Story | Midrex - Company
Mark Lowery Wins the 2021 Midrex Iditarod Award!
March 16, 2022
We surprised winner Mark Lowery on winning the Iditarod award
Every year, a Midrex teammate is selected for our company’s most prestigious award – the Iditarod Award. Midrex is proud to announce that our 2021 Iditarod Award Winner is Mark Lowery!
Mark has been with Midrex for 17 years, joining us as a mechanical engineer for the Hadeed Module E project, which included a 2007-2008 field assignment. Following the Hadeed project, he was assigned as lead engineer on various pre-contract engineering projects. In 2009, Mark moved to the R&D Technology Center to work with Kobe Steel on new technology initiatives as mechanical engineer/project engineer.
His prior field experience and research & development work made Mark a natural for Midrex Global Solutions, which he joined in 2014. He was promoted to Manager – Global Solutions in 2016 before being named deputy project manager at the outset of the Cleveland-Cliffs Toledo HBI project in 2017. When the project manager retired, Mark was elevated to project manager and saw the project to completion and successful start-up. Mark was recently promoted to Chief – Mechanical.
Here are a few things that Mark’s teammates have to say about him and why he deserves to win the Iditarod Award:
- “Mark was always willing, ready to drop what he was doing, to support the field team …”
- “He was always calm and controlled and a pleasure to work with.”
- “He reminded us that we were appreciated and acknowledged when we did a good job.”
- “He kept his team and the client-focused on solving the problems and moving forward.”
- “In true Iditarod fashion, he kept the goal in front, maintained momentum, overcame the obstacles, and kept pushing forward all the while managing expectations, supporting the team, [and] cajoling and reassuring the customer that … all would be well.”
- “He’s a true leader and a very bright light for Midrex.”
On behalf of all Midrex teammates around the world, we are incredibly proud of our Iditarod Winner. Congratulations, Mark!
About the Iditarod Award
Our Iditarod Award was created from the same principles as the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race. The Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race is an annual long-distance test of endurance, perseverance, and courage. Sled dog teams race through blizzards, sub-zero temperatures, and gale-force winds across a harsh landscape to complete a miles-long race across Alaska.
Dan Sanford, a former Midrex vice president, embodied the spirit of an Iditarod champion throughout his career. He consistently displayed the vision and determination to succeed and provided the leadership and example to create a culture of excellence. The Iditarod Award is presented annually to recognize one special employee who most closely exhibits these principles and standards.
To be awarded the Iditarod Award, a Midrex teammate must exemplify eight specific traits that are reflective of the principles of Dan Sanford and the spirit of an Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race champion. These traits form an acrostic, which is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1.