Mentors
Bear Metal Mentors
Tahoma Robotics Club is fortunate to have these dedicated mentors who contribute enthusiasm and expertise to all our activities.
Darren Collins, Advisor
by Alana W.
Darren Collins teaches at Tahoma Senior High School, mainly physics but also astronomy and chemistry. He was introduced to the idea of a robotics team by a teacher from another school. Then, in 2006, he was approached by a group of students at Tahoma Senior High wanting to start a robotics team as part of the national FIRST Robotics Competition. Mr. Collins was suited for the advisor position on the Robotics team because he majored in physics and has a little experience with design and computer science. Mr. Collins is married with kids, and finds a balance between his family and work and the Robotics team. He enjoys music, camping, fishing, swimming, and a number of other outdoor activities. We really enjoy the opportunity that Mr. Collins has provided by being the leader of the Tahoma Robotics Team.
Martin Cahoon
by A. J. L.
Martin Cahoon is an electrical engineer who has worked at Boeing for more than 26 years. He works on the wiring and software used in cameras on the bottom of Boeing aircraft. Mr. Cahoon volunteers every week at our club meetings, teaching us how to do the wiring and the control system as we develop and assemble our robot. He enjoys working with students because of the energy and problem solving the students put out. It is very uncommon for someone with such experience to volunteer so much time with high school students. We appreciate Mr. Cahoon's gift with robots.
Kurt Clayson
by Lisa M.
This will be the third year Kurt Clayson has been a mentor with our club. He began three years ago when his son, Matt, joined the team. His primary focus is programming, as Matt is one of our main programmers. One area where he offers the most assistance is tasks involving algorithms. When he is not helping programmers, he moves around to different aspects of the club such as fabrication, electrical, anodizing and any area that needs an answer or assistance. Mr. Clayson is experienced as a mentor -- he is a Senior Software Engineer at Boeing. In his profession, he mainly works in business process automation. He has dedicated a lot of time and energy to our club, and for that we are greatly appreciative. We hope he will continue to mentor our team for many years to come!
Kerry DenHerder
by Brant D.
Kerry DenHerder has been involved with Tahoma Robotics Club since it was founded in 2006, and enjoys helping out wherever he can. He has mentored students in web site design/programming, photography & videography, and robot design/fabrication. Mr. DenHerder works as a Project Manager for a small consulting firm in Issaquah. He wishes he could spend more time supporting the FIRST program.
Doug Dopps
by Stephen G.
Nowadays, Doug Dopps is a student at Green River Community college, studying mechanical engineering. But just a few years ago he was a founding member of our club. Doug has seen the growth of the club from its early days when the club's income depended on the manufacture and sale of "blinky bugs" (small novelties made from button batteries, LEDs, and pipe cleaners, and which lit up when you shook them). He is currently a mentor, and teaches members about concepts of design and engineering, and about the dynamics of robots. His hobbies include building and driving electronic cars, which he designs from scratch.
Chad Hohn
by Fred B.
Chad Hohn joined the club as a sophomore in the 2007 season, and progressed through the various design and build activities until, in the 2009 season, he was the Fabrication Leader. In 2009 he was also the competition robot driver (you can see his skills in the video section of this website). Now, he is here everyday contributing as a mentor. He helps with the hard scenarios, and teaches first year students the skills they need. He says he enjoys the time he spends here, and will always continue with this club. Chad is taking courses during the day at Renton Tech Community College, but he also keeps up his local job as a QFC Helper Clerk.
Teresa Messenger
by Michael G.
Teresa Messenger is the proud parent of our club president. As both a parent and a mentor, she is invaluable to the organization of the club, helping with information at parent meetings, and using her contacts to promote awareness of what our club does. Most important, she helps organize the arrival of food at our meetings. Without her, there would be lots of hungry stomachs in Portable 12. In her spare time she enjoys scrapbooking, skiing on a sunny day with fresh snow, and swimming.
Janice Nelson
by Fred B.
After a 20-year career as a programmer, Janice Nelson became interested in Tahoma Robotics Club when her son, Mac, joined the club in his senior year. She assisted us that year with various logistical matters, including hotel bookings. After Mac's graduation, Mrs. Nelson took the next year off, except for her support during the Portland FRC regional competition. But her fascination with our club's robot-building activities has brought her back. Earlier this year, she helped with our fundraiser. Now she is assisting the design effort from a creative standpoint and helping with supervision of fabrication.
Marc Overhauser
by Brant D.
Marc Overhauser is one of the newest TRC mentors. His son joined the team this year, prompting him to become a mentor. Mr. Overhauser is interested in helping in the following areas: programming, image processing, LabVIEW, control problems and design/ fabrication. His professional experience is designing real-time software. He admits that he has a dry sense of humor, but the kids enjoy his support.
Jim Prelesnik
by Jordan P.
Jim Prelesnik is the fabrication mentor for the robotics team, and assists us in building the chassis and other robot structures. He has helped our team since we began the year in November, and enjoys helping kids learn how to use tools and build things. Mr. Prelesnik likes science, and is glad to be able, with his son and other club members, to build this year's robot. His profession is electrical engineering, so he fits right in with our club and is looking forward to a great year with the robotics team. Mr. Prelesnik's help fabricating everything from test fixtures to shipping crates is indispensable.
Kent Rime
by Fred B.
Kent Rime has been a mentor with our club since its beginning when he was recruited by Bryan Andrews, one of the club's founding members. He has remained with the club through the years, helping out and being inspired by every FIRST event. There have been many exciting moments, "But one that sticks out was our rookie season at the Portland Regional, when our robot, "Epic", was the first robot to score autonomously. That was a biggie." Outside the club, Mr. Rime designs baggage screening and handling systems for airports. Within the club he does many things, including mechanical design and oversight of the safety program. He is especially appreciated for his continuing commitment to our club's success.
Eric VanBuren
by Michael G.
Eric VanBuren is a 45 year-old father of two, one daughter and one son. He is a self-employed truck mechanic during the day and a regular mentor in the afternoon. His son, Darren, is an active club member who works on this website and at various other jobs. Why did Mr. VanBuren become a mentor? "I thought it would be fun." He openly enjoys mentoring, especially with the mechanical fabrication team. In his free time he works on his International Harvester vehicles.
Austin Weary
by Fred B.
Austin Weary joined our club in its first year. In our rookie season, we went to competition with a robot named Epic. Austin enjoyed this and would have been back the next year for more, but instead it was off to college. He found himself back here for the 2008 competition, but only for a short time -- he had to go back to college after just a week. It was the same story for the 2009 season. At the moment, he is here everyday and has already helped enormously with this season's design and fabrication. Thank you for the help you give Austin, we always will need your advice and intuition.
Bob Woodbury
by Zach O.
By day a software developer, Bob Woodbury is a Tahoma Robotics Club software development mentor by night. Asked why he likes working with our club, he says: "There's nothing else like it. Our club's robots are very competitive, and the program is intellectually challenging -- there is no high school sport more exciting than a FIRST robotics tournament." This is Mr. Woodbury's third year on the Tahoma Robotics team. Last year, he helped the club develop software to scout other teams' strengths and weaknesses during competition. As a mentor on the Robotics Team, Mr. Woodbury is a key player in our success and is greatly appreciated.