For Immediate Release – March 7, 2013
ENWIN Supports FIRST Robotics Teams
Helps Build Science and Technology Future in Windsor
Windsor ON – Join us please, as ENWIN Utilities Ltd. demonstrates its support for science and technology education by announcing its Gold Level sponsorship of the development of FIRST Robotics teams in Windsor.
2,500 high school teams compete annually in FIRST Robotics regional tournaments across North America, and now Windsor boasts two brand new teams to take on the rest of the world!
“ENWIN is proud to invest in the future of our region by supporting students who will become our future engineers, innovators, startup entrepreneurs and community leaders,” said Michael Duben, Vice President of Customer Relations for the utility.
“These students will eventually dedicate their knowledge to organizations like ENWIN – organizations devoted to the kind of innovative thinking we need to grow and change. We are planting the seeds for the future of our region.”
The new “rookie” teams from Assumption College Catholic High School and Maranatha Christian Academy will compete for the first time in the Greater Toronto Regional tournament alongside fellow rookies St. Anne’s High School and the veteran LaSalle team from Sandwich High School, which captured the Smokey Mountains Regional Championship in Tennessee last year.
WEtech Alliance, with support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, is collaborating with industry partners such as ENWIN to spearhead the expansion of FIRST Robotics into more area high schools and grade schools. Plans are underway to host a FIRST Robotics Regional Tournament in Windsor that could bring 1,200 high school students from Ontario and the Great Lakes states.
Who: Michael Duben, VP Customer Relations, ENWIN Utilities Ltd.
Irek Kusmierczyk, PhD, WEtech Alliance
First Robotics Team members and teachers from local schools
What: Announce ENWIN’s support of local FIRST Robotics Team development
Where: Assumption College Catholic High School Tech Building
When: Friday, March 8, 2013 at 10 a.m.
Why: The development of an early interest in science, technology and innovation is
vital to our regional economy and our community’s future.
ABOUT ENWIN Utilities Ltd.
ENWIN Utilities Ltd. is Windsor’s Local Electricity Distribution company dedicated to supplying safe, reliable electricity to Windsor and high quality potable water to Windsor, LaSalle and Tecumseh, at just and reasonable rates.
As a company charged with the safe provision of essential commodities now and in the future, ENWIN is dedicated to developing and nurturing the next generation of innovators, scientists, engineers and technicians who will ensure the future of our water and electricity distribution systems. We are proud to support our youth in developing the skills they will need to pursue an education in science and technology.
ABOUT FIRST Robotics
FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST). Students who compete in FIRST are twice as likely to go to university or college, twice as likely to major in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and ten times as likely to do an apprenticeship in post-secondary.
Competitors build man-sized robots that crash-and-bash in an arena but are nimble enough, for example, to shoot three-point basketball shots and climb ten foot steel pyramids. The best teams are invited to the World Championships in St. Louis where over 20,000 participants and spectators fill the Edward Jones Dome.
Major sponsors of FIRST Robotics in Canada and the United States include GM, Chrysler, Ford, Magna, Research in Motion, Motorola, Boeing, Boston Scientific and NASA just to name a few of the major technology and innovation companies supporting FIRST through funding and mentoring. FIRST students are eligible for $16 million worth of scholarships at colleges and universities across North America.
ABOUT WEtech ALLIANCE: WEtech Alliance is a Regional Innovation Centre that promotes the technology and innovation sector in Windsor and Essex County.
ABOUT THE ONTARIO TRILLIUM FOUNDATION: The OTF is an agency of the Government of Ontario, and the largest grant-making foundation in Canada, which enables Ontarians to work together to enhance the quality of life in their community.
For further information please contact:
Irek Kusmierczyk, PhD
WEtech Alliance
T: 519.997.2863
C: 519.990.3132
ikusmierczyk@wetech-alliance.com
Barbara Peirce Marshall
ENWIN Utilities Ltd.
T: 519.255.2888 ext 849
C: 519-991-5210
bpeircemarshall@enwin.com
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