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The votes have been tallied and recounted and the winners for the 2023 RecycleBot Challenge have been chosen! In honor of "Earth Month" (April), Keep Rutherford County Beautiful asked Rutherford County third graders to make a robot out of used materials to help out mascots, Roxi and Rocki the Racoon recycle and save the earth. This year had the highest level of participation yet.
Keep Rutherford County Beautiful (KRCB) was thrilled to have the broad and creative field of over 130 entries from Rutherford County third-graders. It made for a tough, but impressive judging process. Judges included KRCB Executive Director Jenna Bailey; Secretary and Treasurer Taylor Hardin; Marketing & Education Committee Chair Amanda Byers; board members Maddie Summers and Clark Poole; committee members Allegra Lucas, Elizabeth Randall, James Kilgo and Shelley Roberts; as well as mascots Roxi and Rocki Raccoon. The winners of the 'Fan Favorite' category were selected by the Facebook community, collecting hundreds of votes.
"I was absolutely thrilled to see this year's participation," said Byers, Marketing & Education Committee Chair, "Judging these bots was a tough job because there were so many unique and creative submissions. You could really see the hard world and thought process behind these creations. This year's third graders understood the assignment and created robots that stand behind KRCB's mission.
There were so many creative RecycleBots this year that the committee decided to add two new categories to the original seven. Three RecycleBots were selected as the Best-of-the-Best in nine categories: Most Unique (good message, fun, unusual items), Best Use of Plastic and/or Styrofoam, Best Use of Paper and/or Textiles, Best Use of E-Waste (metal, aluminum foil, electronics), Most Creative (good imagination or original ideas), Fan Favorite (based on Facebook votes), Roxi's Picks, Rocki's Picks, and Best Overall (Bot and Story).
Winners for Fan Favorite (based on facebook votes) are:
• 3rd Place / "Robo" the RecycleBot at Cliffside Elementary School
• 2nd Place / Siobhan Hamby with "Milky Way" the RecycleBot at Rutherfordton Elementary School
• 1st Place / Lincoln Martin with "Bot on the Spot" the RecycleBot at Trinity Christian School
Winners for Roxi's Picks are:
• 3rd Place / Emilee Beheler with "Marie-Grace" the RecycleBot at Sunshine Elementary School
• 2nd Place / Daniel Friday with "Skipper" the RecycleBot at Rutherfordton Elementary School
• 1st Place / Skylar Langley with "G.R.E.G." the RecycleBot at Sunshine Elementary School
Winners for Rocki's Picks are:
• 3rd Place / Ava Delvecchio with "Kiwi" the RecycleBot at Rutherfordton Elementary School
• 2nd Place / Bonnie Martin with "Rosa" the RecycleBot at Cliffside Elementary School
• 1st Place / Jana Baldwin with "Yana Bear" the RecycleBot at Cliffside Elementary School
Winners for Best Use of E-Waste
• 3rd Place / Noah Smith with "Recycle King" the RecycleBot at Sunshine Elementary School
• 2nd Place / Willis Cooper with "Bob" the RecycleBot at Pinnacle Elementary School
• 1st Place / Jasmine Rodriguez with "Roberta" the RecycleBot at Cliffside Elementary School
Winners for Best Use of Paper and/or Textiles are:
• 3rd Place / Carter Hawkins with "Blitz" the RecycleBot at Cliffside Elementary School
• 2nd Place / Zoey Rumfelt with "Luna Hopper" the RecycleBot at Sunshine Elementary School
• 1st Place / Serenity Fearing with "Mrs. Clean/Ray R/Fley" the RecycleBot at Cliffside Elementary School
Winners for Best Use of Plastic and/or Styrofoam are:
• 3rd Place / Josiah Bolt with "PRIME" the RecycleBot at Trinity Christian School
• 2nd Place / Grayson Dale with "Prime Man" the RecycleBot at Trinity Christian School
• 1st Place / Evyn Crowder with "Harper" the RecycleBot at Rutherfordton Elementary School
Winners for Most Unique are:
• 3rd Place / Russell Yelton with "James" the RecycleBot at Sunshine Elementary School
• 2nd Place / Deborah Archer with "Love O Bot" the RecycleBot at Rutherfordton Elementary School
• 1st Place / Cora Harding with "Toadmouth" the RecycleBot at Acorn Hill Academy
Winners for Most Creative (good imagination or original ideas) are:
• 3rd Place / "Spirit" the RecycleBot at Cliffside Elementary School
• 2nd Place / Skylar Bumgarner with "Lovedump" the RecycleBot at Sunshine Elementary School
• 1st Place / Kelsie Vassey with "Cupcake" the RecycleBot at Trinity Christian School
Winners for Best Overall (Bot and Story) are:
• 3rd Place / Aliyah Hudson with "Odea" the RecycleBot at Sunshine Elementary School
• 2nd Place / Brenlee Huckabee with "Smores" the RecycleBot at Sunshine Elementary School
• 1st Place / Dominic Pruitt with "Helpy" the RecycleBot at Cliffside Elementary School
Winners received family passes to Chimney Rock State Park, coupons for McDonald's Happy Meals and coupons for free ice cream from Scoop.
