[Greg Needel]

Last year he did the same thing with the numbers it referred to the number of teams who received nasa grants and said "thank you."

That being said it is a good reminder to make sure you thank your sponsors, NASA or otherwise. A letter on team stationary goes a long way but if you really want to impress, take a team photo and put it in a frame signed by all the members and send that along with a thank you letter and a few team shirts. It is small gestures from teams that will make your sponsors want to continue their support of your team and FIRST in general.