**FIRST EMAIL**/ALA Sponsorship, Forums Open and Control System Update

[Mark McLeod]

Greetings Teams:


Be FIRST with ALA!

The Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA) is a nonprofit scientific society whose mission is to advance science and education related to laboratory automation.

And that is why ALA is a proud sponsor of FIRST!

ALA and FIRST have partnered for the second year to celebrate FIRST at ALA’s annual conference and exhibition LabAutomation2009, January 24-28, Palm Springs, CA, USA. LabAutomation2009 is a five-day event comprising a diverse group of over 5,000 scientists, academicians, and business leaders from more than 45 countries.

Visit www.labautomation.org/LA09 for details:


* Premier FIRST team; Team Spyder from Poway, CA will be featured in the Exhibit Hall alongside 250 multi-national companies featuring the latest in laboratory robotics and technology. Come see these outstanding young scientists as they display and operate their winning robots in the ALA Member Center.
* John Abele, Founder and Chairman - Retired, Boston Scientific & FIRST Chairman of the Board, joins LabAutomation2009’s elite series of Plenary Speakers.


Join FIRST at LabAutomation2009 this January in Palm Springs, CA, USA. For complete details on the LabAutomation conference and exhibition, visit www.labautomation.org/LA09.

FIRST Forums Now Open

The FIRST Forums are now open again with enhanced security features. If you have not posted to the FIRST Forums since March 1, 2008 you will need to re-register as a new user. When registering in the forums, you will encounter a security question. This security question is "What is the Core Value of FIRST? (GP)".

Spoiler for GP:

The answer is Gracious Professionalism. You need to enter the words Gracious Professionalism into the text box below that question in order to proceed.

Once you have completed the information, an e-mail verification notice will be sent to the email address entered. You must follow the link in this email to activate your forum account.

Early Release of Control System – Shipping Update

In order for teams to receive their control system early they must:


* indicate they would like to receive the control system early in TIMS;
* pay for their initial event and;
* provide FIRST with a valid FedEx or UPS shipping account number in TIMS.


Shipping is anticipated to start the last week of November, based upon availability. The control systems will be shipped via "Ground" service. Most teams will receive their shipments in 5 days or less and shipping costs will likely be $60 or under. You can calculate exact costs and times via online estimators from FedEx and UPS. The shipment will be leaving from Merrimack, NH (03054). It weighs approximately 60 lbs and is packaged in a box approximately 24" L x 16" W x 12" D.

Additional details on the early release can be found here:
http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc/content.aspx?id=10856

Go Teams!