The Future of Team 71

[Alivia]

Hello, Robotics Community!

As a follow-up to a previous thread posted on this forum in regards to the future of Team 71, please visit our Facebook page for our official team statement. You can find this page here.

We look forward to seeing you all at next year's competition.

Go Teams!

[Carol]

For those who cannot or don't wish to link to facebook, can you post the text of the statement here?

[Jimmy Nichols]

Team Hammond is saddened to announce the retirement of its founding mentor Bill Beatty. Words cannot describe the impact he and his family have had on the program for the past 17 years in every capacity. We will miss you Mr Bill.

One of the greatest life lessons Mr. Beatty has taught our team is that with hard work and a little elbow grease, we can overcome any obstacle. While the road ahead may be challenging, we are determined to do whatever is necessary to not only keep 71 thriving, but to grow our presence within our community and throughout FIRST.

We are lucky to have such outstanding students, parents and mentors who are dedicated to keeping the dream alive. Our sponsors and local community have gone above and beyond in their efforts to help our team in the past, and we have no doubt that our community can, and will pull together during our transition.

We were born from Beatty International. However, we also represent our school city and the many local businesses that have contributed to us throughout the years. We represent the city and all that is good within it. We represent the outstanding students from our school district, who are the heart and soul of what we do. And--most importantly--we represent FIRST.

Thank you to all of those who continue to support us and for all those we hope to inspire in the future.

Here ya go

[MooreteP]

As a mentor starting in 1998 with Team 195, and a Hoosier who went to high school in South Bend and got an engineering degree at Purdue, Mr. Beatty has always been a shining light to my aspirations.

This is not necessarily bad, it is a passing of the torch.

Fortunes rise and fall, but the goal is always admirable.

Thank you Bill, for making the world a better place.

[efoote868]

Does this mean your future robots will be named something different than B.E.A.S.T.?

[Brandon Zalinsky]

Mr. Beatty has always been an inspiration to me, good luck in future endeavours! Thanks for your work in FIRST.

[Jessica Boucher]

Originally Posted by efoote868

Does this mean your future robots will be named something different than B.E.A.S.T.?

If they want to, I'm sure they'll come up with something. CHAOS was Central High and Osram Sylvania, which then turned into Our Sponsors a few years back. If they don't want to, this is the perfect time to switch things up.

Best wishes to the team and good on them for sticking with it.

[IndySam]

Mr Bill gave me the two most important lessons in building FIRST robot I ever had.

#1 The three most important components in a FIRST robot are drivetrain, drivetrain and drivetrain. You simply can't have a good robot without a good drive.

#2 Mr Bill's Golden rule - It's my gold so I rule. There has to be one person on the team that makes the final decisions and settles all disputes.

These two simple rules has done more to move us forward today as a team than any other thing anyone in FIRST has ever taught me.

Many thanks to Mr Beatty and all he has done for FIRST and us hear at The Digital Goats.

[Steve Kaneb]

I wish 71 good luck as they explore a new frontier. Hammond has always come out with impressive robots and a great team to be around and learn from, and I hope that continues.

That said, the question on everybody's mind has to be "Does this mean the end of Car Nack and Car Nack's Corner?"

[nuggetsyl]

Originally Posted by IndySam

Mr Bill gave me the two most important lessons in building FIRST robot I ever had.

#1 The three most important components in a FIRST robot are drivetrain, drivetrain and drivetrain. You simply can't have a good robot without a good drive.

#2 Mr Bill's Golden rule - It's my gold so I rule. There has to be one person on the team that makes the final decisions and settles all disputes.

These two simple rules has done more to move us forward today as a team than any other thing anyone in FIRST has ever taught me.

Many thanks to Mr Beatty and all he has done for FIRST and us hear at The Digital Goats.

I could not agree more.