ChicagoPriusGroup.org

[TonyPSchaefer]

FireEngineer and I have been kicking this around for quite some time now.

The Chicago PriusChat Bunch have had several successful meet-ups over the past couple years. Some of us have even participated in public events, fairs, and fests. Early in 2006, a few of us went up for the MilwaukeeHybridGroup meeting. We were truly surprised by their organization and formality. They had nametags! And doughnuts and coffee. But nametags!

So anyway, we got talking to Bradlee and Justin Fons (co-founders of MHG) about how they did it. They have a pretty good formula involving their web presence, public relations, press releases, announcements, and the whole works. They've done really well with a grass roots effort.

The question I have for the Chicago people is this: if we started a ChicagoPriusGroup formal organization would anyone be interested? And I'm not just talking about interested in attending meetings. Wayne and I can't pull this off alone. We each have full time jobs and there's more to this than we want to take on. We will need serious volunteers interested in organizing events and composing press releases and all that stuff.

My initial impressions are that we need people to fill the following roles:
Websmith: to update and maintain the web presence.
Public Relations: to get the word out about the group.
Membership: to send emails to members and keep people active.
Education: to coordinate the meetings and create an agenda and guest speakers if possible.
Secretary: to write meeting minutes and take care of the things that always pop up.

Notice that I'm not making a position for "Supreme Ruler" or any figurehead. It's my opinion that we should try to start without a "leader". Rather, we'll give it a go all as peers and only name a main coordinator if we decide that we need one.

What are your thoughts and are you up to it?

[FireEngineer]

First I must thank Tony for letting me kick him around.

Take a look around us. BobZ, mrbigh, terri and others have the Long Island group growing-even have their own logo. Michgal007 is getting some good response to getting an AnnArbor, MI. group going. Sleeka in Brisbane, Australia has 11 people to start-if someone wants to pay my airfare I would volunteer to go there and support them. The OC and San Diego groups have been around a while.

Then let's look in our backyard. Eric Powers in Madison has had a hybrid group up there for years. Bradlee has had the Milwaukee Hybrid group since the beginning of the year, last meeting had over 30 people. And their groups created Hybridfest.

Now for Chicago, one of the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the country. There have to be 1,000's of Prius in this area. There are some darn smart, funny, insightful, talented people who post on PriusChat from the area. There are some great lurkers who read PriusChat. Let's get together.

Recently I posted to POL, yahoo ChicagoPrius, yahoo MidwestPrius, yahoo Prius2G, yahoo toyota-prius about a meetup through GreenHybrid. We had 4 PriusChat members show up.

What Tony is talking about is getting together, sharing about the Prius we have in common, and everyone taking a (very)small part in helping running the bigger group. Can't hurt anyone, could probably benefit most. Let's try it!

Wayne

[nerfer]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FireEngineer @ Sep 22 2006, 09:25 AM) [snapback]323345[/snapback]</div>

First I must thank Tony for letting me kick him around.
:
Recently I posted to POL, yahoo ChicagoPrius, yahoo MidwestPrius, yahoo Prius2G, yahoo toyota-prius about a meetup through GreenHybrid. We had 4 PriusChat members show up.

What Tony is talking about is getting together, sharing about the Prius we have in common, and everyone taking a (very)small part in helping running the bigger group. Can't hurt anyone, could probably benefit most. Let's try it!

Wayne
[/b]

I think this is a good idea, and we should reach out beyond PriusChat members. There were 4 PC members at the Schaumburg meetup, but how many total were there? It was in the teens I think I read. So online Chicago Prius drivers include more people than what are affiliated with PriusChat (for some unaccountable reason :P ) Obviously there were more PC members at PC-only get-togethers, but the same might hold true for GreenHybrid, etc.

That being said, I unfortunately cannot help. I'm already slacking in my other volunteer commitments. If I could get paid for volunteering and hobby work, that would be great.....oh well, maybe this car will last 20 years and then I'd have enough saved to retire.

[ericbecky]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nerfer @ Sep 22 2006, 09:55 AM) [snapback]323361[/snapback]</div>

I think this is a good idea, and we should reach out beyond PriusChat members.
[/b]

Agreed.

Have you also thought about expanding beyond Prius owners?

I began the Madison Hybrid Group as a way to include all hybrid owners. When Bradlee approached me about starting his own hybrid group in Milwaukee I encouraged him to do the same.

I think Hybridfest would not have had the same flavor had we limited it to only on type of hybrid. I think hybrid owners of all kinds often have similar issues and have a lot to offer each other.

I'm sure you'll get suport no matter what you choose but I just wanted to add my two cents.

Lastly, have you thought about the name Chicago Hybrid Group?

[parrot_lady]

thats fine as long as we play by Roberts Rules (newly revised)... kidding.

Looks like its a good idea, but we would need to somehow put someone in charge of coordinating this... co chairs?

and fire engineer stop kicking tony when he decides to nap.

[tmgrl3]

Just popping in to say "hi."

Wish I could be an honorary member...I was born and raised (sounds like corn ) in Evanston...35 years in Chicagoland....I still miss my "home" territory...

I do hope the group gets up and running....I've only been to one meetup in LongIsland, but it really is fun and quite informative to share on a personal level...and it's awesome to see all the Prii lined up.

We have NYConrad (Emile) to thank for our logo....and, I understand, BobZ and others are working on t-shirts for iron-on logos...



terri

[ericbecky]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(terri @ Sep 23 2006, 11:01 AM) [snapback]323891[/snapback]</div>

Wish I could be an honorary member...I was born and raised (sounds like corn ) in Evanston...35 years in Chicagoland....I still miss my "home" territory...
terri
[/b]

Hey! I'm a former IL resident as well. As a kid we grew up in Chicago on the very last street north and the very last block east. Our alley backed up to Calvary Cemetery.

As parrot_lady said, someone really needs to step forward to set the dates and times, etc. I've offered to set dates and times for groups before (and then not show up) just so that they at least got together!

Bradlee of the Milwaukee Hybrid Group has some great ideas and the full support of his family including his wife and teenage son. This really goes a long way in keeping family harmony so the hybrid group can keep meeting. Don't try to do this if your family doesn't support it! It will take some time, but is a lot of fun.

You can make you group as formal, or informal as you want. And then once a year head up to Hybridfest for the huge national hybrid meet up with all the other hybrid groups. (Terri, the Long Island Prius Owners should start making plans for the trip!)

[TonyPSchaefer]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ericbecky @ Sep 23 2006, 03:14 AM) [snapback]323818[/snapback]</div>

Agreed.

Have you also thought about expanding beyond Prius owners?

I began the Madison Hybrid Group as a way to include all hybrid owners. When Bradlee approached me about starting his own hybrid group in Milwaukee I encouraged him to do the same.

I think Hybridfest would not have had the same flavor had we limited it to only on type of hybrid. I think hybrid owners of all kinds often have similar issues and have a lot to offer each other.

I'm sure you'll get support no matter what you choose but I just wanted to add my two cents.

Lastly, have you thought about the name Chicago Hybrid Group? [/b]

Yes. To all your suggestions and questions.

Here's our thinking - or at least my interpretation of it:
There have got to be thousands of hybrid drivers in Chicagoland. We can't possibly accommodate them all. You see, we're not so worried about setting up a web site and making press releases, our fear will kick in when people actually start to show up. I'm not saying that every hybrid owner in the Greater Chicagoland Area will attend every meeting, but if even a smallish percentage show up, we're overflowing.

Additionally, other hybrid owners would be welcomed to attend any meeting at any time. I feel that learning how to FAS, for example, is not something Prius owners are interested in. Likewise, an in-depth discussion on strategic Stealthing might bore the Honda drivers. I love what Bradlee and Justin have done. They are my inspiration and should be an inspiration to anyone who has met them. But when there are multiple types of hybrids represented in a room, it is impossible to address the questions of all the participants while maintaining the interest of those to whom the questions and answers do not apply. By focusing on simply one hybrid, we will be able to discuss - in detail - the car that every person owns and keep the entire group engaged.

If/when we get off the ground and running, I'm sure someone from GreenHybrid representing Honda hybrids will start their own localized group. Or If I'm totally wrong on what I foresee as a potential population control issue, then we'll consider expanding to all hybrids.

So, yeah. We initially started with ChicagoHybridGroup. Then we discussed where to meet which is based on anticipated attendance. As soon as we started discussing possible attendance, we realized that there is a potential for a very large audience. That's when we decided to tone it down. ChicagoPriusGroup is not the first idea. Rather, it was the compromise created after considerable thought about the first idea.

As for meeting in the past, we here at Priuachat have gotten together on regular occasions since early last year. That first meetup I think it was Me, Matt, Wayne, and YoungSirChuck. At our second or third, we had no less than twenty Prii. This past January, we got together and installed Parrot_Lady's block heater and my EV button. Members have participated in Alternative Energy Fairs and Vehicle Shows. Unfortunately, hackers, server crashes, and software upgrades have lost those earlier posts and their pictures.

So we already have an informal start. We're just now looking for something a little more structured and outside the walls of PriusChat.

Personally, I'm aiming for launching everything in the beginning of the year. That will give us time to set up the website, recruit some support, generate a press release, and devise an agenda.

[Starfall]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(terri @ Sep 23 2006, 11:01 AM) [snapback]323891[/snapback]</div>

Wish I could be an honorary member...I was born and raised (sounds like corn ) in Evanston...35 years in Chicagoland....I still miss my "home" territory...[/b]

Just backwards! Living in Evanston but born on LI.

Heaven knows there are probably more Priuses per square block in Evanston than in any place short of the HOV lanes in the state of California so I could find people to attend meet ups. Not a big job, admittedly, but with limited time, resources, & knowledge, at least it would be something.

[TonyPSchaefer]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Sep 23 2006, 12:22 PM) [snapback]323925[/snapback]</div>

I love what Bradlee and Justin have done. They are my inspiration and should be an inspiration to anyone who has met them. [/b]

Allow me to correct an injustice.

EricBecky helped get the MilwaukeeHybridGroup off the ground and running as well as all the work that went into pulling off the fantastic HybridFest. It was short-sighted of me to mention Bradlee and Justin as inspirational without tracing the path upstream.