Greece Gladiators Robotics Team 1591 competes in the World Championship in Houston, Texas

The Gladiators, known in robotics competition circles as Team 1591, was a dominating force in the recent Finger Lakes Regional FIRST Robotics competition, March 15-18, 2023. They remained in first place throughout the competition, going on to win with a record of 13-1-0 and earning them their first trip to the World Championship, this year hosted in Houston, Texas from April 1922, 2023.

The Gladiators also competed in Pennsylvania at the Greater Pittsburgh Regional Competition, April 6-8, 2023, where they took second place. The team was invited to join Alliance 1, and were undefeated in their playoff matches. They brought home the blue banner.

Going into the World Competition, Greece Gladiators Robotics Team 1591 is ranked first out of 141 teams in the State of New York, 26th in the USA, and 27th in the World, with 3,200+ robotic teams worldwide.

Through tears, Greece Gladiators Coach Maressa Ranalletti described the FIRST Championship as a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience for the students who have devoted hundreds of hours to constructing and training with their robot, who they named Two Chains. Robotics teams like the Gladiators are run like a business. Students work with mentors to design, build, wire, and program their robot. They are also in charge of raising the $10,000 to $15,000 necessary to compete. Ranked in the top 10 in New York State, Ranalletti is excited to bring her Gladiators to the international competition.

There are 26 students on the team and participation is open to interested students from all four Greece high schools. Worlds is the culminating, international event for the youth robotics competition season and an annual celebration of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). continued on page 21 continued from page 20

In addition to winning the Finger Lakes Regional competition, Greece Gladiators were also recognized with the autonomous award for programming and robot consistency.

Coach Ranalletti was named the Woodie Flowers Award winner, an organizational acknowledgement for excellence in coaching. The award was founded by Dr. William Murphy in 1996 to recognize mentors within the FIRST Robotics Competition who lead, inspire, and empower using excellent communications skills. Ranalletti said, “The Woodie Flowers is a truly iconic award, and I never dreamed that I would be named the winner in just my 7th year of coaching. It is truly an honor.” She and assistant coach Lori Mannhardt are both Arcadia High School graduates and are among just a few female coaches in local competition. They have worked hard to encourage girls to try robotics and currently have 11 young women on Team 1591.

Ranalletti credits the Gladiator’s success to the dedication of the students on the team and the outstanding volunteer mentors they have recruited over time. These adult mentors work directly with students in specialized teams focused on mechanical, programming, electrical, Computer Aided Design (CAD), marketing, and scouting (statistics and strategy).

The Greece Central School District generously covered the Travel and Stay expenses for the entire Robotics Team for their trip to the World Championships in Houston, Texas. Many community members also contributed to fund additional excursions for the team while in Texas.

Greece Gladiators Team 1591 Members:

Arcadia - Duy Bui, Giomar Garcia-Maldonado and Izaak Mendelsohn.

Athena - Leora Blum, Grace Campbell, Sudhan Chhetri, Montana Harris, Vincent Giordano, Evan Keenan, Carolyn Lochner, Justin Mannhardt, Sophia Vacek and Ryan Wolicki.

Odyssey - Kiley Broyld, Kameron Cooper, Danielle Donahue, Dylan Dunaway, Natalie Ford, Jonathan Gagner, Jiana’Li Gonzalez, David Hetzel, Willa Kelly, Isabelle Lioi, Nic Morales and Nick Viola.

Olympia - Eddie Frank.

Greece Gladiators Team 1591 Coaches and Mentors: Maressa Ranalletti (Coach), Lori Mannhardt (Assistant Coach), Darren Blum, Emilie Hamwey, Korona Kelly, Greg Mendelsohn, Ted Phillips, Scott Phillips, Wryder Streeter-Haines and Jeff Tuttle.

Donations are needed to help the Gladiators remain competitive and expand from a three-month program to a year-round program. Ranalletti would like to add a middle school robotics program, which also requires funding. If you’re interested in supporting the Greece Gladiators Team 1591, mail checks payable to Rochester Community Robotics with Team 1591 in the memo line, to Greece Central School District, Attention Maressa Ranalletti, 750 Maiden Lane, Rochester, NY 14615.

For the results of the World Championship competition in Houston, Texas, and the latest on Greece Robotics Team 1591 visit

Greece students left side front to back: Izaak, Sudhan, and Izzy. Right side: Jiana and Ryan.

On the Cover - The Greece Gladiators Robotics Team 1591 members, coaches, their robot named “Two Chains”, and the trophies, banners and honors they have won. They are wearing jackets that each team member earned by clocking in 100 hours of work on the project, and paid for with team fundraisers. Photos by Karen Fien

Greece Ecumenical Food

Shelf and Clothing Closet is looking for volunteers

The current need for volunteers includes:

•Delivery drivers (summers only, winters only or year-round).

•Shopping assistants for In-Person shopping at the Food Shelf.

•Shopper assistants at the Clothing Closet.

Contact Polly McCubbin at gefs.volunteer@gmail.com

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Expressive Beginnings Greece announces New Director

Expressive Beginnings Child Care announced the hiring of Hurley Boazman as the director of their Greece location. He is responsible for managing the day to day operations of the center, ensuring compliance with OCFS regulations, mentoring and coaching staff and many other important responsibilities.

Boazman brings over 25 years of experience in child care to his new position. He was most recently the director of Boise State University Children’s Center in Idaho. He is a graduate of Bethany College and holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, K-8, and also holds a master’s degree in elementary education from Boise State University.

“Working in early childhood is a passion of mine, and being a director of a program gives me the opportunity to help children, family and the staff,” Boazman said about joining the center. “What excites me about joining the Expressive Beginnings Child Care team is the commitment to early care and education in the Rochester area. I’m looking forward to helping with that.”

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Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 7:00 p.m.

In cooperation with the Greece Public Library, 2 Vince Tofany Blvd.

The Early Years of Genesee Country Village & Museum

By Peter Wisbey

With 67 historic structures, Genesee Country Village & Mu seum, located in Mumford, is the largest living history museum in New York State and the third largest in the United States. Join Peter Wisbey, as he presents a history of the museum as it ap proaches its 50th anniversary in 2026. Mr. Wisbey will especially highlight the single building from the Town of Greece that is now on the museum grounds.

REGISTRATION REQUIRED:

Log into Greece Public Library https://www.greecepubliclibrary. org/ then click on Events, then Calendar, then May 9, or call 585.225.8951.

Peter Wisbey is the Wehrheim Curator of Collections at Genesee Country Village & Museum – a position he has held for over 16 years. He was also the Executive Director of the Seward House Museum in Auburn. A native of Horseheads, NY, he graduated from St. Lawrence University with a degree in history and has two master’s degrees – one in History Museum Studies from SUNY Oneonta/the Cooperstown Graduate Program and one in American Material Culture from the University of Delaware/the Winterthur Program.

Star indicates approximate location of Hop House in Greece.

The RMSC marks one year until the total solar eclipse

Saturday, April 8, at 3:20 p.m, marked exactly one year until the total solar eclipse that will be visible in this area. In partnership with the Rochester Eclipse Stakeholders, the RMSC has been activating the steps necessary to ensure the Rochester community can make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime event.

“One year away seems like a long time, but we already have big plans in place at the RMSC. Eclipse Stakeholders across our region are planning events and celebrations,” said Daniel Schneiderman, Eclipse Partnerships Coordinator at RMSC. “Everyone under the sun is a stakeholder in this eclipse, so we want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to see it.”

Rochester sits directly in the path of totality of the 2024 total solar eclipse and will experience three minutes and 38 seconds of complete totality.

“Experiencing totality is nothing like viewing a partial eclipse. In a total eclipse, the sun is completely covered by the moon in the middle of the day,” said Steve Fentress, Director of the RMSC Strasenburgh Planetarium. “The sky darkens. The Sun’s corona shines with incredibly pure silver-gray light. The air is suddenly cooler. Light on the landscape around you is strange and unique. It’s beyond astronomy or any other science – it’s a transformation of the world, like visiting another planet for a few minutes.”

The RMSC has recruited community partner organizations across the nine county region who are interested in making the region a hot spot for eclipse learning and viewing in 2024. These partners range from parks to restaurants, to community centers and neighborhood associations, to breweries, faith based organizations, and more. RMSC also holds a leadership role in the local Eclipse Taskforce, working with over 400 organizations to welcome and accommodate an anticipated 400,000 visitors to our region.

The last time the Rochester region experienced a total solar eclipse was in 1925. After April 8, 2024, the next time our region will experience it will be in 2144. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the people of Western New York.

The RMSC will be celebrating next year’s eclipse with a multi-day festival, ROC The Eclipse, filled with hands-on activities, speakers, music, food, and more. Several thousand guests are expected each day of the festival.

For more information about the 2024 eclipse, and to learn how to get involved, go to https://rochestereclipse2024.org or follow the official Rochester Solar Eclipse pages on all social media platforms (@rocsolareclipse).

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