In March 2026, FRC Team 7525, The Pioneers, attended the Smoky Mountains Regional in Sevierville, TN, and we were awarded the FIRST Impact Award! This award is the most prestigious award at FIRST as it honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST. Judges looked at our team's past 3 years of community outreach, and cited our community volunteer initiatives, county and state legislative advocacy, and the quality of our presentation of that information as reasons our team won this award.In addition to being semi-finalists at this competition with our robot, our team has been invited to attend the 2026 FRC World Championship, hosted in Houston, TX!The Pioneers ask for your support to send a group of our students to compete in Houston for the FIRST Impact Award on a global stage and to experience the highest level of robotics competition. This team operates at near-zero cost for students and pulls funding from student operated fundraisers, donations, local sponsors, and grants; we are not supported by any schools.Funds collected from now until May will go towards FIRST registration fees as well as travel, lodging, and food for students only.
