2022 Year End Highlights

I wanted to take the time to send out a note highlighting a few things as our 2021-22 administrative year comes to a close.
 

Gene R. O’Brien Memorial Scholarship

Our annual meeting last week was well attended, and I am honored to report that at this meeting, the membership of Mid-Atlantic Robotics took action to establish the Gene R. O’Brien Memorial Scholarship fund, to memorialize Gene’s legacy of advocacy on behalf of the students of FMA.  Stay tuned for the criteria and process, which will be set by the Board in the coming months.
 

2022 Election Results

Speaking of the Board, our election results were announced at the annual meeting as well.  Congratulations to Liz Sheffield, Eric Zygmont, Brian Bilecki and Libby Kamen on being selected to represent the community on the Board for the next three years.

Additionally, the Bylaws Change measure that was on the ballot passed with 148 in favor, 20 against and 56 abstaining.  (42 of the 58 abstentions were a result of insufficient contact information or permission.)

The incoming board met briefly after the meeting to select the following individuals to the executive committee:

Liz Sheffield, Chair
Jeff Catteau, Vice Chair
Eric Zygmont, Treasurer
Nikki Stout, Secretary
Katie Prudente, Director At Large
 

Development Updates

We were excited to announce at the annual meeting that FMA has entered into a contract arrangement with the New Jersey Manufacturing Extension Program (NJMEP) for services as a strategic development partner.  This arrangement represents a new outreach effort towards the nearly 11,000 engineering and manufacturing companies throughout NJ as we seek to identify additional opportunities to connect our teams, students and event coordinators with their local community.  We look forward to sharing more on this topic as the relationship grows in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the NJMEP arrangement is not taking the place of our vacant Development Director role.  This position remains unfilled, and the work to identify the right candidate will continue into the new Board term.
 

2022-2023 Voting Membership Rolls

As our administrative year rolls over, so too will our voting membership rolls.  The criteria list for voting membership is set forth in our bylaws, and those qualifying individuals will be informed of their new or continuing status in July.
 

Thank You! 

I have been privileged to be a part of leading FMA for the past 6 years on the Board, the last 3 of those years as Chair.  In all, I could not have done it without the support of my family (it may be cliche, but it’s the truth!).  My thanks to my wife, Ashley, and my kids, Caleb and Hannah, for putting up with the endless “robot calls”.  My hope is that the organization will continue to flourish into one that they will be excited to participate in themselves as they grow older.

And thank you to you all, as well.  We have all been through a lot in the last two years, but we finally made it back to a complete FRC season this year!  This was made possible by you all in your giving of your time, talent and energy.  This generosity is what keeps our organization alive; rest assured it is felt by each of the students participating in our program.  I look forward to seeing many of you at various events and in various roles in the months and years to come.

Christopher Lester
FIRST Mid-Atlantic
Outgoing Chair