Former employees Don Fricke, Brad Goudy and Chuck Propst put aside work, not their minds. These retirees from USA member Prairie Island have been using their time and talents to mentor local students. As part of the US FIRST Robotics Program, these retirees spent January and February helping a Red Wing High School, Red Wing, Minn. team of eight students design and build a robot to participate in the US FIRST Robotics Lake Superior Regional Competition.

Working side-by-side with the students, they brainstormed, designed, prototyped, programmed, wired and tested a robot to pass, push, pick up and catch objects to prepare for the regional competition. During the qualifying matches, the robots passed an exercise ball to each other in a game called Aerial Assist. Points were collected for the robot to pass the ball and perform a pre-programmed sequence without human interaction.

“We supplied our own tools and expertise to channel enormous adolescent energy into the proper safety practices, hand tool usage and construction techniques to result in a robot built on schedule and under budget,” said Fricke.

In recognition for outstanding achievement by a first-year team, the student team took home the “Rookie All-Star” award, which demonstrates a strong partnership effort. “We were one of the two robots there that was able to catch a ball,” Fricke said. “That was an outstanding achievement by a first-year team. The students demonstrated great teamwork and pride.”

The robotic team was invited to compete in the US FIRST Championship April 24 through 26 at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Mo.

The Red Wing High School Robotics Team receives mentoring from Prairie Island retirees to build a robot to compete in the US FIRST Robotics Lake Superior Regional Competition. Pictured in the front kneeling is retiree Don Fricke.

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