[Carolyn_Grace]

The Grand Blanc district is proof that a district can be just as exciting as a larger regional event while still being more accessible to the general public.

Throughout the day on Friday, the host team 2337 gave tours to (I believe) approximately 500 elementary students throughout the pits. Zach's right: Fridays are usually slow, but for a few hours the crowds were packed with little faces cheering like crazy for these robots! It's safe to say that the Grand Blanc area just secured sustainability for their FIRST programs for the next 15 years. I had the pleasure of talking to a few of the elementary teachers. They were impressed and kept saying different versions of, "This is the best thing we could offer to improve our education institution."

And the looks on the high school students faces as they talked to the little kids was great! They loved sharing their excitement for STEM!

After school on Friday I saw a lot of Grand Blanc high schoolers in the gym, watching matches. Who needs pep assemblies when you can just bring a massive competition to your school?

Grand Blanc also brought in the high school's drumline Saturday morning, right before Opening Ceremonies! Talk about waking everyone up to get the adrenaline pumping before anything even started! It was awesome!

They had politicians walking through the pits, talking to high school students.

The volunteer food was amazing, donated by local businesses.

Brandi and Clint Bolinger are definitely my heroes. They know how to organize, make an impact on their community, help teams grow and throw the best party. It was exciting to be part of it all.

I can't emphasize enough how much fun it was.