InDEED, a success
Drive Electric Earth Day sets new records in attendance
Drive Electric Earth Day parade in Riverside, California
Electric Auto Association (EAA) chapters across the country participated in Drive Electric Earth Day (DEED) throughout the month of April, and participation exceeded expectations seemingly everywhere.
“We’re clearly at an inflection point,” said April Bolduc, president of the EAA. “With climate change issues coming to the forefront and a focus on transportation electrification at the Federal level, there is incredible momentum behind EVs right now.”
Sponsored by the EAA and Plug In America, DEED featured events in 34 states, as well as Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Dominican Republic. Programs were conducted in English, Spanish, and Manderin Chinese.
DEED event in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
A wide range of EVs were displayed online, from electric farm equipment in rural areas to EV school buses in Montgomery County, Maryland.
In Ventura, California, an EV movie night was headlined by ‘Who Killed the Electric Car,’ and participants in The Evie McWheely Contest were sent materials to draw the EV of their imaginations. The drawings were then submitted to competition judges.
The Central Jersey Electric Auto Association hosted Rise of the Gen Z Electric Driver, a virtual presentation focused on three students who share the cost of an EV.
Other EAA chapters hosted virtual happy hours and coffee chats, investigated solar-powered EVs, and learned about the latest charging, financing, and permitting information in states around the country
DEED event on St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands
Back to being there
In-person events included an EV parade from Little Rock to a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a new 6-unit EV charging station in Lonoke, Arkansas, as well as a second ribbon-cutting at a charging station in Walsenburg, Colorado. The Inland Empire Electric Vehicle Association in California hosted an EV parade in Riverside that was followed by a chapter trip into the San Jacinto Mountains to Idyllwild, and then to Beaumont.
Ribbon-cutting ceremony at DEED event in Lonoke, AR
Road rallies were held in Juneau, Alaska, where local and state elected officials riding the city’s first electric bus led the way, and in Muskegon, Michigan, where 70 participants in 40 cars, motorcycles, and a golf cart, navigated a 150-mile circuit from Muskegon to Holland to Grand Rapids and back to Muskegon.
“The road rally worked well because everyone could just be in their cars,“ said organizer Karl Bloss of the West Michigan EV and Plug-in Vehicle Enthusiasts. “We connected with a lot of people.”
Bloss referenced an article on the front page of the ‘Muskegon TImes’ with the headline “Electric vehicle road rally aims to educate the west Michigan community on going green.”
DEED road rally in Juneau, Alaska
The Tucson Electric Vehicle Association in Arizona showcased conversions and self-built vehicles. In Colorado Springs, Colorado, Mountain View Electric and Drive Electric Colorado produced an impressive 4.5 minute film about their very well-attended event.
Other meet-ups around the country took place at ranches, wineries, farm stores, and farmers markets.
DEED event in Carlsbad, CA held next to the town’s flower fields
DEED, Texas style
A DEED kickoff car show in Waco, Texas, drew 200 attendees, far more than the Heart of Texas Electric Auto Association hosts expected. Participants took the opportunity to check-out five vehicles from the Tesla START program, as well as a Mustang Mach-E donated for display by the local Ford dealership.
DEED event in Waco, TX
“We had four dealership ‘partners’ that agreed to keep at least one EV on the lot for test drives for all of April,” said Teresa Porter of the Heart of Texas chapter. “And I talked the Waco City Council and the Mclennan County Commissioners’ Court into giving us proclamations for Drive Electric Earth Month.”
A driver for a restaurant delivery service a la Uber Eats, Porter made sure that her deliveries during April included a quarter page flyer:
Heart of Texas hosted a total of three car shows, in addition to a “show & go, where you do a little parkin' lot pimpin' then go on a slab crawl and swing wide,” Teresa said. Asked to translate her Texan into English, she did: “We had a car show in a parking lot, which was more like a social event, followed by a very slow-moving caravan, weaving from one side of the road to the other, with music blasting from all the car speakers.”
DEED event in Rochester, Minnesota