On Monday, May 30th, RENEW Wisconsin was honored to be able to participate in the Monona (WI) Memorial Day parade. Emerging Technology Director Francisco Sayu and Distributed Resources Director Sam Dunaiski were in attendance with their family members and a few large bags of candy.
The parade offered staff members a chance to get out and meet with members of the community and honor those Americans who gave their lives for their country.
“The parade was a good reminder of the sacrifices made to protect our people and our collective capacity for accomplishing great things,” said Sayu. “A simple – but meaningful – example of our ability to come together to celebrate our progress and envision a bright future – despite our differences.”
Friend of the organization, Geoff Hoffman, owner of Hoffman Manufacturing, offered his custom-redesigned, all-electric DeLorean to use as the RENEW vehicle for the parade. The car was an instant hit with many parade-goers, even before many realized it was an electric vehicle (EV).
“It was great to attend the parade again after a two-year COVID hiatus,” stated Hoffman. “This event is all about honoring the folks that have served and sacrificed for us.”
RENEW staff answered dozens of questions from the public about EVs and how using renewable energy for EV charging could help us achieve deep decarbonization of our transportation sector. More importantly, the parade offered an opportunity for staff to illustrate the benefits of a decarbonized economy for Wisconsinites.
“We need more opportunities to find common ground,” continued Sayu. “I enjoyed seeing so many different families coming together to share this experience.”
RENEW staff had a fantastic time at the parade and are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate. We hope we opened a few minds to renewable energy and electric vehicles, and we had a great time doing it!
