2014

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Mission Statement
BEST is a non-profit, volunteer-based organization whose mission
is to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, science,technology, and math through participation in a sports-like,science-and engineering-based robotics competition.

Our Principles• Students are the primary participants and benefactors. BEST is an extracurricular academic

experience that engages students through teamwork, self-directed learning, apprenticeship, andproblem solving.

• Students perform all of the work. Team mentors—engineers, technical professionals andscientists from industry—serve as guides to shepherd students through the engineering design
process.

• Schools participate at no cost. There are no entry fees or kits to purchase associated with
the BEST competition. Schools must fund their travel costs, team shirts, and other teamenhancements.

• BEST is an equal opportunity program. Any public, private, or home school may participate in
BEST.

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Why we do our BEST?

President’s Letter

The Gap

BEST is a unique and wonderful organization. It has been an honor to serve as the president

In the 20 years of BEST we have given students a path,a path to their future, a path strewn with gaps. Maybe they
don’t realize the importance of these gaps, but we do. For
without this realization on our part, BEST will cease to be
BEST.
In BEST, students encounter problems. Solving these
problems is not our goal, how to approach these problems,
is. We don’t give the student everything to solve these
problems. There is a gap, a gap we intentionally provide.
Crossing that gap requires students to innovate, to create,
and to discover the importance of crossing gaps, bothprofessionally and personally.
In whatever aspect of Engineering, Science, or Technology they choose as their career, there will be these gaps
waiting for them. Crossing these gaps will be their challenge, their vocation, and their very reason for doing what
they do. We have discovered we are individuals who expect these gaps and have a talent for crossing them. We haveeven discovered we are individuals who covet the crossing. We want to find students
who also may share this talent, this passion and show them that there is a career forcrossing gaps.
But it is this very talent, this very joy of being able to cross these gaps
and arrive at a solution that makes it so very
difficult for us to create a problem that
contains gaps. Our nature is to provide themethod and materials we know will take a
student across gaps. But, against our very
nature, we do not. We know that if we
provide everything there will
be no problem, no gap to be
crossed. A gap is caused bysomething missing andwe make sure somethingis missing. We provide theof BEST Robotics, Inc. (BRI) during its twenty-second year. In 22 years BEST has grown from asingle hub in North Texas to 46 hubs in 19 states. After 22 years weare still relevant and growing.
First and foremost BEST is a robotics competition. Robotics
as an activity is still growing rapidly, with more than 300,000
participants around the country every year. Robotics is a Sport of
the Mind where kids can have fun stretching their minds. They use
their knowledge, imagination and creativity to create something
wonderful and new. If this appeals to them, then they all can go
pro by making engineering a career. Sports of the Mind are just as
important and fun as athletic sports. There is a growing recognition
Dr. Kenneth Berryof this, and the idea of Sports of the Mind is spreading. Robotics is
President, BEST Inc.
now a varsity sport in a number of states including Texas.
BEST is a unique robotics competition because we do not have a set robot system. We provide
our teams with a random set of parts that they make into a robot. This releases their creativity
beyond the boundaries of a kit. Each year I am amazed at what BEST teams can do with what
appears to be random pieces of plywood and plastic. BEST teaches kids to be resourceful withwhat is available, and truly create something that is their own.
But BEST is more than just a robotics competition; it is an education program. BEST supports
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. STEM education is
being promoted all over the country as the key to the future. Without bright young minds that
understand the STEM subjects, we lose our competitive economic edge that we have enjoyedsince WWII. Without them, current innovation in the marketplace would not be possible. BESTis actively developing these bright young STEM minds. President Obama announced on March
23, 2015 over $240 million in new STEM commitments at the 2015 White House Science Fair.
Friends of BEST in Alabama was there with the Wetumpka High School BEST team representing
BRI. States around the country are supporting their own STEM initiatives. We are perfectly
situated to take advantage of these initiatives with BESTology, our teacher/coach’s training(continued)

gap. For like us, students
reach this gap, and like us,
they smile.

Steve Marumand Ted Mahler
Co-Founders2

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Program Overview

President’s Letter (continued)
opportunities, our Twitter feed, blogs, and Facebook.
Furthermore, we are the BEST value in school activities. Although we are moving to a few more
professional staff, BEST has been run almost exclusively as a volunteer organization. We serve
20,000 students around the country with an annual budget of about $100,000. That is a cost of
about $5per student. In comparison, Boy Scout dues each year exceed $50 per scout. Fees toplay a season of soccer with AYSO exceed $200 per player in some areas. BEST has thousands ofthe most dedicated volunteers in the world. I am proud to be numbered among them.
It has been an honor to be the president of such an important and meaningful organization. I lookforward to continuing to serve you and it in the future.
							BEST Regards,								Dr. Kenneth Berry								President of the BRI Board of Directors• BEST originated in 1993 when Ted Mahler and Steve Marum, two engineers with Texas Instruments in

Sherman, Texas, started the program as a competition for rural schools in the area. The first competition
hosted 14 schools and 221 students. In fall 2012, over 875 schools and 18,000 students participated.

• BEST Robotics, Inc. (BRI or BEST) incorporated as a 501(c)3, non-profit organization in 1998.
• BEST is a volunteer-driven organization, with over 10,000 people serving as “hub” (local competition site)organizers, event personnel, team mentors, and competition judges.

• BEST licenses use of its program to groups that want to start and host the program in their communities.
Any group–companies, school systems, two- or four-year colleges or universities, professional engineeringsocieties, or individuals can start a hub. Funding for a hub must be raised by the local organizing group.

Competition Overview• The competition itself is comprised of two divisions: Robotics and the BEST Award. All teams compete in the
Robotics division. The BEST Award competition is optional for participating schools.

• Robotics - Each team designs and builds a radio-controlled machine to accomplish defined tasks in a game-

Executive Director Report2014 was a very interesting and, I think, a very pivotal year for BEST Robotics. Many aspects of
the year were “business as usual”, however, several important and different actions occurred.
The Board of Directors renewed and strengthened their commitment to ourhubs and to education. The Board committees were revamped to align withtheses commitments including the creation of an education committee.
Hubs, and the volunteers that run them, are the backbone of BEST. The Board
instituted a mini-grant program for 2014 hoping to give some hubs the financial
boost they might need to improve their activities and sustainability. The hubsreceiving grants utilized the money across a broad spectrum of projects fromthe expansion of teams, development of successful workshops, and the creationof promotional videos amongst others. From the comments received fromTom Fitzmaurice hubs, this seems to have been a very successful endeavor.
Executive Director, BEST Inc.
The year-end brought to a conclusion my tenure as Executive Director. I wantto thank everyone for their support and for giving me the opportunity to serve BEST Robotics. I wish
Janne Ackerman every good fortune as she begins her activities as ED and know that she will be atremendous asset to BEST.

type format. In September six weeks before the competition, the teams gather at local hub sites for Kick Off
Day where they receive identical kits of equipment (e.g., motors, R/C unit, batteries, processing board, etc.)
and raw materials (e.g., plywood, PVC pipe and connectors, screws, bolts, nuts, glue, etc.) from which to build
their machines. Teams also receive a detailed set of game rules and a demonstration of the game on theplaying field. The machines they build cannot exceed 24 pounds, must fit within a 24-inch cube at the starting
position, and must be built only from the materials provided in the kit.

• BEST Award teams are judged on the following: Project Engineering Notebook; Marketing (Oral) Presentation;
Educational Display; Judges Interview; Spirit and Sportsmanship; and Robot Performance. Winning the BESTAward is considered the highest achievement any team in the competition can accomplish.

Program Features
BEST inspires students to pursue careers in engineering, science and technology. This is critical given the dearthof engineers that industry is experiencing now and will continue to experience in the future.

BEST helps prepare students to be technically proficient in tomorrow’s workforce.
BEST teaches teamwork and leadership development as well as analytical,
decision-making, and problem-solving skills.

BEST students experience “design-to-market” product development –experience that is transferable to all engineering and science disciplines
and career pursuits

BEST provides participating students recognition and acclaim typically reserved
for their peers in sports.

BEST enhances teacher effectiveness.
BEST is an outstanding educational program accessible to all students, schools,
and communities.

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2014 Game Description

2014 Demographics
School TypeThe Story Behind the 2014 Game,“Blade Runner”

School Grades

The Story LineHigh	
  School	
  
61%	
  

Educational Theme: Wind Energy and Transportationof Wind Turbine Components
Wind energy is an important topic of the present and the future, providing the world with sustainable clean energy. The enormityof the present day wind turbines continues to grow. These giant turbines pose an interesting engineering challenge – how totransport the components and assemble these massive structures without negatively affecting America’s transportation system.
For transport, the weight of the components must be distributed across many axles so that the maximum weight-per-axle
limits are not exceeded. This makes the transport vehicles very long and very heavy. Transporting just one turbine requires
multiple vehicles. For example, the tower must be shipped in three pieces, with each piece exceeding 50 meters. Each turbine
blade is around 45 meters in length and weighs over 40,000 kilograms.

BEST Team Challenge

BEST Robotics is searching for the optimum solution to this engineering challenge. BEST is calling for innovativeengineering corporations to develop and build a prototype vehicle to participate in a competition to win a contract
with an emerging national wind energy company. The BEST Award will go to the corporation with the total package:transportation and assembly performance (game scoring), innovation and robustness of the vehicle, engineering approachand documentation (notebook), marketing and presentation of the project, environmental stewardship, and spirit andsportsmanship during the competition.

Suburban	
  
25%	
  

9th	
  
15%	
  

8th	
  
12%	
  

School Classification

Rural	
  38%	  Public	
  
76%	
  

6th	
  
7%	
  

7th	
  
10%	
  

School Student Population

Private	
  
16%	
  

400	
  -­‐	
  799	
  
28%	
  
Home	
  School	
  
7%	
  

Urban	
  37%	  Female	
  28%	
  Pursue	
  
58%	
  

Male	
  
72%	
  

Ethnicity

White	
  
57%	
  

>	
  2000	
  10%	
  Plan to Pursue Engineering, Science,
and Technology Degree

Plan to Pursue,by Gender

Hispanic	
  
21%	
  

800	
  -­‐	  1199	
  
17%	
  
1200	
  	
  
-­‐	
  1999	
  
13%	
  

<	
  400	  32%	  Other	  1%	  Team Objectives

The 2014 engineering challenge requires your corporation to design a vehicle capable of transporting and maneuvering
structures of extreme length and weight to the assembly site without negatively affecting America’s transportation system.
You must overcome logistic challenges prior to transporting and assembling the wind turbines. Due to potential roadway
damage, transportation law requires you to obtain an Over Size Over Weight (OSOW) permit prior to transport. The cost ofobtaining the permit contributes to the maintenance of the roadway.
Additionally, some environmentally sensitive areas exist which hamper the development of the infrastructure required todeliver the components to the assembly site. The transportation path travels through the habitat of an endangered species,
the Lesser Prairie Chicken. Federal law requires relocation of endangered species to an acceptable alternative habitat.
Transport of the components to the assembly site can begin once you resolve the logistic challenges. Once you deliver
the components to the assembly site, your vehicle will construct the wind turbines. Cranes on-site will aid in the final
upright positioning of your fully completed turbines.
Your corporation may make an agreement with your neighboring company 							to work together to transport and construct the small and large 									turbines. Good luck!

K	
  -­‐	
  5th	
  
2%	
  

10th	
  
16%	
  

Middle	
  	
  
&	
  Jr	
  High	  22%	
  School Location

12th	
  
19%	
  

11th	
  
19%	
  

K-­‐12	
  17%	
  Won't	  	
  Pursue	  42%	
  Gender, All Participants
Other	
  	
  
4%	
  
African	  American	
  
10%	
  

Female	
  
34%	
  

Male	
  
66%	
  

Na/ve	
  American	
  
2%	
  
Asian	
  American	
  
6%	
  

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7Competition
Sites

Hub and Team Growth
As a result of participating in BEST, students…

•
•
•
•
•

2014 BEST Hubs and Regionals

Understand real-world use of mathematical concepts and applied physics.

Understand what engineers do – engineering is “demystified”.
Experience “design-to-market” product development – experience that is transferable to all career pursuits.

Jubilee BEST (2004)
Jubilee BEST Robotics, Inc.
Mobile, AL

OR
ID

Selma BEST (2012)
Wallace Community College
Selma, AL
Shelton State BEST (2012)
Shelton State Community College
Tuscaloosa, AL
Tennessee Valley BEST (2003)
Calhoun Community College
Decatur, AL
War Eagle BEST (2001)
Auburn University
Auburn, AL
Wiregrass BEST (2010)
Wiregrass BEST, Inc.
Dothan, AL

Arkansas

Little Rock BEST (2009)
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Little Rock, AR

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HUBS

900

50

800

45

700

40

600

35

500

30

400

25

300

20

200

10

100

5

0

0

93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14
19 19 19 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20SD

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Northark BEST (2006)
North Arkansas College
Harrison, AR
River Valley BEST (2003)
University of Arkansas - Fort Smith
Fort Smith, AR

Colorado

Rocky Mountain BEST (2010)
Rocky Mountain BEST, Inc.
Denver, CO

FloridaEmerald Coast BEST (2007)
University of West Florida
Pensacola, FL

Georgia

Georgia BEST (2003)
Southern Polytechnic State University
Marietta, GA

KansasKansas BEST (1999)
Wichita State University
Wichita, KS

Frontier Trails BEST (2005)

University of Arkansas - Fort Smith
Fort Smith, AR

NH
MA
RI

CT

MI
NJ

PA
IA
NE

OH

NV

IL

MD DE

IN
WV

UT
CO

CA

KS

VA

MO
KY

AZ

SC
AR

NM

AL

MS

Louisiana

TX

FL

Regions

La Tech BESTRed Stick Robotics, Inc.
& Lousiana Tech University
Ruston, LA

Music City BEST (2006)
Lipscomb University
Nashville, TN

Minnesota BEST (2012)
New London-Spicer Schools
New London, MN

Texas

Big Country BEST (2011)
Texas State Technical College – West Texas
Sweetwater, TX

Mississippi

Mississippi BEST (2005)
Mississippi State University
Starkville, MS

Capitol BEST (2001)
Capitol BEST, Inc.
Austin, TX

MissouriShow Me BEST (2011)
State Fair Community College
Sedalia, MO

Collin County (CoCo) BEST (1995)
Collin County BEST, Inc.
McKinney, TX

New Mexico

New Mexico BEST (2001)
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces
Las Cruces, NM
Bison BEST (2007)
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND

U-STEM BEST (2009)
University of Texas–Medical Branch
Galveston, TXBlue Hawk BEST (2011)
Dickinson University
Dickinson, ND

Heart of Texas BEST (2010)
Texas State Technical College – Waco
Waco, TX

OHIO

Falcon BEST
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green, OH

Lion’s Pride BEST (2010)
Texas A&M University – Commerce
Commerce, TX

Heartland BEST (2002)
Northwestern Oklahoma State University
Alva, OK

DuBois BEST (new in 2014)
Penn State
DuBois, PA

SOUTH DAKOTA

Jackrabbit BEST (2012)
South Dakota State University
Brookings, SD

Cowtown BEST (2001)
Lockheed-Martin Aeronautics
Fort Worth, TX
Dallas BEST (1996)
Texas Instruments
Dallas, TX

North Dakota

Wolverine BEST (2010)
Grove City College
Grove City, PA

North Houston BEST (1999)
Baker-Hughes, Inc.
The Woodlands, TX
Rio Grande Valley BEST (2011)
Texas State Technical College – Harlingen
Harlingen, TX
San Antonio BEST (1994)
San Antonio BEST, Inc.
San Antonio, TX
Southeast Texas BEST (2011)
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, TX
West Texas BEST (1995)
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX

Regional Championships
South’s BEST (2003)
Northern Plains BEST (2012)
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND

B E S T M i d d l e a n d H i g h S c h o o l R o b ot i c s P r o g r a m

Hubs

Tennessee

MINNESOTA

Pennsylvania

GA

LA

NOLA BEST (2011)
Red Stick Robotics, Inc.
New Orleans, LA

Oklahoma

NC

TN

OK

Northeast Alabama BEST (2012)
Northeast Alabama Community College
Rainsville, AL
Northwest Alabama BEST (2011)
Northwest Shoals Community College
Muscle Shoals, AL

NY

WI

WY

North Alabama BEST (2009)
Wallace State Community College
Hanceville, AL

Receive recognition and acclaim typically reserved for their peers in sports.

VT

MN

Blazer BEST (2008)
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, AL
Central Alabama BEST (2011)
Central Alabama Community College
Talladega, AL

ND

MT

Alabama

Experience real-world science and engineering challenges, training that is transferable to all academic 		
disciplines and career pursuits.

TEAMS

ME

WA

Auburn University
Auburn, AL

Texas BEST (1994)

University of Texas at Dallas
Dallas, TX

92014 BEST National Partner

2014 Regional Championship Sponsors
Frontier Trails

In 2011, MathWorks became BEST Robotics’ first-and-only National Corporate Partner through its generous
funding support for the BEST Robotics organization. The company is the leading developer of mathematicalcomputing software for engineers and scientists in the world. MathWorks equips BEST teams with software,training, and mentoring to tackle the same technical issues as professional engineers. Industry-standard
MATLAB® and Simulink® provide a flexible design environment where BEST students can apply classroom
theory to solve problems encountered in designing their robots.

2014 BEST National Sponsors
Since 2005, SolidWorks® has been providing their CAD Design software free to all BEST
students. Their BEST and VEX CAD models, curriculum, tutorials, and design tools havebeen invaluable in helping students understand the basics of robot design.
Now owned by AutoDesk, HSMWorks is the leading Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software for SolidWorks and AutoCAD. HSMWorks provides seamless integration of 2D and 3D toolpath
programming directly into SolidWorks. BEST students can now take their CAD models developed in
SolidWorks and within minutes be cutting parts out on their school’s router or CNC machine, all fromwithin the SolidWorks environment.
Robomatter incorporated provides its ROBOTC programming software for VEX Cortex and Robot
Virtual Worlds free to all BEST teams during the competition season. ROBOTC is the premier C-based
robotics programming language for educational robotics and competitions. It is ideal for those students who want to go beyond simple drag-and-drop programming to writing their own code.
Solidwize provides each BEST team with free online SolidWorks training courses that guide students
through the learning process with a highly effective holistic approach to teaching that inspires confidence rather than confusing and fustrating them. The video-based follow-along step-by-step instruction is available on-line 24/7. Students can gain enough knowledge with this training to receive
their SolidWorks certification.
In 2005, igus® , Inc. became BEST’s first National Corporate Sponsor by donating its innovative polymer automated machinery parts to every BEST team for use in the designof their robots. The incorporation of these parts revolutionized the robotics competition
by enabling students to design more innovative and efficient machines.
Intelitek, developers, producers and suppliers of industrial Blended Learning Technology
Training Systems, provides its EasyC programming software for the VEX Cortex microcontroller free to all BEST teams and teachers. Designed with BEST students in mind, easyC’s
simple to use drag-and-drop programming interface does all of the syntax and spacing,allowing students to focus on program flow and robot design.
Wolfram Research annually provides BEST students with its renowned computational product,
Mathematica. Whether it is research, computations, or technical documentation tasks, Mathematica
helps students be their most productive.

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Fort Smith Convention and Visitors Bureau
OGE Energy Corp. Foundation, Inc.
Peterson Chemicals, Inc.
Baldor Electric Company
Weldon, Williams & Lick, Inc.
GerdauUniversity of Arkansas - Fort Smith
Shamrock Bolt & Screw Company
J&B Supply Company
Eureka Pizza
ABF U-Pack Business Development
Lumber One
Lowes of Van Buren
Custom Awards and Engraving
Holiday Inn City Center
Davis Iron and Metal, Inc.
Williams/Crawford & Associates
SLW Automotive, Inc.

Premiere Level Sponsors
Diamond Level Sponsors
Platinum Level Sponsors
Gold Level Sponsors
Silver Level Sponsors
BEST Friend Level Sponsors
Bronze Level Sponsors

Northern Plains

North Dakota State University – College of Engineering
KL&J
North Dakota Department of Career and Technical Education
GFMEDCMicrosoft
John DeereNDSU Development Foundation
702 Communications
FM Convention & Visitors Bureau
Houston Engineering

South’s BESTVisualEdge
Briggs & Stratton
VWR Charitable Foundation
Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama
Donaldson Company
Neptune Technologies Group
Wells Fargo
Brasfield & Gorrie Construction
Southern Company
Auburn University OutreachNorthrop Grumman
National Guard
WalmartBoeingTexas BEST

Texas Instruments
Lockheed Martin
Rockwell Collins Science and Engineering Education Center
Erik Jonsson School of Engineering & Computer Science

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2014 Hub Sponsors
Premiere Level

Diamond Level

AlabamaBlazer BEST - AL
University of Alabama at Birmingham Schoolof Engineering
Valmont Newmark
Alabama Governor’s Ofice of Workforce
Development
Engineering Council of Birmingham (ECOB)

Jubilee BEST - AL
Aztec Maritime Services
J.L. Bedsole Foundation
Alabama PowerFaulkner State Community College
AirbusEvonik Corporation
University of South Alabama
Ingalls Shipbuilding
BASF
Hargrove Engineers + Constructors
ExxonMobil
Conde Systems
Lowe’sKimberly-Clark

Northeast Alabama BEST - AL
Governor’s Office of Workforce Development
Tennessee Valley Authority
DeKalb County Development Commission
Heil Environmental Solutions Group

Northwest Alabama BEST - AL

Platinum Level

Neptune Technology Group
Auburn University Office of Outreach
Brasfield & Gorrie
VWR Charitable Foundation
Briggs & Stratton
Alabama National Guard
BoeingNorthrop Grumman Corp.
Donaldson Company
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama
Southern Nuclear
Walmart Foundation
Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau
Donaldson Company FoundationVWR Foundation
JacobsVisual Edge
Wells Fargo

Arkansas
Little Rock BEST - AR
Caterpillar

Colorado
Rocky Mountain BEST - COJeppesen, A Boeing Company
BEST Robotics, Inc.
The Noerr Programs Corporation
Club Workshop, LLC
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Scitor Corporation
Raytheon Company

FlexcoFloridaSelma BEST - AL

Emerald Coast BEST - FL

Wallace Community College Selma
Alabama Governor’s Office of Workforce
Development
HL-A, Co. Inc
Alabama Power

AT&T
ASHRAEIP Foundation
IEEE

Shelton State BEST - AL

Georgia BEST - GA

Mercedes-Benz U.S. International

Tennessee Valley BEST - AL
ToyotaTVA
Decatur Daybreak Rotary

War Eagle BEST - AL
VisualEdge
Southern Company

Georgia

Gold Level

Silver Level

Siemens
Great Plains Ventures
Airbus Americas Engineering, Inc.
Randal & Elizabeth Atkeisson
SPEEA

Minnesota
Minnesota BEST - MN
Willmar Area Community Foundation
ENGraphted
Jennie-O Turkey Store
Cultura Technologies LLC

Mississippi
Mississippi BEST - MS
Bagley College of Engineering, Mississippi
State University
Caterpillar Reman
Toyota Motor Manufacturing of Mississippi
Missile Defense Agency- STEM Outreach
Kimberly Clark
Nissan of North America
MTD Products

North Dakota
Bison BEST - ND
NDSU College of Engineering
KLJ
ND Career and TechGFMEDCMicrosoft
John DeereNDSU Development Foundation
702 Communications
FM Visitors Center
Houston EngineeringBlue Hawk BEST - ND
Dickinson State University
Hafele Construction
MDU
ProBuild

Southern Polytechnic State University
Marietta NDT
Lockheed
Georgia Power
Cobb EMC

KansasKansas BEST - KS
Textron Aviation
Spirit AeroSystems

New Mexico
New Mexico BEST - NM
Air Force Research Lab
Calculex, Inc.
Sandia National Laboratories/Lockheed Martin
TRAX International
New Mexico Space Grant Consortium
The Boeing Company
El Paso Electric
Jacobs Technology

Ohio
Falcon BEST - OH
Honda North America
Turner Lathrop

Heartland BEST - OK
Charles Morton Share Trust Foundation
Cargill Salt
Northwestern Oklahoma State University
Alva Tourism and Development
Innovation First International
SolidWorks
MathWorks
Pettit’s House of Carpet
Igus, Inc.

Pennsylvania
Penn State DuBois BEST - PA
Fairman Family Foundation
Missile Defense Agency
Atlas Pressed Metals

Wolverine BEST - PA
Integrated Industrial Technologies, Inc.
ArmstrongSouth Dakota
Jackrabbit BEST - SD
SDSU Jerome J. Lohr College of Engineering
Daktronics
Brookings Vision II
First Premier BankFirst Bank & Trust
NorthWestern Energy
Avera
Xcel Energy
SAIC
IBM
East River Electric
Lowes
Bartlett & West
3M

TSP, Inc.
TV Productions
Sideline Productions
Premier Source

Tennessee
Music City BEST - TN
Nissan North America

Texas
Brazos BEST - TX
Capsher Technologies Inc.
Knowledge Based Systems Inc.
Brazos Valley Image
Hydraulic Works Inc.

Capitol BEST - TX
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc
Texas State University
Houghton-Mifflen Harcourt Publishers
STEM Council at Skillpoint Alliance

Collin County (CoCo) BEST - TX
Janne and Garry Ackerman
Raytheon Company
Allen ISD
Plano Market Square Mall
Princeton ISD
Otis Gorley

Cowtown BEST - TX

San Antonio BEST - TX
Tesoro Corporation
Southwest Research InstituteCutshall Consulting, LLC
Valero Energy Foundation
Society of American Military Engineers,
San Antonio Branch
Security Service Federal Credit Union
Frost Bank
Zachry Corporation

Lockheed Martin

Southeast Texas BEST - TX

Dallas BEST - TX

Sam Houston State University
HW Hydraulic Works
Knowledge Based System Inc
Capsher Technology

Raytheon
TI DLP Products
TI Analog Engineering Operations

Heart of Texas BEST - TX
Texas State Technical College Waco
Wilsonart

Lions Pride BEST - TX
Farmers Electric Cooperative
Flowserve
Harrison, Walker & Harper 1887
TAMU-College of Science, Engineering& Agriculture
Texas BEST Mini-grantNorth Houston BEST - TX
Baker Hughes
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
GJ Snyder III

U-STEM BEST - TX
Texas Workforce Commission
Pedagogy and Content CoachingWest Texas BEST - TX
Texas Tech Office of Institutional
Diversityk Equity, and C
Texas Tech Whitacre
College of Engineering
X-Fab of Texas
Terry and Linda Fuller
Brandon and Clark
TTU Dept of Electrical and Computer
Engineering IAB
IEEE
Chris David
Drs. Rebecca and Richard GaleANSYS Inc

Hubs that are not listed did not provide any sponsor information

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2014 Financials

2014 BEST Robotics Inc. Leadership
Executive Director

Statement of Activities

			

		

Tom Fitzmaurice

December 31						 Dec. 31, 2014

Dec. 31, 2013

Dec. 31, 2012

Assets									Rhonda Sherrell

Total Checking/Savings				$331,664.56		

$345,359.41

Total Accounts Recievable				$0.00		

-$81.85-$81.85		

$0.00 		

$0.00

$0.00

$331,661.56		

$345,277.56$272,397.92$345,277.56 		

$272,397.92

Cash and Equivalent							Greg Young

Assistant to the Board

Cash and Equivalent

Total Other Current Assets				Director of Operations

Total Assets							$345,277.56$277,479.77 		

Ken Berry		
Todd Atkins
Daniel Curtis
Patricia Sullivan

Hub District Representatives
District 1 Representative

Liabilities and Equity
		

Total Current Liabilities					$400.00 		

$0.00

$0.00

Total Liabilities							$400.00 		

$0.00

$0.00

$331,261.56		

$345,277.56$272,397.92

		Total Equity							Total Liabilities & Equity			 $331,261.56 		

$345,277.56$272,397.92

Gail Fulenwider (River Valley)
Heartland (Alva, OK); Kansas (Wichita); Little Rock(AR); Northark (Harrison, AR); River Valley (FortSmith, AR); Rocky Mountain (Denver CO), Show Me(Sedalia, MO)

District 2 Representative		
GJ Snyder (Hub Director, North Houston)
Brazos (Bryan/College Station); Capitol (Austin,
TX); Heart of Texas ( Waco, TX);North Houston (The
Woodlands, TX); Rio Grande Valley (Harlingen,
TX); San Antonio ( San Antonio, TX); Southeast
Texas(Huntsville, TX); U-STEM (Galveston, TX)

District 3 Representative		Mike Kennamer (Hub Director, Northeast Alabama)Blazer (Birmingham, AL); Central Alabama(Talladega AL); Georgia (Marietta); Music City
(Nashville, TN); North Alabama (Hanceville);
Northeast Alabama (Rainsville, AL); Northwest
Alabama (Muscle Shoals); Tennessee Valley (Decatur,
AL); War Eagle (Auburn, AL)

District 4 Representative		
Patricia Sullivan (Hub Director, New Mexico)
Big Country (Sweetwater); Collin County (McKinney);
Cowtown ( Fort Worth, TX); Dallas (Dallas, TX); Lions
Pride (Commerce); New Mexico (Las Cruces); West
Texas (Lubbock)14

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Lydia Allison (Hub Director, Mississippi)
Emerald Coast (Pensacola, FL); Jubilee (Mobile, AL); La Tech ( Ruston, LA); Mississippi ( Starkville, MS);NOLA (New Orleans, LA); Selma (Selma, AL); Shelton(Tuscaloosa, AL); Wiregrass (Dothan, AL)

District 6 Representative		

Board of Directors
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer

District 5 Representative		

Alan Kallmeyer (Hub Director, Bison)
Bison (Fargo, ND); Blue Hawk (Dickinson, ND);
Connecticut (New Britain, CT); Falcon (Bowling Green,OH); Jackrabbit (Brookings, SD); Minnesota ( New
London, MN); Penn State DuBois ( DuBois, PA); Wildcat( Wahpeton, ND); Wolverine (Grove City, PA)

Regionals Representative 		Ken Berry (Co-Director, Texas)

At Large Members 			Miguel Garcia-Rubio (Mercyhurst University)
Daniel Curtis (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Todd Atkins (Mathworks Inc.)
Suzanne Johnson

Board Committees and Chairs
Awards & Judging

Jason Devillier

Game

Greg Young

Kit

David Kwast

Software

Greg Young

Board Development

Miguel Garcia-Rubio

Education

Robin Fenton

Hub Development

Open

Marketing & Public Relations

Lydia Allison

Policies and Procedures

Daniel Curtis

Strategic Planning

Todd Atkins

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Testimonials
BEST Robotics was a great opportunity not only for my high school, but forme as an individual. The competition taught me skills such as communication,
leadership, and the ability to adapt to different atmospheres. BEST gave me,along with my peers, the opportunity to work on our networking, marketing,and engineering skills. This is something I know not only Sylacauga High School
benefited from, but the Sylacauga community as well. This was an experience I
will forever remember my senior year by. I am grateful to have been able to beena part of the 2014 BEST robotics competition and it is not something I will forget.
						Caleb Morgan, CEO, SABER Inc.
						Sylacauga High School senior

Dear BEST Robotics,
My name is Makenzie Gruenig, and I can promise you that I am one of the most
passionate students about BEST that there ever has been, or ever will be. I havebeen doing this competition for nine years, starting when I was simply eight
years old. I would like to start by thanking you all. My robotics team has been
the highlight of my life, my fellow students have become my best friends, and myknowledge has grown leaps and bounds- but maybe not how you would expect.
Yes, I love the robot aspect of the competition, but my heart is in project management.
I have been the president of business on our team for the past three years andhave loved every second of it. During season, I live, breath, and eat robotics.
Off season? I live, breath, and eat robotics. My team works year round toprepare for those precious six weeks. The point is- thank you for offering
different par ts to this competition, the fact that although I am not thestrongest robot builder, I can help my team be successful through the otheraspects, really has helped me find my place in the world. This brings me to mytrue point. I have poured myself into robotics, volunteering at multiplecompetitions including BEST nationals in the 2011 competition year. I also haveplans to work with my local hub to make BEST even bigger and better as I proceed
to college. It has helped me realize my love and passion for marketing, throughmedia, such as videography.
This year was my Senior year. My last year to ever do BEST as a student. My
team- for the first time ever- won first place at UTD BEST. My dream has cometrue!!! But there has always been a bigger dream for me- nationals. Now I know
you don’t do it due to costs and time availability, but if you did... It would
stick with me for the rest of my life. This is my ver y last chance to fulfill
something I have been dying to do for nine years, and I hope you might
consider... My fellow students and I don’t care if it ’s a big event. We don’tcare if there is a par ty, if it is held in an old school gym, outside, or if we
receive free food, even T-shirts. We don’t care if teams have to pay an entrance
fee, we don’t care if we have to stay in cardboard boxes instead of hotels!! We
do this for the love of robotics, the love of advancing our community and world!
Nothing else matters... We don’t need lavish treatment, or for it to be held atsome huge convention center, or Disney world, or whatever extra cogent place you
think we need to be happy. But BEST Nationals is what we are dying to do. And I
hope that maybe you might consider fulfilling 6 seniors dream this year... We
would help in any way possible. But even if not, thank you for the memories
BEST. I will never love ANYTHING more then I did, you. It’s been a great nine
years.
					Makenzie Gruenig					Senior student

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The excitement of a basketball game!
The challenge of a science fair!
The strategy of a chess match!
The pressure of a sporting event!

B o o s t i n g E n g i n e e r i n g , S c i e n c e , a n d Te c h n o l o g y

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