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Environmental Events Super Bowl
The end of January was a Super Bowl of events for me. I traveled into Minnesota, Iowa and around Wisconsin to spread the message of energy efficiency and environmental sensitivity.
The Frozen River Film Festival, organized by Will Kitchen, Maggy Jacqmin and Crystal Hegge was a four-day environmental adventure in Winona. Thursday evening started with a reception at RedTail Outfitters that set the tone for the entire weekend. Outdoor enthusiasts from the region and beyond got together for drinks and discussion about outdoor events in the region and the festival. I was able to give several rides in the Columbia Summit NEV that we showed all weekend. Speakers Will Steger and J. Drake Hamilton were a wonderful pair of adventure and hope. Will provided the adventure that lead to the environmental realities of the North and South Pole regions. And J. Drake provided the list of solutions for those environmental realities. Interest remained high regarding the Columbia Summit NEV.
Saturday was a rare but prized departure from my hybrid clinic at Honda Motorwerks. I was rewarded by having my presentation in the entry alcove of the new SLC building on the campus of Winona State University. The questions and interest in hybrid, compressed natural gas (CNG), ultra clean diesel, NEV and fuel cell technology always brings out the passionate speech in me. Thank you for the opportunity and to those who attended.
I did not get a chance to return Saturday evening for the showing of “An Inconvenient Truth” but Will Kitchen was scheduled to introduce the film and I gave him our sign outlining the free-while-they-last DVD of “An Inconvenient Truth” for attending the weekly Saturday morning clinic at 10 a.m. at Honda Motorwerks. I am confident that the festival continued on a positive note and look forward to presenting and sponsoring again next year.
I met Jerry O’Brien from Central High School in Elkader, Iowa last fall at Northeast Iowa Community College’s Gearhead Day Out #1 and he invited me to speak at the school. On Tuesday, I was able to make that presentation. Rich Bannen is the solar and wind expert that is also working with the Waldorf School in Viroqua on their Good Energy raffle. I thought it would be an ideal time to meet and present before the 1st in a series of 3 events planned at the Waldorf School in Viroqua. The plan worked very well. Thank you to Wyatt Sutherland and the other organizers and parents for their inspired interest in Green Energy. I´m happy to know there is interest in careers in the alternative fuel vehicle segment.
The following day started early with a rendezvous at the Waldorf School in Viroqua. It was an ideal location for “No Plug” to sit for the day while Tom Schee and I trailered the Columbia Summit NEV to several municipalities. Boscobel Mayor Wetter informed us that the city ordinance had passed its final vote the previous evening. And even the Chief of Police stopped to talk about the exciting news. We look forward to working with all the communities within our dealer area of responsibility but especially in communities with the vision of passing NEV ordinances. Since we had some extra time before our meeting in Muscoda, we decided to adventure to Spring Green and had the serendipitous meeting with Wendy Crary, Village Clerk and Treasurer. She has many ties to Reedsburg, Wisconsin – the home of Columbia ParCar. Cinda Johnson and Troy Wardell were a complimentary pair of civil servants in Muscoda. And we look forward to the challenge of meeting their standards. Last but certainly not least, we thank Rod Taylor for organizing the mass demonstration of NEV rides in Richland Center. His foresight for his community has served his area well.
Chris Schneider
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