South Carolina Business Review

New season of high school robotics competition starts January 10th

By Mike Switzer

Published December 17, 2025 at 6:30 AM EST

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Billfred Leverette (right) and his robotics team, The Pandamaniacs

You may not know that Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway scooter, also founded a national nonprofit robotics competition called FIRST Robotics. There are dozens of teams competing across our state, including one in the Midlands being coached by our next guest. Billfred Leverette is head coach of Team 1293, also known as the Pandamaniacs.

Robot featured in the FIRST Robotics competition

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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