With summer in full swing, roadtrips, pool parties, and backyard BBQs may be top of mind, but the savvy event organizer also knows it’s prime time to register EV-focused events as part of National Drive Electric Week (NDEW). It might feel like September 27-October 6, the week of NDEW, is a long way off, but it’s only 3 months away!
We always encourage event organizers to register their events as soon as possible since there are numerous benefits to early registration. However, it’s much more fun to hear and learn from the event organizers themselves, so we asked seasoned event organizers to share their experience, approach, and advice about registering events for NDEW.
Photo by: Gary Miller
In Hilo, Hawaii, Noel Morin leads the organization of the He Ala Pono EV and Sustainability Fair. Here’s why he registers early. (These kind words made us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.)
“Big Island EV is thrilled to be part of NDEW and looks forward to each event and the positive impact on EV adoption in Hawaii. Big Island EV has hosted these events for over a decade and appreciates the various tools the national organizers offer.
We strive to register early, as it not only allows our group to begin local planning but also allows us to gain access to relevant materials that we always use at our events and keeps the event top-of-mind for our local team. Importantly, registering early creates momentum for other organizers across our state and helps to increase visibility and interest in EVs. Big Island EV is now part of a coalition of Hawaii EV chapters that include Kauai EV, Maui EV, and Tesla Hawaii Club. We collectively strive to make NDEW a state-wide celebration each year!
NDEW team, thank you for supporting the [electrification of transportation] effort and for helping to build and foster a global community of EV advocates and supporters. Your resources—templates for marketing and communications and information about the latest in EVs—make our jobs easier and help us encourage others to transition to EVs.”
Photo by: Jack Goodwin
On the complete opposite side of the U.S. in Tennessee, Susan Goodwin is one of the lead organizers of the Knoxville Drive Electric Festival. This event ranks as one of the largest free-standing EV events registered as part of the NDEW campaign. Multiple organizations support EV adoption and advocacy efforts in Tennessee – notably Knoxville Electric Vehicle Association (KEVA) and Drive Electric Tennessee (DET). Susan explains why early registration is important because they “have an ever-growing EV family/community, which extends beyond the KEVA chapter.”
“Since KEVA members assist those other [EVA and DET] chapters and since they participate in NDEW events beyond Tennessee, we register our event as soon as possible, which helps other organizers within a roughly three-hour driving radius avoid overlapping [the scheduling of events] when possible,” said Susan. “[Registration also] provides us information on other events as they are added.”
Susan offers insight into additional benefits of NDEW registration as she shares further.
“As we gain registrations, we can tell if we’re on track compared to previous years. Attendee RSVPs help us gain financial support when potential sponsors see that people are signing up.
The Knoxville Drive Electric Festival is a true festival with show cars, ride & drives, live music, food trucks, and other activities. Each year we try to have something people haven’t seen before. Last year, we had an electric power boat manufactured in East Tennessee by Ingenity. Year before last, we had a 1966 Ford Bronco that had been converted to fully electric by local company Kinser Chassis, plus other conversions. We highlight all those on our NDEW event page.”
As an experienced event organizer, Susan acknowledges the standard NDEW webinar offerings (the first coming up on June 29 and July 24) are now a remedial resource for her and seasoned colleagues, but she still recommends them to others, particularly newer event organizers. Susan also advises new event organizers navigating registration for NDEW should “prepare for frustrations. The learning curve is a bit steep.”
We appreciate this honesty and agree with Susan, which is why Plug In America is working to implement changes to the NDEW website to make the event registration, volunteer sign-up, and event attendee RSVP process easier to navigate. Look for those changes to start rolling out over the next few months leading into NDEW.
As always, if you have questions or encounter any challenges registering your EV-focused event for NDEW, please reach out to support@driveelectricweek.org – we’re here to help!
If you would like to learn more about NDEW and what it means to take on the role of event organizer, please sign up for one of our informational webinars.
Organizing an NDEW event webinar: An introduction to this exciting role
- Saturday, June 29, 9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. PT / 12 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET
- Wednesday, July 24, 10 a.m. -11:30 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. ET
