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Delphi engineer selected 'Outstanding Volunteer of the Year' by FIRST

	Woodie Flowers, far left, congratulates Mark Koors, far right, as he picks up the "Outstanding Volunteer of the Year" Award at the 2007 FIRST Championship in Atlanta.

Delphi Engineer Mark Koors was recently recognized as 'Outstanding Volunteer of the Year' by FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) at the 2007 Championship in Atlanta.

Koors, a mentor for one of the Delphi-sponsored FIRST teams, has been a volunteer with the organization since 1998. In this role, he has worked with the Kokomo, IN High School (TechnoKats) students, teachers and parents to help motivate young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math while building life skills.

The FIRST organization created the Outstanding Volunteer of the Year Award to celebrate one individual who has had a sustained impact on the FIRST Championship by actively supporting programs through leadership and personal commitment over an extended period. In addition to his TechnoKats role, Koors spent time in 2006 to help FIRST improve the technical aspects of organizing the robotics competitions.

"It is extremely rewarding to see how your efforts can promote the program and affect lives of students through increasing their interest in the technology and engineering field," said Koors. "I've seen the program grow tremendously over the years and the students are now more diverse than ever before. FIRST is all about inspiration ... we show them how much fun it can be working together to create something and the kids really have a lot of fun and learn at the same time."

This is not the first time Koors was recognized by FIRST for his volunteer efforts. At the 2006 Purdue Boilermaker Regional, he was presented with the regional "Woodie Flowers Finalist Award." The award, named after a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) professor who is a key supporter of the FIRST competition, honors effective communication in the art and science of engineering and design. Regional winners were then eligible to win the Woodie Flowers award at the 2006 International FIRST Robotics Competition.

Delphi has had teams participate in the FIRST competition since its inaugural event in 1992 and sponsored 16 teams in this year's competition. More than 10,000 students from 23 countries participated in the 2007 Championship. FIRST is a non-profit organization that pairs businesses and universities with schools to inspire students to pursue engineering, science and technology professions.

2007 Delphi-sponsored FIRST teams