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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
Held at the end of the 2013-2014 school year, the Robo Lions were a part of the first STEM Day in the cluster. We brought our t-shirt bot and the competition bot along with the VEX robot that won that year’s game. The team led a design challenge with the goal of working through the design process. 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.
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.
Sponsors
The sponsor team works closely with the communication and finances teams. They ensure that sponsor relations are well maintained, updated, and appreciated and are also charged with the task of attracting new sponsors.
Sponsors are anyone who helps the team out, be it carwash resources or money. Sponsors are crucial to the funding of the team, which is why it is essential to maintain a good relationship with the community. Sponsorship happens on a few levels, and we outline this and other essentials in our sponsor packet, updated yearly. The past three years of major sponsors are listed below. For a complete list, view our Sponsors page.
2015: Gwinnett County Public Schools Howard Brothers Maxxis Motorola Solutions Foundation Automation Direct TRS Solutions Kimberly-Clark Hendrick Motorsports and Automotive Group
2014: Motorola Solutions Foundation Maxxis Hendrick Motorsports and Automotive Group Gwinnett County Public Schools AutomationDirect TRS-Solutions Kimberly Clark Howard Brothers Bekaert Franklin Technologies Rockwell Collins
2013: Gwinnett County Public Schools Howard Brothers TRS Solutions Motorola Solutions Foundation Maxxis Rockwell Collins
2012: GCPS Foundation Howard Brothers TRS Solutions Motorola Solutions Foundation
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.