Beach Bot Battle held at Gulfport High School

Mississippi Power sponsored the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics Beach Bot Battle in Gulfport this week where high school students competed with their 2022-2023 team robots for the final time.

Twelve teams from Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas participated in the friendly summer competition. This is the fourth year the company sponsored the event.

“At Mississippi Power, we know the importance of science and technology in our schools,” said Coast Division Manager Mark Loughman. “Many of the engineers we’re hiring now were members of their school’s robotics teams in high school, so we are happy to support these events and engage with our future workforce.”

“Students get practical experience from their classroom learning at competitions like this,” said Don Keyser, engineering instructor at Gulfport High School. “They design the robots, build them and program them. Plus, there’s the added bonus of competition and camaraderie with other high school students.”

Mississippi Power has committed approximately $75,000 to several high school robotics teams and competitions across the company’s service territory in 2023. Earlier this year, the company also sponsored the inaugural Magnolia Regional FIRST Robotics competition. Teams from six states in the southeast competed for a chance to advance to the world championship in Texas.

Now in its 98th year of operations, Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and affordable energy for more than 191,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. Mississippi Power was honored with a Community Partner Impact Award from the Center for Energy Workforce Development for its innovative and ongoing efforts to build a diverse workforce. The Employer Support for the Guard and Reserve recently recognized Mississippi Power for its commitment to its military workforce. Mississippi Power has nearly 160MW of solar capacity at four locations across the company’s service territory, including Southern Company’s first project to combine the latest, cutting-edge solar technology with battery storage. Visit our websites at mississippipower.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.