EVA Annual Meeting draws a crowd

Electric Vehicle Association members from all over the US participated in the organization’s 2023 Annual Meeting in the San Diego area last month.

On Saturday, January 28, over 150 members attended the official annual meeting and ride-and-drive at Aptera headquarters in Carlsbad, over 100 staying for dinner. The previous evening, 60 members attended the barbecue at EVA President Elaine Borseth’s home in Cardiff. 

“It was great to host and wonderful to greet our longtime members and meet so many new folks,” said Borseth. “We couldn’t have asked for a better turnout.”

Highlights of 2022

The Saturday meeting at Aptera highlighted the EVA’s 2022 accomplishments, including a 700% increase in business memberships as well as a 10% boost in general memberships. The latter came with discount offers from Neo Charge on their SmartSplitter, Bluedot, EV Charging for Dummies, Recurrent Auto, Clean Energy Credit Union, and more.

Also noted as important achievements were the Electrify America sponsorship that provided chapter support, the EVA efforts to help shape EV-friendly building codes and policy, the EVA participation at Fully Charged LIVE, and the over 500 EV events of all sizes hosted by chapters around the country.

And looking forward to the new year…

EVA goals for 2023 include a higher value for general and business membership, an increase in donations resulting from new and improved engagement with potential donors, a decrease in costs by taking advantage of non-profit opportunities, and ultimately a growth in general and business membership. 

Additionally, it is hoped that corporate and donor support will strengthen and a legacy program instituted. The organization will cultivate strong, effective committees of volunteers, work with committees to anticipate spend, and develop a national budget. It will also work toward funding additional support staff for the national EVA as well as for chapters.  

Three new board members—Arthur Burton, Kate Kruk, and Michael Yared—were elected by membership, and Terri Kirsch was reelected.

An informative and enjoyable time was had by all

The Annual Meeting wrapped up Sunday morning at the Carlsbad Premium Outlets charging stations with Polestar and SOLO test drives, coffee, cold brew, and breakfast snacks. In spite of the intermittent rain, test drives continued an hour after the event officially ended.

“It all went even better than we expected,” Borseth concluded. “We’re so lucky to have such an incredible membership that is so dedicated to this critical cause.” 

We’re proud of our remarkable EVA Award winners:

2022 Chapter Leader of the Year: Dave Hanson, Houston EVA

President of the Houston Electric Vehicle Association, Dave is always focused on the goal and is well versed in alternative energy. He is an example to all in the way he engages with speakers at chapter meetings.

2022 Chapter of the Year (East): TEVA of North Carolina

TEVA of NC, growing under the leadership of Marc Smith, has been active in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point region for many years and has now expanded to outlying areas. In addition to taking part in extensive outreach efforts, it has developed an exceptional website. Many of the chapter members are very involved in teaching and certifying service and maintenance technicians for light electric vehicles. 

2022 Chapter of the Year (West): Hawaii EVA

Hawaii Electric Vehicle Association operates at the state level, managing marketing, social media, Drive Electric Earth Day and National Drive Electric Week (NDEW) planning, webinars, and policy advocacy. Leaders from island-specific clubs including Big Island EV, Kauai EV,  Maui EV, and Tesla Hawaii, sit on the chapter board and facilitate in-person events in their locales. Under the leadership of Noel Morin, the chapter is putting in the hard work  needed to accelerate adoption of EVs in Hawaii, to date less widespread than in the continental U.S.

2022 Chapter of the Year (North):  New Jersey EVA

Stan Jaracz and Alex Brown founded the New Jersey Electric Vehicle Association in 2012 and the duo has been advocating for EV access for underserved communites for nearly as long. Chapter members regularly attend state meetings that impact the EV future, and have developed  a connection with local sustainability city staff, as well as other government entities, to further their work. Today, in part due to the chapter’s efforts to raise awareness, New Jersey has finally emerged as a state with an impressive plan for transportation electrification. Just as notably, the chapter also produces trainings for first responders. 

2022 Chapter of the Year (South): Blue Ridge EV club

The Blue Ridge EV Club, helmed by a board of 10 members, was created for the 2014 NDEW event in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, and since then has held a long list of successful events at  local grocery stores, ice cream shops, farmers markets, malls, churches, and schools. The chapter hosts “Electrify Your Ride,” an annual spring event held at University of North Carolina Ashville, and has long advocated for ebikes, scooters, one wheels, and other smaller personal electric transportation modes,

2022 Road Runner Chapter: Scottsdale EVA

The fastest growing new EVA chapter, Scottsdale Electric Vehicle Association has fast tracked to over 35 members under the leadership of John Martinson and Peter Culin. To show his commitment to promoting the new organization, John encased his Model 3 in a mulit colored wrap emblazoned with the chapter name and displayed the car at the Fully Charged Live Show in San Diego. Scottsdale is part of the greater Phoenix area, the fastest growing city in the US, so it is no wonder that it is expanding so quickly.

2022 EV Road Tripper Ambassador: Ben Rich, New Jersey EVA

In 2022, Ben traveled 29,650 all-electric miles in his Tesla and on the Zero SR electric motorcycle that he rides into New York City. He is constantly testing the limits on his road trips which began many years ago. His latest trip, taken with his father who he refers to as his “environmental inspiration,” was to the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Yellowstone National Parks.

2022 National EV Business of the Year: Lynkwell

A New York-based energy service and technology company, Lynkwell and its subsidiaries Livingston Energy Group, and Green Action Studio, has become one of the fastest-growing providers of EV chargers. With nearly 1200 stations under management in New York alone, and products and services offered across North America, the company delivers solutions for every component of the charging ecosystem. Lynkwell creates community outreach campaigns to educate the public about EV ownership, including its partnership with the City of Schenectady, The Schenectady Greenmarket, and the Capital District EV Drivers Group to bring NDEW to the Electric City, making it the largest attended nationally. Lynkwell offers paid internship opportunities to prepare the next generation of clean energy workers, and is building a pipeline of talent through career pathway partnerships with Capital Region BOCES, Questar III, and Hudson Valley Community College.

2022 Lifetime Achievement Award: Tim Benford, Drive Electric Dayton

Tim is a former vice-president and board member of the national EVA, and is a frequent contributor to the EVA blog and newsletter. As Drive Electric Dayton (DED) president, he has significantly grown the chapter membership, and has made many important contributions including the writing of  the “Chapter Leader’s Guide.” He recruited  a  policy leader and other key volunteers in an effort to move his chapter forward, and developed collaborations with Clean Cities Columbus and others to expand the chapter’s  reach. He is an outstanding leader at the local and national level, dedicating countless hours to the cause and cultivating a space for the all members of the chapter to live their EV passions.

2022 Organization: Sinlair Community College

The Dayton chapter has been connected to  Sinclair Community College since 2018 when first organized a chapter tourof Sinclair’s Automotive Technology Center with the center’s Chairperson of Automotive Technology Justin Morgan. The college has also been the site for a Dayton chapter EV Ride and Drive, and the chapter was instrumental in connecting Sinclair with Tesla in order for the college to become a Tesla START program school. The college maintains automotive technician internship-based programs with GM, Honda, and other manufacturers where the students become certified technicians upon graduation. 

2022 EV City of the Year: Schenectady, NY

The new NY Capital District Drive Electric Week and Sustainability Fair of 2022 was co-sponsored by the City of Schenectady, Schenectady Greenmarket, Livingston Energy Group, and the Capital District EV Drivers Group. It featured over 70 EVs and plug-in hybrids with impressive ride-and-drive opportunities, as well as dozens of vendors. This was their first NDEW event and was the largest NDEW Event in the country. Well done!

2022 EV Advocate: Chris Celek, Drive Electric Dayton

VP of Business Development, Chris Celek, has single-handedly developed DED’s website, including its integration with Facebook. He has made certain that Facebook postings go automatically to the chapter’s website so new members joining the chapter also join the EVA. He is also responsible for developing the chapter’s new partnership program.

2022 Student of the Year: Anthony Asuncion, New Jersey EVA

Anthony was featured in "Rise of the Gen Z Electric Driver," a webinar co-sponsored by Raritan Valley Community College and RideWise. He has represented the New Jersey chapter at almost every EV show in the area as well as participated in public hearings of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, where he presented well articulated arguments for improvement of the state’s EV incentive program. Earlier this year, he opened an  EV brokerage business, offering to help  potential EV buyers find the best possible deals.

2022 EV Charger of the year: Dave Erb, Blue Ridge ELECTRIC VEHICLE CLUB

Dave, affectionately known as “Professor Plug-in” is a board member of the Blue Ridge Electric Vehicle Club who sees the promotion and adoption of EVs as his life’s mission and has built and raced EVs and hybrid vehicles as a career. An originator of the  Blue Ridge chapter, he works incessantly to promote EVs and serves as a of hub of knowledge about sustainability issues.