Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia continues support of SAE Foundation and Troup Schools with third $300K contribution
Posted on November 18th, 2014 by Patrick Sands
(LaGrange, GA.) Nov. 18, 2014 – On Thursday, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) presented its third $300,000 contribution ($900,000 total) to the SAE Foundation that will be used to continue impacting science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education for Troup County Schools in 2015.
The contribution was the culmination of a two-day event at West Georgia Technical College in LaGrange where elementary and middle school students from Troup County showcased what they have learned through the implementation of SAE’s K-12 STEM Education program, A World in Motion© (AWIM).
AWIM is an award-winning program that brings STEM to life in the classroom. These programs help students to build a foundation for careers as engineers, scientists or technicians, to meet future workforce needs of companies like KMMG.
During the event, 108 middle school students competed in the Motorized Toy Car Challenge and 144 elementary school students in the JetToy Challenge.
Randy Jackson, senior vice president of human resources and administration for KMMG, spoke to the students on Thursday and further emphasized KMMG’s ongoing commitment to local schools.
“Giving back to the community, and especially to this area’s schools, is an important part of our Kia Way philosophy where we all work together with the goal of continuous improvement each day,” he said. “It was exciting to see all of the students competing today and very rewarding to see how much everyone has learned.”
About KMMG
Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) is the first manufacturing site in North America for Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, Korea. With an annual capacity of 360,000 units, KMMG is located on 2,200 acres in West Point, Georgia, and began mass production on Nov. 16, 2009. KMMG is home to the Sorento CUV and the Optima mid-size sedan, two of the brand’s top selling models in the U.S.
Caption 1: (Photo AWIM 1) Shown, students, teachers, administrators, AWIM representatives and judges from Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia prepare for the awards ceremony on Wednesday.
Caption 2: (Photo AWIM 2) On Thursday, Kia Motors Manufacturing Georgia, Inc. (KMMG) presented the third $300,000 contribution to the SAE Foundation for STEM education in Troup County. This makes $900,000 in contributions from KMMG for this program since 2012. Shown, from left: Randy Jackson, KMMG’s senior vice president of human resources and administration; Corinne Hodges, KMMG’s manager of public relations; Chris Ciuca, director of pre-professional programs at SAE International, Karen Cagle, assistant superintendent for Troup County Schools; and Lori Gatmaitan, director of the SAE Foundation.
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