Ronald K. Lohse
Mathematics Department Chair
VEX Robotics Coach
Xavier High School
1600 W. Prospect Ave.
Appleton, WI 54914
Ph. 920-733-6632 x6222
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing on behalf of the VEX Robotics Teams here at Xavier High School. We are in our eighth year of designing, building and competing with robots in competitions around the Fox River Valley and as of last year around the United States. Last year two of our teams competed in the Chicago area in a regional event run by Rolling Meadows High School. All three of our teams competed in the regional event held at St. Mary’s Central High School in the town of Menasha. At this event, two of our teams qualified for the World Championships in Dallas. Those two teams represented Xavier High School and the Fox Valley among 387 high school and middle school teams from around the world. Last year we had 20 students from 9th through 12th grade involved. This year I am expecting at least that many.
Xavier Graduates who have competed in this program are currently enrolled in Engineering schools such as Michigan Tech, UW Madison, University of Minnesota, Marquette University and others. Firms such as Cargill, Oshkosh Truck and others employ several of our graduates.
This robotics program is growing quite dramatically internationally. In the 2008-2009 season there were approximately 1600 teams world wide, last year there were about 2700 teams world wide and this year there are projected to be well over 3000 teams world wide.
I think that this is an exciting program that will go a long way toward producing students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The students design the robots to perform a given task (challenge, game) as a team. They learn how to interact as a team to accomplish a common task. They also learn how to take a design and produce a product that must accomplish the given task within a deadline and within the limitations of the materials available. They must also program the robot to run autonomously as well as under operator control. They learn thing like torque, gear ratios, drivetrains, manipulator design, problem solving and much more. And they learn all of this in a hands-on environment.
I invite your firm to become a partner in this endeavor as a sponsor. Your sponsorship can take several forms. We would like to encourage monetary sponsorship in the following increments: $100, $250 or $500. For a $100 sponsorship, you would receive your company’s name and logo on the back of our team t-shirts. For a $250 sponsorship, you would receive your company’s name and logo on the banners of all of our teams. These banners are displayed whenever and wherever the teams compete. For a $500 sponsorship, you would receive your company’s name and logo on the banners of all of our teams as well as on the back of our team t-shirts. Other means of sponsorship might include the donation of an engineer’s time to help mentor our teams.
We are excited about the prospect of having your firm become a partner with us. We are striving to qualify all of our teams for the World Championships to be help April 14-16, 2011 at Disney World in Kissimmee, FL. Your name and logo prominently displayed would be a great way to show your support for the young men and women who are striving to become the next scientists, engineers and mathematicians to lead your company and others like it.
If I can supply you with any other information, please feel free to contact me. I would be happy to do a presentation for you or share any other information you require. I can be reached at the phone number and/or e-mail address listed at the top of this letter. Thank you for your consideration of this endeavor.
Respectfully,
Ronald K. Lohse, M.S.
Mathematics Department Chair
VEX Robotics Coach
Xavier High School