FIRST Team 1741 Red Alert Robotics is located at Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana, USA. Since our team began in March of 2005, Red Alert has been led by a group of students, mentors, parents, and the Center Grove School Corporation, and has focused on spreading the message of FIRST®.
“To inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.”
Our Mission Statement is:
To cultivate a culture of STEAM in order to inspire future generations of leaders and innovative thinkers.
In 2005, Center Grove School Corporation noticed a vacancy in their school activities regarding science and technology. Summer Ehresman, a computer science teacher, and the Baxter and the McCoy families, decided to form a FIRST team. Mrs. Ehresman was the school sponsor for the team, and her computer experience allowed our rookie team to learn a variety of software programs.
Linda McCoy and Sharon Baxter established the Non-Engineering side of Red Alert Robotics (NEngA), and created the Red Alert Robotics Parent Organization (RARPO) in 2008, an organization run by parents in order to sustain our team. Along with these mentors, Steve McCoy and Dwight Baxter founded the Engineering side of the team teaching students life skills in science and technology.
In 2017, Red Alert moved out of the high school and into our new Center Grove Innovation Center. The School district converted and added onto an existing building to create a place where teachers could bring students to do STEM activities and it also became the home to the robotics program. We have been able to host summer camps, FRC scrimmages, FTC “Spring Training” be a host for FIRST Indiana Robotics Town Halls, and more.
History
2005
- In 2005 the Center Grove School Corporation noticed that there was not a club supporting the growth of science and technology
2005 Red Alert Robotics at Boilermaker! - Team 1741 was founded in the fall
2006
- First official season
- Boilermaker Regional – Regional Finalists / received Rookie Inspiration Award
2007
- Attended the Wisconsin Regional
- Attended the Boilermaker Regional
2008
- St. Louis Regional – received Xerox Creativity Award
- Boilermaker Regional – received Motorola Quality Award
2009
- Attended the Midwest Regional
- Attended the Boilermaker Regional
2010
- North Carolina Regional – Regional Finalists / received Gracious Professionalism Award sponsored by Johnson & Johnson
- Boilermaker Regional – Dean’s List Finalist (Trevor Settles)
2011
- Boilermaker Regional – received Regional Chairman’s Award / received Entrepreneurship Award
- Attended Smoky Mountain Regional
- Went to FIRST World Championship
2012
- Boilermaker Regional – received Entrepreneurship Award
- Queen City Regional – received Engineering Inspiration Award
- FIRST World Championship – went 7-2 in qualification rounds and were selected for the #6 alliance on the Curie Field. Made it to the Division Semi-finals before eventually getting knocked out by the Championship Runner-Up alliance
- Mark Snodgrass became our new teacher sponsor and head coach
2013
- Boilermaker Regional – won the Regional Chairman’s Award / Innovation in Controls award / Dean’s List Finalist – Mariah Smith / Regional Finalists
- Crossroads Regional – Entrepreneurship Award
- FIRST World Championship – went 5-3 in qualification and were selected for the #4 alliance on the Newton Field. We made it to the Division Semi-finals before being knocked out by the #1 seed alliance.
2014
- Indiana State Champions
- Boilermaker Regional- Engineering Inspiration, Creativity Award
- Chesapeake Regional- Finalists, Industrial Safety, Gracious Professionalism, Entrepreneurship
- Cage Match (offseason) Champions
2015
- Purdue District – Engineering Inspiration
- IN District – Gracious Professionalism – Dean’s List Finalist Connor Osborne
- FIRST World Championship – Selected for #6 alliance on Newton Field. Made it to quarter finals.
- Attended IRI
2016
- Tippecanoe District – Gracious Professionalism
- Walker Warren – Entrepreneurship Award
- Perry Meridian District – Chairman’s Award
- Cage Match (offseason) Champions
2017
- Tippecanoe District – Quality Award
- Perry Meridian District – Semi Finalists
- Indiana State Championship – Finalists
2018
- Tippecanoe District- District Chairman’s Award & Finalist
- Plainfield District- Entrepreneurship Award & Safety Award
- Indiana State Championship- District Championship Finalist & Regional Chairman’s Award
- FIRST Championship Curie Division
2019
- Center Grove District- District Event Winner & Entrepreneurship Award
- Indiana State Championship- Gracious Professionalism Award
2020
- Bloomington District- District Chairman’s Award
- Indiana State Championship- Chairman’s Award
- Rest of season suspended because of Covid-19