Pictured are the 2023-2024 4-H Robotics Team, the 4-H Gear Grinders and team coaches and mentors. Back row, left to right: Matt Thompson, team coach; Sam Thompson; Carter Johnson; Josh Simpson, team mentor; Jerry McClanahan, team coach; and Gay Haliburton, team coach. Middle row: Nora Aslinger; Lillian Shank; Carolina Shank; Sarah Germ; Zander Mosley; Anay Srivastava; and Logan Payne. Front row: John Wood; PJ-Fox Tolbert; Noah Ham; Aaron Avelis; and Kyler Loynd.
The 4-H Gear Grinders, a 4-H robotics club that meets at the UT-TSU Extension Hamilton County office, was recently awarded a grant by Enbridge Inc. as part of its Enbridge Fueling Futures program. The grant of $2,500 will be used to pay for robotics parts, supplies and equipment for the club as it participates in the FIRST Technical Challenge (FTC) robotics competition this school year.
The 4-H Gear Grinders are designing, building and programming a robot for competitions that begin this month and continue into January, February and March.
The state FTC robotics championship is March 2, 2024 at MTSU.
According to the Enbridge website (www.Enbridge.com), the Enbridge Fueling Futures program is an example of the company’s corporate citizenship and commitment to “fueling quality of life within communities where we work and operate in North America.” Two things that the Fueling Futures program focuses on are empowering people to achieve their full potential and building potential in youth.
The 4-H Gear Grinders meet each week at the UT-TSU Extension office in Hamilton County at 6183 Adamson Circle in Chattanooga.
Registration for the club is in August of each year, and the club is open to all Hamilton County students in grades seven through 12.
For more information on 4-H or this 4-H robotics club, contact the UT-TSU Extension Hamilton
County office at 423-209-8560 or visit the Extension Office website at Hamilton.Tennessee.edu. For more information on FIRST Technical Challenge robotics, visit www.firstinspires.org/robotics/ftc.