test their robots for competition.
Grand Blanc’s Head Mentors are Clinton Bolinger and Brandi Suder.  Clinton was introduced to FIRST Robotics as a senior at Kearsley High School and then assisted a Kearsley team in the 2001 season.  He entered Kettering University to prepare for a career in Engineering and   continued to mentor the Kearsley High School Robotics Team until 2003.  In 2007, Clinton became an assistant mentor for the Swartz Creek High School Robotics Team with the help of Brandi Suder.  Brandi has an education background from Central Michigan University and develops much of the educational core of the activities.  After one season with the Swartz Creek team, Clinton and Brandi were presented with the opportunity to establish a FIRST Robotics Team at Grand Blanc High School.
Thanks to the enthusiasm and initiative of both Clinton and Brandi, a team has been organized at Grand Blanc High School.

The Grand Blanc FIRST Robotics team is lucky to have both as Head Mentors. Welcome to Grand Blanc High School Clinton & Brandi!