By Brooke Tidwell, Media Relations Specialist
Chickasaw Nation Media Relations Office
Metal Mayhem team members pose for a group photo after being named Rookie All Star Team of the Year at the FIRST National Championship in Atlanta, Georgia.
ATLANTA, GA. -- An Ada area team was selected for the National Rookie All Star award in its first year to compete in the For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology Robotics competition.
Metal Mayhem, sponsored by the Chickasaw Nation and the Pontotoc Technology Center was recognized for significant contributions to the local community. Woodie Flowers, advisory board chairman of FIRST, specifically mentioned the team's effort to promote the Chickasaw language when making the announcement.
Other community service projects included a graffiti paint out, collecting money for "Tunes 4 Troops," a fitness promotion with local Head Start centers, and adopt a highway litter clean up efforts.
"I just really couldn't believe that we got rookie of the year," said Zac Dennis, from Ada, who is the student team leader.
He added that when they started the team they didn't think they had a chance to win rookie of the year at the regional level, much less at the national championship.
"It was really exciting, because we put a whole lot of hard work into it," said Laura Medcalf."
Jacob Pittman, who was the team student construction leader, said that he got a great deal of personal satisfaction from taking part in the project.
"It felt really good to give back to the community," he said.
Team members documented the community service projects and took part in one-on-one interviews with judges as part of the evaluation process.
Governor Anoatubby congratulated the team on winning the award.
"The community spirit displayed by all the team members is a great example to each of us," said Gov. Anoatubby. "Team members, mentors and parents have dedicated long hours of hard work on the robot and still found time to devote to important service projects which have been of great benefit to the community."
Metal Mayhem won the award over 41 other rookie teams from across the U.S. who took part in the competition at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
More than 340 teams took part in the FIRST robotics national championship April 17-19.
The national championship was the climax to months of competition involving more than 1,500 teams from the United States and seven other nations: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.
Lisa John, administrator of the Chickasaw nation Division of Education, had tears of joy in her eyes when she heard the announcement.
"When I heard we won the award I was extremely happy, because of the number of hours they put into the project," she said. "It's been a really tiring few days that we've been here, but when we won this it gave everyone a lot of energy."
Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway personal transporter and several other important devices, is the founder of FIRST.
"FIRST is inspiring the next generation of innovators and engineers," said Kamen. "Years from now, some of these same students competing in the Georgia Dome will be inventing solutions to our society's most challenging problems."
More than 500 teams participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition, the FIRST TECH Challenge or the FIRST LEGO League. Students from elementary to high school representing 25 countries competed in the ultimate "sport for the mind" science and technology competitions battling on six playing fields within the Georgia Dome.
As special guest and opening ceremony speaker former United States President George H. W. Bush said that, FIRST is like WWF wrestling, but for smart people.
More than 10,000 students as well as hundreds of mentors, volunteers, parents and teachers gathered to kick-off the seventeenth and largest FIRST Championship.
As one of five Oklahoma teams, Ada area's Metal Mayhem team participated in the FIRST Robotics Competition along with FIRST Robotics teams composed of 8,600 students from Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Israel and the United States.
"Metal Mayhem has exemplified a great deal of leadership with the dedication and hard work displayed through the FIRST Robotics project," said Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby. "We are proud of the positive impression and educational impact the team has made in area communities and schools."
In March, Metal Mayhem achieved their regional goal receiving the Regional Rookie All Star award during the Oklahoma City FIRST Robotics Regional Competition. This award qualified the team to advance to the FIRST Robotics National Competition in Atlanta where they competed against more than 340 robotic teams around the world.
Metal Mayhem is sponsored by the Chickasaw Nation and the Pontotoc Technology Center and consists of students and mentors from Ada area schools and businesses. Students and mentors completed a six-week robotics project that involved designing and building a robot, creating a website, participating in community service projects, creating team publicity and competing in FIRST Robotics regional and national competitions.
"FIRST Robotics has been a wonderful endeavor to get the students engaged in areas of science, technology and engineering," said Chickasaw Nation Education Services director and robotics coordinator Lori Hamilton. "Throughout the build season, the interests of these young adults have flourished and now many of them aspire to enter career fields that they never dreamed possible."
Metal Mayhem team members include Ada High School students Troy Norred, Matthew Beasley, Matthew Wright, Amber Huffman, Laura Medcalf, Candace Williams, Nikki Stepps, Darryl Mosier, Destiny Clark, Ryan Abbott, Anna Townsend and team leader Zac Dennis; Byng High School students Garrett Thompson, Becca Sallee and Nathan Enns; Latta High School and Pontotoc Tech Center students Jeremy Wingard and Phillip Vogt; Stratford High School student Ethan Priddy; Tishomingo High School student Jacob Pittman and Vanoss High School students Jessica Nail, Destiny Hatton, Tosha Taylor and Whitney Mowles.
Team mentors include Jim Lawson, Motorcycle Parts; Stan Townsend, Parson Engineering; Rhonda Medcalf, Ada High School; Lisa Thompson, Ada High School; Ty Moore, Pontotoc Technology Center; John Impson, Vanoss High School; Larry Cheatwood, Vanoss High School; Robbie Hatton, Hatton Enterprise; Chickasaw Nation mentors Marilyn Coltz, Louise Shields and Brian Rumburg; and Chickasaw Nation Division of Education team leaders Lisa John, Lori Hamilton, Amber Fox, Lynne Chatfield and Callie Roebuck.
Metal Mayhem was formed through a national organization called FIRST, For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs. Through the FIRST Robotics program, students gain engineering and technology skills, inspire innovation and develop self-confidence, communication and leadership skills.
For more information about the Metal Mayhem team, visit www.pontotoc.com/metalmayhem or contact the Chickasaw Nation Education Services director Lori Hamilton at (580) 421-7711.
