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 Tennessee Valley BEST (or “TVB” as it is known) was started in 2003 by a small group of volunteers who worked in the Huntsville area at various engineering based companies. Many were Auburn Engineering graduates. This group continued to run TVB through the 2006 competition, “Laundry Quandary.” In 2007, TVB became a program of Calhoun Community College in partnership with the K-12 Outreach offices of Auburn University’s Ginn College of Engineering and College of Sciences and Mathematics. Fourteen schools from North Alabama and the Birmingham area participated in the 2007 game, “2021: A Robot Odyssey.” TVB is more than just a partnership between Calhoun and Auburn. Critical to its success is the role played by members of Daybreak Rotary of Decatur and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Huntsville Chapter. Without these individuals and the many local volunteers who serve as judges and event personnel, TVB could not succeed. In 2008, Calhoun Community College was selected to
become the site of the State of Alabama’s much heralded Robotics
Center, which will serve as a training facility for industries in
North Alabama. TVB factors into the efforts of the Robotics Center
as an ideal K-12 workforce development “pipeline” program.
Through participation in the BEST program, students develop the ability
to work in teams, serve in leadership roles, think analytically, and
apply technology in solving complex industrial design problems. Such
skills are critical to Alabama’s industries and the development
of BEST students’ technological literacy skills will make them
prized industry employees. Tennessee Best History>
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