09/29/2026
TEAM 8608 IS POWERING INTO A NEW CHAPTER! ⚡
**This is a longer, informational post, but an important one. If you’ve followed, supported, sponsored, cheered for, or been part of Team 8608, we hope you’ll read along. 💙**
We honestly couldn’t figure out a way to get **all** of this information out without leaving important pieces of the story behind in a short post...so much has been said and done in the last 3 weeks... so here it is. 💙⚡
After several years operating through Calhoun Christian School, Team 8608 will no longer be a school-supported FIRST Robotics Competition team.
We do want to clarify what that has meant over the years. Calhoun Christian served as the financial guarantor and administrative home for Team 8608, but this team has never really been funded, built, or sustained by the school.
Since the beginning, Team 8608 has been powered by its mentors, parents, sponsors, local businesses, fundraising efforts, supporters, fans, and the community that has continually stepped up for these kids. **That distinction matters.**
While the school provided the structure for the team to operate under, the heart, work, funding, growth, and success of 8608 have always come from the people surrounding it.
On September 1st, we were informed that Calhoun Christian had decided to pause its robotics program. We were told that for Team 8608 to continue operating through the school, Calhoun Christian required a school staff member to be directly involved with the team, (the current one left in early August).
Before making any decision to leave, we presented two different solutions that would have allowed Team 8608 to remain at Calhoun Christian and continue serving its students there. When the school was unable to move forward with either option, we requested that Team 8608, along with its team assets, be released to our Lead Mentors so the program could continue independently rather than come to an end.
The school quickly approved that release, allowing us to move forward with the next chapter of Team 8608. From there, our mentors immediately began working to protect the future of Team 8608, keep our students together, and build a sustainable path forward.
Because the truth is...8608 has never belonged to a building.
It belongs to the students who have poured countless hours into learning and building.
It belongs to the mentors who show up night after night.
It belongs to the parents hauling kids, feeding teams, fundraising, organizing, and doing all the invisible work.
It belongs to the businesses that believe in what these students are capable of.
And it belongs to the community, supporters, alumni, and fans who have cheered for Team 8608 from home, from the stands, and sometimes from halfway across the country.
We are also grateful for the individual teachers, staff members, families, and supporters within Calhoun Christian who genuinely encouraged and supported this program over the years, we KNOW who you are! We know this was an adminstration decision and not a community one!
The school was only a small part of our story, but the community has always been the power behind it. And that is exactly why we knew this team was worth continuing.
We are incredibly excited to officially announce:
⚡ **POWER IN ROBOTICS, INC.** ⚡
Power In Robotics, Inc. has officially been incorporated as a nonprofit organization, and we are moving through the 501(c)(3) process.
This new structure gives us the opportunity to build something with greater transparency, accountability, stability, and room to grow.
And most importantly...WE ARE STILL TEAM 8608.
The number stays.
The history stays.
The students, mentors, memories, ACCOMPLISHMENTS, supporters, sponsors, and community that built 8608 stay WITH US.
But this new chapter deserves a name of its own.
⚡ **INTRODUCING WATTAGE | FRC TEAM 8608** ⚡
Why WATTAGE?
Wattage represents power in action. In robotics, it takes more than electricity to make something move. It takes students, mentors, ideas, determination, teamwork, and a community willing to invest in the next generation. WATTAGE represents the collective power behind Team 8608. ⚡
And this is only the beginning. Becoming a community-based nonprofit gives us the opportunity to grow beyond the walls of any one school.
Through **Power In Robotics, Inc.**, our vision is to grow FIRST Robotics programs, create opportunities for younger students, expand STEM education and mentorship, and give students throughout our community a place to belong, build, and discover what they can do.
We want to create something that lasts. Something students can grow through.
Something alumni can come back and mentor. Something businesses can invest in. Something families can become part of, AND something our entire community can be proud to call its own.
There are still plenty of pieces being put into place, and we are incredibly grateful for every family, mentor, sponsor, business, friend, supporter, and fans who have encouraged us through this unexpected transition.
Team 8608 has already accomplished some incredible things.
And none of those accomplishments happened because of one building or one person. They happened because people believed in these students and showed up.
That isn't changing. "We aren't starting over." We're taking everything this community has helped build and giving it room to grow.
Thank you for standing with us. Thank you for believing in them...in us! And thank you for helping us keep the power going. 💙⚡
Welcome to the next chapter. We’re just getting charged up. ⚡💙
With all our gratitude,
Matt & Becca Burkart
along with fellow mentors
Joe Burkart & Max Kinnisten
