West Shore School News is a presentation of West Shore Educational Service District in partnership with Mason County Press and Oceana County Press.
By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
LUDINGTON — Local high school robotics team celebrated Tuesday when they officially opened up a place of their own. The UACJ First Robotics Practice Facility, 801 S. Madison St., opened with a grand opening and dedication ceremony. The facility was created as a result of a need for practice space of the local teams.
Karen Shineldecker, coach of the Ludington High School robotics team, was one of the initiators of the creation of the space. In a conversation with Brian Dotson, MiSTEM Region 9 director, she compared her team’s practice space to a basketball team only being able to practice on half a court with low ceilings.
As a result of that conversation MiSTEM Network Region 9 hformed a partnership with UACJ Whitehall Industries of Ludington to provide space for a new practice facility dedicated to local FIRST Robotics teams.
UACJ Whitehall Industries offered space within its facility to serve as a practice area for area robotics teams. The new venue will allow students to design, build, and test their robots in a safe and spacious environment, preparing them for upcoming competitions, Dotson said.
“We are incredibly grateful to UACJ Whitehall Industries for their support and commitment to the next generation of engineers and innovators. This partnership will provide our students with the resources and space they need to excel in the FIRST Robotics competitions, fostering creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills,” Dotson said.
“Investing in our robotics program is an investment in the future,” said Mike Wegener, vice president of extrusion at UACJ.
The new facility supports teams from Mason, Oceana, and Lake, along with other areas. Some of the major donors, in addition to UACJ and MiSTEM Network, were the West Shore ESD, Community Foundation for Mason County, House of Flavors manufacturing, Cooper’s Floor Covering, Carter Lumber, Haworth, West Shore Bank, GEMS Team 4362, and Ferris State University.
During Tuesday’s open house, local teams demonstrated some of their skills.
______________
Please Support Local News
Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. Your contribution will help us to continue to provide you with free local news.
To sign up, email editor@mediagroup31.com. In the subject line write: Subscription. Please supply your name, email address, mailing address, and phone number (indicate cell phone). We will not share your information with any outside sources. For more than one email address in a household, the cost is $15 per month per email address.
We can send you an invoice for a yearly payment of $120, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454 (please include your email address).
Payment must be made in advance prior to subscription activation.
We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.
_____
This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2025, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.
As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.
.png)
