Here is our 2009 Chairmans Award Essay, 9,998 characters
Who We Are
Our team starts each new day asking one question of ourselves: “How can I get someone else interested in math, science, and engineering?” Individually, we’re students and mentors; thinkers, builders, and designers. Together, Team 1987 is a well-oiled FIRST machine.
Impact on Students, School Curriculum, Engineers, Community
Over the past three years, FIRST inspired the eleven seniors that graduated. Nine of the eleven are engineering majors, ranging from electrical to petroleum engineering. Four of these seniors are attending Missouri University of Science and Technology, a Top 20 STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) university. They received scholarships to help them in their college careers totaling over $25,000. Current high school members are excelling particularly in courses geared toward math, science, and industrial arts and have caused teachers to take notice: in 2007 and 2008, three of our members received Engineering and Technology Students of the Year, including the only girl to receive the prestigious award in 2008. By making robotics a varsity sport, members can now letter after meeting designated criteria. Additionally, we prompted the creation of a robotics club at the middle school. Students also received jobs and internships with Associated Builders and Contractors and High-Tech Laser thanks to the skills acquired in robotics.
Role Model Characteristics
Gracious professionalism, community involvement, and innovation are the foundation of Team 1987’s success and are our most outstanding features. As our mission statement describes, our team aspires to spread FIRST. As a team we strive to build a community devoted to education, innovation, and inspiration. As FIRST participants we are dedicated to building the future through the recognition and advocacy of science, technology, math, and engineering. By creating strong partnerships with mentors, teachers, and sponsors, we encourage communication and leadership as crucial parts of team success. Our team is known as a group that always focuses foremost on the goal of FIRST. This reputation even inspired a family to move cities and change schools to join our team this season.
At the off-season CowTown ThrowDown event in Kansas City in November, our team exhibited gracious professionalism in an exciting way. After learning that one team would not be chosen to compete in the finals because of the number of teams attending, the Broncobots stepped down from our fifth seed qualifying position. The team that took our place went on to be a part of the winning alliance, ultimately advancing their school robotics program by winning the competition’s highest award. Our team members, mentors and alumni were also volunteers and coordinators of CowTown ThrowDown. As Award Coordinators, we created a fair award system allowing every team at the competition to win an award—except for our own. As a team, we felt that because we played such a large role in the event, being able to help other teams succeed was a far greater reward. Our gracious professionalism and innovation helped make Kansas City’s first off-season event a huge success for the entire FIRST community.
As a team, we appreciate all the help we have received from the FIRST community, and we strive to give back more than we have received. By visiting the employers of our mentors, we have found new mentors for other teams. Over the past three years, we have helped recruit over 50 new mentors for 25 teams around the area. We have gained new sponsors for the Kansas City Regional, and we have shown current sponsors how to get more involved. On the same note, we have begun mentoring a local team, Team 2894 from the Afrikan Centered Education Collegium Campus. Our team (in conjunction with another Lee’s Summit team) helped this rookie team hit the ground running.
Communication and Partnerships within the Team and Community
Communication and partnerships between the community and Team 1987 are important aspects we focus tirelessly on each year. Because unity is such a key part of success, communication between our team, our mentors, other teams, sponsors, and the community as a whole has been crucial over the past years.

The three Lee’s Summit teams have come together (despite extreme historic athletic competition) for the good of all three groups. All three teams work as one in setting up appointments, meeting with businesses, and giving presentations to educate the local business community and schools on the FIRST program. We formed a group called Summit Robotics, and all three Public Relations teams meet biweekly during build season. The three PR teams plan community banquets, open houses, and local events where we create opportunities to spread FIRST throughout Lee’s Summit. Visiting local middle schools, the Lee’s Summit robotics team taught students the meaning of gracious professionalism and the importance of engineering and technology as they decide their high school career paths. The three-school unity worked very smoothly and was much more beneficial working together than working separately. Summit Robotics also sponsored a 2009 season kick off for the whole community to view the new game, Lunacy. Currently in the works is a community banquet for team members, family and friends of all Lee’s Summit teams to celebrate the FIRST Robotics 2009 season. When it comes to spreading the word to the community, the Lee’s Summit Robotics effort has accomplished more than ever anticipated.
As a team, we support our community through volunteer work and coordinating special projects. Since 2008, we have collected over 600 pounds of food for our local food pantry, and we support needy families during the holidays with food, home supplies, and gifts. Our team chooses to support our Kansas City community and local teams by volunteering rather than competing at the Greater Kansas City FRC Regional. In two years, we signed up 20 new volunteers and hosted countless guests at the regional.
Our team feels fortunate to have great sponsors, and one aspect of partnering we concentrate on is treating every sponsor graciously. We give each sponsor the same benefits, no matter the contribution: each is provided a spot on our website, our banners, our publications, and our robots. We do not use a ranking system based on dollar value; for us, giving time and attention to FIRST Robotics is deserving of endless praise and gratitude. Because of this, our partnerships with sponsors have remained strong over three years. They are able to see what we have done each year with their help, and we make our goal to always show our appreciation.

Spreading the FIRST Message

Innovation and inspiration have been the key factors in spreading the FIRST message. Over three seasons, the Broncobots have sent around 850 letters to 15 government officials and federal offices. We sent letters to two presidents, senators, representatives, and our mayor. In addition to our elected officials, we mailed letters to the United States Department of Education, the Office of Education Technology, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the Committee on Science and Technology. Responses, while few, have been encouraging on both local and state levels.

This year the Broncobots debuted a “Flat Mammoth” program. We combined the classic story of Flat Stanley with the spirit of FIRST. We mailed a picture of our 2008 robot, The Mammoth, around the country with FIRST brochures and team-created packets filled with information on engineering. Flat Mammoth has already reached a second grade classroom, the Missouri House of Representatives, Honduras, Japan, and Guam.
While Flat Mammoth travels to other countries, we spread the FIRST word in our own community by talking to everyone who will listen. We have presented to the Lee’s Summit Rotary Club, Lawler Gear for a National Tool and Machining Association meeting, the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council, Boy Scout meetings, freshmen orientation days, school board meetings, Honeywell, Gayle’s Harley Davidson, the Engineering and Science Summer Institute at Kansas State, Lee’s Summit Downtown Days, the Kauffman Foundation, and more.

Another new project this year was our television debut. Our students created a video covering the FIRST program and the inner workings of a busy build season. The series, titled The Broncobots Blast, aired on the Lee’s Summit government channel a total of twenty times. We are the first team in the area to accomplish outreach in this form, and we have already received inquiries about the program. Additionally, we have been featured numerous times in the media: three local newspapers, local television, Honeywell newsletters, and the 2008 book FIRST Robots: Rack N Roll.

Team 1987 held two weeklong robotic summer camps for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders, mostly from Lee’s Summit elementary schools but with one student from De Soto, Kansas. Our level one game, created by members of our team and other Lee’s Summit teams, challenged the students to build VEX robots to compete in the game “Panda-Monium”. Our team members prepared by building and rebuilding our own VEX kits. Each camp team created their own websites, flyers, and buttons, mimicking the many aspects of FIRST. The accomplishments were outstanding, and the excitement of FIRST was transferred to the enthusiastic students. Their websites and team information are still displayed on our team website, and we communicate with many of the camp participants. The student who traveled the farthest, an hour away from our location, still attends all of our team functions.
Why We’re Here

Our team completes every task with one question in mind: “How will this encourage and spread engineering?” FIRST has challenged us to make an impact on our team members, our schools, and our communities. In our first year, we made a splash. Three years has given us more than a splash; Team 1987 has created an unstoppable tidal wave.

Here is our 2009 essay for the Woodie Flowers Award- Mentor Kevin S:

What Flight Director Gene Kranz was for NASA, Kevin S has been for Team 1987’s Broncobots. Without a doubt, Kevin has been a fearless leader, motivating students like no other mentor can. Team members describe him as “dedicated” and “an inspiration” but perhaps the best description can be found along the lines of Kranz’s term, “The Right Stuff.” Kevin is what FIRST teams look for in an all-star mentor.
What sets Kevin S apart from all other mentors is the passion he displays for the students of our team and the entire FIRST program. Undoubtedly, FIRST is famous for its compassionate and intelligent mentoring community, but Kevin is one step above the rest. Kevin is a senior mechanical engineer at Honeywell FM&T in Kansas City, Missouri, and he has been a mentor for the Broncobots for the past three years. Before his first year with our team, Kevin had no connection to FIRST. After being recommended to the program by another Honeywell mentor, Kevin has been giving his all since day one. During the six weeks of build, Kevin drives over 1300 miles and misses over 50 meals with his wife to help our team. He’s there in the snow, in the freezing rain, and in the bitter cold, always with a warm heart. Kevin turns up the heat every night, inspiring and motivating students to design, build, and work to their full potential. He helps us organize what we know, decide what we need to accomplish, and create a plan for success.
We can say with absolute certainty, Kevin is the backbone of our team. He can frequently be found surrounded by students hanging on his every word. What students dream Kevin helps make a reality. With his knowledge, we are able to make our seemingly impossible ideas come to life. Kevin teaches first by encouraging, second by educating, and third by coaching. Kevin’s boost of confidence is what pushes students to approach the task at hand; his praise is what drives many of us. Kevin shows what needs to be done, but more importantly, he communicates how. Whether it’s learning how to weld or creating parts on CAD, Kevin finds a way to make every task beneficial for the team as a whole. By delegating responsibilities and engaging each student, our team is truly a team. He constantly encourages students to push the limits of what they know, never accepting failure as an option.
Kevin has brought more than his lathe, his table saw, and his mill to our team and the FIRST community. He brings humor in tense situations, optimistic hope and fierce determination when plans turn for the unexpected. Not limiting himself to just our team, he’s shared his expertise as a volunteer at the Greater Kansas City Regional for the past two years. He fuels the fire passing on FIRST’s torch when recruiting mentors for other teams. His enthusiasm alone is enough to fill a room of new volunteers. With Kevin around, we know there are second, third, and fourth chances to perfect the imperfect, there are lessons to be learned, and there are countless skills to be gained from his support and teaching.
Like Gene Kranz put Apollo 13’s stranded astronaut crew first on the priority list, Kevin S puts us first each and every day. For those of us who know him, he is our shining star, our constant reminder that we are part of something more important than a robot. For the FIRST community, he is someone to be admired and emulated. Kevin S has all of “The Right Stuff.”