One of the very best organizations advancing the STEM education effort in our area and across the state is GeorgiaFIRST, an affiliate of the international FIRST Robotics program. 

Perry, Georgia has the chance to shine at a new GeorgiaFIRST event taking place in late February/early March. The Southern Classic Robotics Competition will be held at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter in Perry, Feb 27-­‐Mar 1, 2015 (Fri-­‐Sun). Forty-­‐five teams (twenty students per team) from throughout the southeastern U.S. will converge on Perry, Georgia and bring a whole host of students, coaches, parents and volunteers to the area. Over 2,000 people will be in Perry during this weekend.

Companies/firms interested in sponsoring this event should contact Connie Haynes, Executive Director of GeorgiaFIRST at [email protected]. Several prominent businesses in the Atlanta area (CISCO, Coca-­‐Cola, Georgia Power, GE, Kimberly-­‐Clark, Lockheed Martin, NCR, Teradata, Turner) are generous sponsors of the Peachtree Regional, the main state robotics competition held in Atlanta. This is a great way to showcase your brand to a broad audience. http://www.gafirst.org/index.php/sponsors

There is also a need for volunteers to make this event run smoothly. These volunteers can help out one day or for the whole event. A significant number of GeorgiaFIRST veterans have already committed to come to Middle GA to train new volunteers prior to the Perry event. I invite you to volunteer and to share this invitation with your colleagues – all you do to get started is register through the FIRST Volunteer Portal -­‐ https://my.usfirst.org/FIRSTPortal/Login/VIMS_Login.aspx.

Information about the Southern Classic Robotics Competition in Perry, GA http://www.gafirst.org/index.php/events/frc/georgia-­‐southern-­‐classic