Business Team

The Business team has six areas of focus: Outreach, Finances, Sponsors, Communication, Business Plan, and Awards.

Outreach

The main goal of outreach is to spread FIRST and STEM in the community and beyond. This includes our team, our school, our cluster, our county, our community, and other teams all over the world. Outreach coordinates events such as STEM Days, Robot Demos, and other community appearances.

Outreach for the Robo Lions is a rapidly growing effort. So far, there have been a few major events that we have been a part of. For a complete list of outreach events, refer to the outreach database.

Mason STEM Day

Mason STEM Day was first held May 8th, 2014 by Mason Elementary, with the Robo Lions in participation of the first STEM Day in the cluster. The Robo Lions led an activity and demonstrated the 2014 Aerial Assist Genesis Robot as well as one of the VEX robots. The t-shirt bot was a huge success with one child recounting, “One they fired that t-shirt robot, nobody was friends with anybody.” From this event, efforts to begin an FLL team were initiated at Mason. The team was tasked with creating an activity that allowed for the vocabulary of the design process to be applied in a hands-on setting. Because we were hosting third, fourth, and fifth graders, the activity also had to be adaptable to a variety of ages and skill levels. The challenge mirrored the FRC build season, in that it began with a problem, they had a limit on their materials, time was restricted, and constraints were placed on the final product. Overall, the activity was successful for an inaugural try at this sort of outreach. Room for improvement is always considered. From the first year of doing this, we learned that everything takes longer than you expect it to, so the simpler the activity, the better for keeping on schedule. Also, assembling materials can take a very long time, and only increases with more materials, so sweet and simple is a good thing.

In 2015, the Robo Lions were invited to come back for STEM Day again, this time just doing an activity with third grade. The team designed a car construction based activity, and placed emphasis on unusual materials and problem solving thinking while still following the design process. The general idea behind the activity was much more simple than the previous year, which worked much better. Because the activity was simple, we kept the talking to a minimum, maximized the work time, and left 10 minutes approximately for robot demonstrations. VEX tiles were set up in the middle of the gym, then all sat around the tiles while we drove VEX robots around. Specifically, from this year, we learned that simple is good, but it helps to have a large team of people helping to get the activity prepared ahead of time. Begin preparation for STEM day at least two-three weeks in advance rather than the week of.

GA Manufacturing Expo

Over the summer FIRST invites the team to demonstrate the robot as a part of the FIRST booth at the GA manufacturing expo at the Gwinnett Convention Center. It is a great opportunity for our team to build a community image, promote the t-shirt bot, and draw in new sponsors.

Programming Classes

Over the summer of 2014, programming classes commenced as a way of preparing programmers for future seasons. These classes were attended by rising 8th and 9th graders as well as a few 10th graders to get experience before the upcoming season.

Mentoring at Hull MS

During the FLL season, team members volunteer to help mentor the FLL team at Hull Middle school. Various tasks are done to help wherever needed and no experience is necessary.

Finances

The finance team is led by the Treasurer, with the responsibility of all things money related. They order parts, plan the budget, help with fundraising, and are responsible for the Bill of Materials during FRC season.

Communication

The communication team is responsible for maintaining a constant presence and image for the team in the community. They head all social media updates as well as Syndications. Communications is also responsible for assisting sponsor team with the communication with sponsors.

Communication is a skill the team is constantly growing in. We work hard on keeping our members, parents, and sponsors informed.

Member Communication

In order to keep all of our team informed, we use various platforms to ensure each person is up to date. After each meeting, a syndication is sent out as well as posted on the members only FaceBook page which is also updated with anything that must be asked or shared. Emails are also sent out to team emails @prhsrobotics.com. During build season, the historian and secretary maintain a blog with day-to-day progress.

Parent and Sponsor Communication

The team maintains a public FaceBook and Twitter Page which is to be updated with major events or going ons in the team. Sponsors are to receive quarterly newsletters at the end of summer, the end of fall VEX qualifier, the end of build season, and the end of competition season.

Website

The team website exists as a hub for communication, linking to anything the team publishes as well as general information about the team. If a person wants to learn more about the Robo Lions, the team website contains everything a sponsor, parent, student, other team, or community person would need.

Business Plan

The business plan team was started in the summer of 2014 and is headed by the Vice-President of Business. The team that works on the business plan is mainly comprised of officers. Their job is to put together a comprehensive business plan which outlines goals, plans, and structure of the team to ensure sustainable success for years to come.

Team 1261 made their first business plan before the beginning of the 2015 season. Currently, it is under construction, so it will be available once completed. The main goal of the business plan is to document past success and make a plan to ensure future success. The business plan contains a few different sections as outlines below and qualifies the team for more awards such as the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Entrepreneurship award and makes us a stronger candidate for other awards.

Basic Outline of a Business Plan:

Mission Statement
Philosophy
Team History
Team Structure
Goals/Challenges
Risk Management
Sustainability
Team Specific

Awards

The awards team is mainly active during the FRC season and is responsible for the preparation of Chairman’s Award presentations and any other award the team decides to pursue.

Year	Awards	Description
2015	Regional Finalists at the Palmetto Regional Creativity Award at the Peachtree Regional	The Regional Finalist Award celebrates the alliance that makes it to the final match of the competition The Creativity Award celebrates creativity in design, use of component, or strategy of play.
2014	Regional Winner at the Palmetto Regional Industrial Design Award at the Peachtree Regional	The Industrial Design Award celebrates form and function in an efficiently designed machine that effectively addresses the game challenge. The Regional Winner Award celebrates the alliance that wins the final match of the competition.
2013	Judges' Award at Peachtree Regional	The Judges' Award During the course of the competition, the judging panel may decide a team’s unique efforts, performance, or dynamics merit recognition.
2012	Quality Award at the Smoky Mountain Regional Regional Winner at Peachtree Regional Creativity Award at the Peachtree Regional	The Quality Award celebrates machine robustness in concept and fabrication. The Regional Winner Award celebrates the alliance that wins the final match of the competition. The Creativity Award celebrates creativity in design, use of component, or strategy of play.
2011	Regional Finalist at Peachtree Regional Excellence in Engineering Award at the Peachtree Regional Innovation in Control Award at the Smoky Mountain Regional	The Excellence in Engineering Award celebrates an elegant and advantageous machine feature. The Regional Finalist Award celebrates the alliance that makes it to the final match of the competition The Innovation in Control Award celebrates an innovative control system or application of control components – electrical, mechanical, or software – to provide unique machine functions.
2010	Regional Winner at Palmetto Regional	The Regional Winner Award celebrates the alliance that wins the final match of the competition.
2009	N/A	N/A
2008	Creativity Award at the Peachtree Regional	The Creativity Award celebrates creativity in design, use of component, or strategy of play.
2007	Innovation in Control Award at Peachtree Regional	The Innovation in Control Award celebrates an innovative control system or application of control components – electrical, mechanical, or software – to provide unique machine functions.
2006	Regional Winner at the Peachtree Regional Driving Tomorrow's Technology Award Industrial Safety Award; both at the Peachtree Regional	The Regional Winner Award celebrates the alliance that wins the final match of the competition. The Driving Tomorrow's Technology Award celebrates machine features that demonstrates any aspect of engineering elegance. This includes the design, writing methods, selection of material, programming techniques, and unique machine attributes. The Industrial Safety Award celebrates the team that progresses beyond safety fundamentals by using innovative ways to eliminate or protect against hazards.
2005	Regional Winner at the Peachtree Regional	The Regional Winner Award celebrates the alliance that wins the final match of the competition.
2004	N/A	N/A

Chairman’s Award

The chairman’s award is given to a team that demonstrates excellence in spreading the ideals of FIRST. The Robo Lions presented for this award for the first time in the 2014 season. In order to be eligible for this award, teams must create a video and write an essay before a team of three presents to judges at regional competitions.