The "Manhattan Optimist Club Bulletin" Vol. 2026 #28 4-15-26

VOLUME 2026   APRIL 15   NUMBER 28

Vice President Steve Boeckman welcomed everyone, Mike Fincham gave us our morning reflection and that was followed by the flag salute.

ACHES & PAINS: Enjoy the beauty of each day, spring is right around the corner!!

PROGRAM: Mike Fincham introduced members of TEAM 5968, the Little Apple Cyborgs Team. Joining us today from the “Robotics” team are Assistant Coach – Jennifer Karr, President – Dawson Raw, Vice President – Mason Gish, Vice President – Syoma Zharkov, Design Head – Elias Mattison, Project Manager – Jack Dunning and Systems Head – Andrew Meng, all seniors at MHS. Since their last appearance here in March of 2024, they have been very busy. The team won the Central Missouri Regional while also finishing in a strong seventh place at the Greater Kansas City Regional. In the Central Missouri Regional, Mason Gish won the FIRST Dean’s List Finalist Award, which recognizes outstanding student leaders in robotics competitions. In the Greater Kansas City Regional, the team won the Rising Star Award, showing how much they have improved from previous seasons. These achievements helped the team reach their first World competition and they will compete in their 2nd world competition on April 28 in Houston Texas!

What is FIRST Robotics?? Founded in 1989, FIRST = For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. High school students design, build and program a robot every year from scratch in only 6 weeks. This emphasized gracious professionalism, competing hard AND helping each other. FRC is the varsity lever, the “Big Leagues” of student robotics.

How the game works this year: Every January, a brand-new game is revealed worldwide at the same moment, teams have 6 weeks to build. This year’s game is “REBUILT” presented by Haas. Robots score fuel, cross obstacles and climb a tower. The first 20 seconds, robots are fully autonomous, drivers can take control for the remaining 2 minutes and 20 seconds. 3 robots per alliance are working together (teams are random) the alliance that earns the most points wins.

OUR ROBOT: 27 X 27, swerve drive chassis, can move in any direction instantly, custom-built intake, spindexer, feeder tower and shooter with a rotating turret. Turret rotates 360 degrees and can score without turning. AI powered vision, custom-trained ball direction neural network with 2 limelight cameras for full-field localization. The Whiskers Algorithm calculates the optimal path to collect game pieces automatically and 3D printed parts, recycled polycarbonate and student-built electronics – all built on a budget by hand, make up our robot.

Who we are: Team 5968/, the Little Apple Cyborgs were founded in 2016, celebrating 10 years! There are roughly 36 members across 4 sub teams: Build, Design, Programming and Administration. Led by student officers: President Dawson, Vice Presidents Mason and Syoma, Project Manager Jack, Kate (Admin), Segen (Build), Elias (Design), and Nutsa (Programming). Still the only FRC team within 50 miles. Quite impressive.

Team History:

2016 – Founded and won the Rookie Inspiration Award

2020 – Continued virtually, team nearly dissolved but rebuilt!

2024 – Dawson Raw named Dean’s List Finalist

2025 – Won the Central Missouri Regional, first regional win in team history, Mason Gish named Dean’s List Finalist, first ever Alliance Captain at GKC Regional, won Rising Star Award

2026 – Won the Oklahoma Regional s part of Alliance 1, coming in as a backup robot in the semifinals – one of the most dramatic wins in team history, William Schmidt named Dean’s List Finalist, (4th consecutive year), Second Place ag GKC Regional, Won Engineering Inspiration Award

STEM in Manhattan: STEM jobs are the fastest growing sector in the US economy. Federal STEM funding for Kansas K-12 programs has been frozen or cut, programs like STARBASE, suspended in 2025. Rural and semi-rural students are the most affected and we are one of the only consistent, free, hands-on STEM programs filling this gap in a 50-mile radius.

Community Impact: STEAM Nights at USD 383 Elementary Schools-1000+ students reached, Third Thursdays downtown-200+ community members (4 years running), Water Matters Day at Sunset Zoo-1000+ people, Kansas Science Festival-2000+ people (kids could drive our robot), Wonder Workshop after school program- 20+ elementary students, Lego Challenge Day at the public library and Boy Scout Merit Badge Conference at K-State where they can earn their badge.

The Pipeline: We don’t just build robots; we build a STEM pathway in Manhattan. Elementary STEAM nights = FLL Mentorship = FRC Membership = Alumni Mentors. Mentored FLL team PANDAmonium (#45028) to the FIRST World Championships in 2025, every single member of PANDAmonium joined the FRC team this year and started a new FLL team at Eisenhower Middle School. 100% graduation rate, 98% college attendance and 85% pursuing STEM majors.

We’re going to the World Championship!!! Held in Houston, Texas, the world’s largest K-12 robotics event with 50,000 attendees from 66 countries. 19,000 students, 1,055 teams, 1,000 volunteers and only the top teams from each region qualify. College scouts, engineers and industry partners from across the country attend. We qualified twice; this is the result of 10 years building something from nothing. THE STAKES: This is the SUPER BOWL of student robotics, teams from powerhouse STEM cities with 10X our budget will be in attendance, and we are going to represent Manhattan Kansas on the world stage. IMPRESSIVE, we wish you all good luck!

Funding: What it costs to compete – FIRST registration fees alone are thousands of dollars per regional, World Championship travel, transportation, hotel, food, entry fees for 32 students and coaches, Robot parts, tools and materials throughout the build season add up. We operate on a tight budget, reusing metal, recycle polycarbonate, and 3D print what we can afford to buy. Sponsorships directly fund students competing at the highest level of robotics in the world, there are sponsorship tiers and recognition opportunities. Visit  https://littleapplecyborgs.wixsite.com/frcteam5968  for sponsorship/donation opportunities and much more information.

OUR FUTURE: We have 21 seniors graduating, actively mentoring 21 underclassmen to take over, we are developing a partnership with K-State for dual enrollment and university pipeline. New FLL team at Eisenhower Middle School, further expanding that pipeline, and our long-term vision: make Manhattan a recognized STEM hub and not a STEM desert. “Nothing we do matters if it isn’t built to last.”

CLUB STUFF/ANNOUNCEMENTS and UPCOMING EVENTS:

MHK IPS Essay winners have been selected, those students will attend the May 13th meeting.

Optimist Apparel is now available at Poppy Tees in Wamego, a new QR code will be available soon.

Save the date: April 22nd, Grow Green Match Day – upgrades to Optimist Park https://manhattanoptimist.com/sites/default/files/grow_green_ltr_document_2026-04-09_150852.pdf

Save the date: May 6th, KSU Baseball-Tailgate starts at 4:00

Save the date: May 13th, IPS students will share winning essays

Save the date: May 23rd, Bill Snyder ½ Marathon

Save the date: Oct 24th, Annual Chili Crawl – more information coming soon.

GUESTS: No additional guests were present this morning.

Meeting adjourned with the Optimist Creed

APRIL 22 – NOON MEETING: Program: Joe Schartz, Manhattan High School Football Players/Coaches: Topic: “MHS Football – 2025 State Champions”

APRIL 29 – MORNING MEETING: Program: President Kelly Karl: Topic: “Membership Meeting”