South Carolina House of Representatives Recognition.

On May 30, the FIRST Robotics Team 342 enjoyed a special day of recognition at the South Carolina Statehouse in Columbia . We were invited by Representative Patsy Knight to be recognized for our history of success and the impact we have had on the students, our schools, and our community.

The team arrived at the Statehouse and after passing through the security checks we were escorted to the front of the House Chambers. As we stood there, Rep. Knight spoke of our accomplishments to the house members and presented the team with a beautifully framed proclamation recognizing our team's accomplishments by the House of Representatives. Team 342 is now forever recorded in the historical archives of the South Carolina House of Representatives. We then moved to the steps of the Statehouse for photos. Afterwards, the team enjoyed a guided tour of the Statehouse. We were surprised when Governor Mark Sanford stopped a meeting that he was in to take a moment with our team. The students explained to the Governor what FIRST was about and how our team participates in this exciting competition. They then went on to say the “True North” mission of FIRST was to bring education and economic development together for the future of our state and nation. Governor Sanford was very impressed with their understanding of education and economic development. He gave some examples of the projects he was working on to bring jobs to South Carolina and not export them to other countries. He then offered to have a photo opportunity with the team.

The team was then escorted to the Senate Chambers and Senator Randy Scott asked for the floor from Senator Grooms as he was proposing a change to improve the education opportunities in the State. We were recognized in the Senate Chambers with a standing ovation from the Senators. As we were moving out of the Senate Chambers the Superintendent of Education, Dr. Jim Rex followed us out and he took a few minutes to congratulate the team and offer some insight into how what we are doing fits into the direction he is leading the state's education system. The team was then hosted to a luncheon. May 30, 2007 was certainly a memorable tick on the timeline in the life of these students on Team 342 .