National Drive Electric Week
Martinsburg, WV
Sep 15, 2018
Martinsburg, WV
Sep 15, 2018
Day: | Saturday, September 15, 2018 NOTE: this event has already happened, find current-year events on the Attend page. |
Time: | Noon to 3 PM |
Location: | Martin Distributing Co. (Parking lot) 528 West Race St. Martinsburg, WV 25401 |
Event Report
We had a very well attended and enthusiastic event for our first try at this. We were worried earlier in the week about the path of the hurricane but were able to hold it nevertheless as the storm stayed down south. The sun actually came out for a short period to the delight of the assembled crowd. On Thursday evening we were presented with a proclamation from our Mayor Karos to help promote our event in local govt. We had a large variety of EV's and plug in hybrids to show the general public, including the new Volvo SUV hybrid which was brought from a local dealer. We had refreshments, door prizes aplenty, and a gift certificate from our local Nissan dealer for $500 off purchase of new Leaf. We discussed how solar energy tied to charging EV's was the best way to go as far as pollution is concerned. We talked about WV's net metering law and how it can benefit citizens interested in going solar. We had a special guest attend from 300 miles away, Marty Weirick the president of WV EAA attended and gave a nice presentation. All in all I would say it was extremely successful and we will more than likely do it again next year.
![]() photo by: Stacy Rohn, EV driver, supporter and wife of Rick Rohn, ardent supporter of EV's From Left to right is Craig Martin, owner of Martin Distributor Co where the event was held, Mayor Karos, and John Christensen, team captain of Martinsburg Event. |
Event Description
Our National Drive Electric Week event will take place on Sept 15th Saturday from Noon to 3 PM at the Martins Distributors Warehouse and Office Bldg. on 528 Race St just blocks from the center of town in Martinsburg, WV. 25401. We are excited to hold the very first drive electric week meet-up in our 30 mile radius which includes Hagerstown, Md., and Winchester, Va. We are centrally located to those cities and hope to draw enough interest from them to make the easy drive to Martinsburg. Our downtown is getting better all the time as new businesses, restaurants, and retail are buying buildings and renovating them through a program called MSM or Main Street Martinsburg which is headed up by Randy Lewis, a hands on visionary who has made significant improvements. Our mayor George Karos has expressed interest in supporting our event with a written proclamation from the City of Martinsburg at a weekly meeting before Sept 15th.
The event location is at a Local Family owned beer distributor which is powered by solar modules made in America including (8) type 2 EV chargers. For the Tesla owners we have a Sheetz Station only a few miles away on Edwin Miller Blvd near I-81 exit 16, has 8 more chargers for Tesla only. Mountain View Solar LLC installed the solar modules and chargers many years ago and will be a proud supporter. We will offer electric vehicle (EV) rides for those not yet initiated and answer questions from the public on how to get started in the EV revolution about to take the public by silence. We are looking for more sponsors to table at the event. So far we have Sierra Club, Mountain View Solar, and Citizens' Climate Lobby of Eastern Panhandle. We would like to show the Movie that is offered if logistics allows. Finally we thank the Electric Auto Association of WV President Marty Wierick for inviting us to take part in this inaugural event.
Registered Attendees
There are currently 24 attendees registered.
Owners of These Vehicles Have Registered To Attend
Vehicle | Registered |
---|---|
Chevrolet Bolt | 5 |
Nissan Leaf (2011-2017) | 4 |
Tesla Model 3 | 2 |
Brammo | 1 |
Chevrolet Volt | 1 |
Kia Soul EV | 1 |
Toyota Prius Prime | 1 |
7 Models | 15 |
Registered attendees report 284,400 electric miles driven.