Thanks for 7 Great Years!

[dtengineering]

For the past seven years I have had the pleasure of hearing from our team alumni how their involvement with competitive robotics has helped them to win scholarships and land good jobs.

Now it is my turn to thank the team, our sponsors, and the thousands of volunteers that have made my last seven years as lead mentor of 1346 so great.

Beginning in August I will be taking up a new position as an instructor at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, in the Technology Teacher Education Program. I'll be teaching Electronics, Structures and Materials to the "next generation" of shop teachers in BC.

Yes, robots will be involved. In fact, my office will be just down the hallway from BCIT's great robotics program... and just around the corner from where FIRST's "Autodesk Guru" Phil Dollan has hung his hat for many years.

I'm not really happy about having to step down as the guy "Nominally in Charge of Things" for the Trobotics team, or leaving David Thompson Secondary, but after 13 years of teaching high school, I am excited about the chance to teach in a new environment, and finding new ways to support FRC, VEX and other great programs.

I will continue to enjoy being part of the CD community, and am hoping to get out to many VEX and FRC events... perhaps with some new volunteers coming along to soak up the GP goodness.

Thanks to everyone, particularly our incredibly amazing and generous sponsors at General Motors, the great people at FIRST Robotics Canada (we wouldn't have been here without Mark Breadner!), Deb and Kevin and their great teams in Washington and Oregon, and to my team co-sponsors, Allan Chow, Pat Douglas and Gregg Parsons.

But most of all, thanks to the students who have made 1346 what it is. I've never been more proud of a group of young people than I am of you.

Jason