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Hi All:

___Just a heads up that many CleanMPG members will be staffing the Milwaukee Hybrid Group booth at the 2007 Milwaukee Autoshow over the next 7 + days. Here is some info on the show and the MHG staffing as I know of it today.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/554/medium/MHG_Staffing.jpg

Location: Midwest Airlines Center (http://www.midwestexpresscenter.com/) - 400 West Wisconsin - Milwaukee, WI 53203

Phone: 414.908.6000

Hours: Monday - Thursday 3 pm - 9 pm, Friday 1 pm - 10 pm, Saturdays 10 am - 10 pm, Sundays 10 am - 6 pm.

Gate Admission Pricing: Adults (13 & over) - $9.00, Senior Citizens (62 & over) - $5.00, Children (7 - 12) - $4.00*, Children (6 & under) FREE

*Kids Day is Sunday, March 4! All children 12 & under admitted free on Kids Day when accompanied by a paying adult.

Directions:

From the North: Take I-43 south toward downtown and exit at Mc Kinley Avenue. Turn left (East) on Mc Kinley to 6th Street. Right (South) on 6th Street to Wells Street. Left (East) on Wells Street and enter parking on left inside Midwest Airlines Center tunnel.

From the West: Take I-94 east to I43 North exit. Proceed on the I43 Northbound entrance ramp to the Kilbourn Tunnel Exit; go through the tunnel to 6th Street. Turn right on 6th and go one block to Wells Street, turn left on Wells, and enter parking on left inside Midwest Airlines Center tunnel.

From the South: Take I-43 north to Mc Kinley Avenue exit. Turn right (East) on Mc Kinley to 6th Street. Right (South) on 6th Street to Wells Street. Left (East) on Wells Street and enter parking on left inside Midwest Airlines Center tunnel.

To find the Milwaukee Hybrid Group booth: Proceed up the escalators to the 2nd floor. Turn to the left and proceed down the hallway until you get to Room 202. The booth is along the South wall.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Wait a minute. I hope that my name in the gray area is a mistake or just a lack of space in the regular hours. It seems to me that I will be there when the place is closed.

I will be there from 10:00am until 4:00pm.

Lookin' forward to it.

Hi Tony:

___I am glad you replied. Given our discussion yesterday, I looked at Bradlee’s spreadsheet this morning and saw your name hanging out there like a climber falling off the cliff??? I will adjust my own modded copy to place you in the 10:00 AM - 02:00 PM slot on Saturday, March 3. Expect a screenshot of the corrected spreadsheet in a few minutes.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Tony:

___Well sort of fixed??? I should just rebuild it from scratch but I am to lazy for that. It is a lot better then what I received to begin with ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi all!

When Bradlee first told the Milwaukee Hybrid Group about having a booth at the MAS, I mentioned how my friends have gotten tired of hearing me sing my FEH's praises, so I thought this was a great opportunity to talk to people who actually *wanted* to hear about what great FE I get & how easy & how much fun it is to get it!

I worked both Sat. & Sun. (Hi Wayne!) this past weekend, & even though they've tucked us away on the 2nd floor amongst all the racing cars :p (Shelby cars & Road America), we've talked to a lot of people, & as of 5:30PM on Sunday, added more than 25 people to our email list.:) Some actually came to the show because they saw we would be there!:) :) :)

It's been a pleasure to watch Bradlee & Wayne talk to people - Bradlee is a little more laid-back & Wayne a little more intense - but they are both passionate about hybrids, FE & the environment at large. I'm a little more "scatter-gun" in my approach, but still devoted to doing my small part to keep my beloved FEH in production :D

I found logos online for Ford (easy) & Escape Hybrid, with the leaf-&-highway (not so easy), & put together a t-shirt transfer that says "Ask me about my FEH (in logos)" & made myself a t-shirt to wear at the booth. Tues. & Thurs. when I go, I'm planning on going early & hanging out at the Ford display for awhile to see if I can drum up some more customers for them :D:D:D

Hi Debbie:

___Marian and I had our camera with us and did not even bother breaking it out of its carrying case. Why not have Neil or the guys/gals manning the booth next Saturday take a pic as that FEH shirt you made was cool!

___And a sincere thanks go out to both Bradlee and Debbie as I think they finally convinced Marian to do the right thing wrt a new hybrid automobile. She really liked the Red Prius II Touring w/ package 6 on the show floor :D

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hello to MiHG members and friends,

Thank you Wayne for all the posts about our involvement at the MAS. I’m sorry about leaving you “in the dark” Tony but we still have you covered for next Saturday. You’re just soooo sensitive!

We are having a great time and having very good conversations with hybrid owners and the general public about hybrids and EcoDriving. The traffic ebbs and flows depending on weather, time of day and whether the Badgers are on TV. DebbieKatz has been very supportive and very accurate with her impressions on the Show. We now have over 30 people signed up to get on our email list, and that’s only after 3 days.

As far as PR, we have been written up 3 times in the Milwaukee Journal, I ‘ve had an early morning live interview on WTMJ (NBC) and DebbieKatz will be doing a longer one tomorrow with a local celebrity Gus Gnorski sometime between 8-9am on WITI (Fox). She will be great because of her knowledge on our MiHG and on hybrids and did I mention her enthusiasm too! She’ll also be giving Gus a Hybridfest T-shirt, trying to plug everything we can. I also will be doing a radio interview with WPR about our MiHG sometime this week but I don’t know when. Other than our not ideal location, the support from Premedia (who puts these shows on), ADAMM, the local dealer association and our Press Release has drawn a lot off attention. Some of our members are cruising the floors with green vests on that say “Ask me about Hybrids, MiHG” searching for those seeking answers. I have also made some good contacts with corporate types (usually in suits or heels) with regards to our MiHG and our interest in helping them promote hybrid technology.

I’m very proud of the members that have staffed our booth and who will be in the coming days. It was great to see Wayne and his BETTER half Marian yesterday. I think Debbie said it all with regards to Wayne’s presence at the booth. It was such a pleasure to meet and spend some time with Marian, who is pretty much of a saint and actually is Wayne’s biggest supporter, though she is never mentioned or acknowledged at large.

We’re not even half way through the MAS and all this has happened. I thank all our members and friends who have given us the support so we could be were we are today. I’m spending some long hours between work and the Show but the boost I get talking with the public and seeing our members sharing their enthusiasm with others is sustaining me so far. I’ll keep you informed as the MAS continues…

Bradlee Fons

Hello again!

I'm having a lot of fun helping out at the MAS! :) And Bradlee is making me a *star*! :D

The people I work with were very understanding when I took Tuesday AM off on short notice so that I could do the TV interview with Gus Gnorski. This wasn't taped like the one last summer at Hybridfest - we were on live, which gave me a few more butterflies, but he explained what he was going to do, & everything went fine. I wish I had been able to say more about the Milwaukee Hybrid Group & our wonderful on-line community, but his questions were focused on hybrids & how they work. I did get to show off the vest Bradlee made, with "Ask me about hybrids? MiHG" on the back, & mention Hybridfest when I presented him, on behalf of the Hybrid Group, with a Hybridfest2006 t-shirt. (For some reason, the studio added a canned "Oooo" at that point, as if we had a big audience :p )

I was able to tape it, so I'll make a DVD copy for Bradlee to add to the MiHG files, & I can make one for CleanMPG as well. I'm also going to put this & the interview from Hybridfest on a DVD & send it to Ford, along with an information packet like those we've been handing out at the show.

I also spent some time at the Ford display on Tuesday. I wore my "Ask me about my FEH" t-shirt & took along a Hybrid Group information packet, & I got to talk to several of their representatives about the FEH & how much I like mine - actually I started out talking to one person, & she called over 2 of the other reps to hear my story:):):) I gave them our booth number, & told them that I would be happy to talk to any potential FEH customers. I told them that I want to do what I can to keep Ford solvent so they can build me another FEH in 4-5 years:D:D

By the way Wayne, Bradlee is going to take a picture of me in my FEH t-shirt at the MiHG booth tomorrow or Saturday.

On Thursday AM, a reporter from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel who is doing an article on women drivers is supposed to call me at work & interview me over the phone about my being a female hybrid driver. And Bradlee will be talking to Bob Bach from WUWM, our local NPR station Thursday PM. So, one way or another, we now have all branches of the media covered!

Hi Debbie:

___Thanks for the update as I was waiting to here more news from the show. Sounds like you had them eating out of your hands;)

___How many more E-Mail signups for the MHG?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hello to all,

Just an short update on the MiHG efforts at the MAS. Wayne, we've added 41 new names to our rolls with the 3 biggest days ahead. That is about a 25% increase from our current database. I'm sure when Tony joins us on Saturday, we'll be having standing room only...

Debbie again did an interview with a reporter doing a angle of women and auto's that should appear in this weekends Milwaukee Journal. She is such a champ and is becoming very familiar with handling these press types. I had a great 5-7 minute interview with a reporter for WPR on the floor this afternoon. This should run during drive time tomorrow on WUWM. We touched on the MiHG, Hybridfest, MHG and EcoDriving as well a many basic questions on hybrids. The PR firm for the Show may not be done with us yet, so they've told me.

I took off from the show today to catch up with mail that has been piling up and to just take a breather. Schmozzing can be hard work...but fun.

Bradlee

Good morning!

I heard Bradlee's radio interview this morning on WUWM - I don't know if it will be archived or not, but if it is, you should be able to find it at http://www.wuwm.com/wuwmnews.shtml
(Fri. PM - I just checked the website - it's there, under the Archives tab :):):) )

He did great :):) I liked that he mentioned the amount of mis-information there is out there about the batteries - that they don't last (we had a couple who came to the booth last Saturday with a story of a Ford salesperson who *actually* told them they would have to change the battery every 4 years & that it would cost them $4000 :rolleyes: ) & that they're dangerous ("people have been electrocuted" :eek: ). He also addressed the "I don't get that great mileage" comments by pointing out that a hybrid vehicle is a tool, & used correctly, it gives great results, adding that that was one of the things the MiHG does - help train HEV drivers to use their vehicles to their full potential. And he offered advice for getting better FE out of *any* vehicle, hybrid or not, that we here know so well :)

The weeknights have been less busy than the weekend days, but I think we had at least 5 people sign up by 6PM when I left :)

There are a few nay-sayers - people who come to the booth just to tell us why hybrids won't work. Usually I can recognize that there are just some minds that we can't change, & not take their comments too seriously.

[VENTING ALERT]
But a man stopped by yesterday to tell us that he hoped hybrids went away soon. His comments were that "the batteries aren't 'there' yet - they're too heavy, don't have enough range" & that "they" say that hybrids create more pollution in their manufacture, esp. the batteries, than conventional ICE vehicles. He's waiting for the hydrogen-cell vehicles to come out ("pretty soon, only 20 years or so" :rolleyes: ), or the compressed-air-powered car he saw on DiscoveryChannel's "FutureCars". My response was that the current hybrids are not perfect, but certainly cleaner than straight ICE vehicles. And when he came out with the story about the compressed-air car, I *had* to ask him how the air got compressed, to which he responded, "using electricity & fossil fuel". (Duh :mad: )

At that point, I decided it would be better if I went down to the Ford display & talked to their reps about how much I like my FEH (I also took them some of our flyers with our booth location on them, Bradlee :) ), rather than continue to listen to this (smug jerk - IMHO) guy, & maybe lose my temper & say something that would simply reinforce his negative opinion of hybrids & their drivers.

Fortunately David Nowak & his wife were sharing the shift with me, & were more patient with him.
[END ALERT]

But for every nay-sayer, we get several people who are enthusiastic about the existence of HEV's & the MiHG - a young & growing family looking to replace their RAV-4 with a hybrid (I sang the praises of my FEH, but they'll probably buy a Highlander ;) ) & at least 2 individuals who thanked the MiHG for it's efforts (they both signed the email list, Bradlee :) ).

I'll be back at the booth Saturday PM. I'm *really* enjoying this, even aside from getting to participate in the media coverage :D:D:D

Hi Debbie:

___Excellent job as usual!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Today was my day to help out at the booth. It seemed a relatively slow morning but things picked up around noon. At 12:30 I ventured out for some lunch. Then Mike and I decided to go find the Toyota display. Oh we found it and you wouldn't believe the constant flow of people all over the Prius.

Mike was wearing the "Ask me about hybrids" vest but I was not. People were walking right up to him and sure enough asking him about hybrids. There was no way I was going to let him have all the fun. :)

There were people staring at the engine so I explained the power-split concept and energy transitions. Then a guy started asking all sorts of really good questions so I talked with him for a while. Then a family, a couple, another family, some with little children, some potentially looking for vehicles for their newly-licensed children. The next time I looked at the time, more than an hour had gone by.

This got us thinking. Instead of manning a little booth staring at Mustang Shelbies, maybe in the future we should talk with the manufacturers to work the actual displays. For example, at the Chicago Auto Show, have members of the Chicago Prius Group working the floor and providing the insights that only an owner can give. I confirmed many times over that I don't work for Toyota but I can tell you more about this car than most of those guys. And the people listened. In an hour I bet I either sold several cars or got people very seriously interested.

Of course, with the MiHG, it's more than just the Prius. Debbie could work at the Ford display while some work at the Honda site. We explain the vehicles and collect a signature or two for the groups.

Additionally, Libertyville and Grossinger Toyota have both offered referral bonuses for any business we send them. That could serve as a potential revenue stream. I realize that sounds like we become salesmen, but isn't that what we're doing already? I mean heck, I was working my butt off convincing people that they need to buy a hybrid. And I was doing it for free. With a referral bonus, I could afford to buy a banner which would give us more visibility and help us persuade more people. Just a thought.

Anyway, I had a blast. I hated to leave but had evening plans to get back for.

Tony, I like the idea of the referral bonus. Perhaps it could go to the organization for outreach instead of to each individual member.?

Oh, yeah yeah yeah. That's what I was thinking. I guess I wasn't very clear in that regard. The only mention of not trying to claim it myself was to mention that it would go towards buying a banner for the group to increase our visibility.

In fact, when I was sitting in Libertyville Toyota speaking with the Sales Manager about some form of partnering arrangement, he's the one who brought up the referral bonus. I said that it would be a great way to afford materials such as hand-outs and banners for the group. He looked puzzled; probably because he figured I would want it for myself. In the end, there is no one person who would deserve the bonus; whether on the web in a forum or in person at a meeting we are all working together and the group should benefit.

Hi All:

___Here is an MP3 broadcast of Bradlee describing Hybrid tech and the future of it!

Hybrid models popular attraction at Greater Milwaukee Auto Show. (http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wuwm/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1047955&sectionID=1)

___If he had a little more time, he could have went in a lot deeper. The FEH holds an 8-year/100,000 miles warranty and the Toyota Prius hybrid componentry is all over the map for 07. I think he did a great job with both the warranty discussion and the FE!

___Debbie, do you have any links to a live interview? I posted your “Woman buyer” piece to the Home page yesterday and we may as well finish off the week with anything you have done as well.:D

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Well I guess it is time for Mr. Gimpy to add a few words here about the Auto Show. I simply loved it. I did notice that a few people had way too much fun, however. ahem. Debbie and Tony (did I say that?) It was such a kewl thing just to be there. I just got off the phone with Bradlee and he said that we collected 103 new names at the show. WHOOO HOOOO. That is great news. We might even outgrow our Oak Creek Library meeting location. hehe

As most of you already know but just in case you didn't I have some sad news to share. Bradlee's dad passed away Friday night in his sleep. I could tell from talking to Bradlee that he was tired and really in need of some sleep. He was telling me he has so much to do and wanted to get emails out to everyone thanking everyone. I basically said to him that those could wait considering the situation. People would understand.

I have Debbie recorded on my TiVo. Boy she did an absolutely fantastic job. I will have to get her autograph next time I see her. The amount of PR we as a group got (through Bradlee's expertise) was unbelievable. I think he should think of starting a job in TV marketing. hehe

It was fun talking to all those people who came up to the booth on Saturday. It was mobbed. Especially in the late afternoon and evening. It was one stream of people.

So, while I am not very well known here (yet) on CleanMPG, if you have been to the MHG you have seen me. I am the petite one with a cane. (giggle)

Bradlee sends out his thanks to everyone who worked the show. He said that it couldn't have been done without everyones help. But like Debbie and Tony I know I had fun and I think everyone who attended the show did too.

Now we need to come together and discuss next year while we all have these memories fresh in our minds. I suspect that will be one of the agenda items at the next meeting.

So tootles to the 2007 Milwaukee Auto Show as we welcome 103 new people into the ranks of our email list. Hopefully they will participate and make our group even stronger.

Cheers

Rees

___Debbie, do you have any links to a live interview? I posted your “Woman buyer” piece to the Home page yesterday and we may as well finish off the week with anything you have done as well.:D

___Good Luck

___Wayne


Hi Wayne!

I meant to post last night, & try to send the pictures I got of our booth & my t-shirt, but one of my husband's customers bounced a check on our home account, which sent the whole evening into a tailspin. One of the joys of being self-employed :(

I've been checking the Channel 6 website, but I don't know it they'll archive the interview I did with Gus Gnorski or not. I'll keep checking, as it looks like it may take a week or more to be sure. And I saw the Journal/Sentinel article "front & center" on the CleanMPG homepage when I logged in on Saturday morning :D (Don checked the size of my head after the paper was delivered, & said it hadn't gotten *too* much bigger :D :D :D)

Bradlee called me Saturday AM to tell me about his dad & let me know that he wouldn't be around much until Sunday PM to break things down. Although it was a shock to the family, it sounds like his father's passing was a very peaceful one.

Saturday afternoon was *crazy* busy! :) :) As on previous days, people sort of came in waves, but on this second Saturday of the show the waves were bigger & closer together, so it was good there were so many people at the booth (Tony, Reese, Brian & his mom, & the 2 Mikes) :) I'll bet we filled almost 2 sign-up sheets just that day :) :) :)

At one point, we ran out of one of our hand-outs (the one about costs & tax credits), & at Brian's suggestion, I went over to the OfficeMax in the mall & had more printed. The people at the copy counter were interested, & while the copies were printing, I explained who we are & a little about our vehicles - when I paid for the copies, I left one behind for them to check out :)

Sunday was almost as busy as Saturday, & I made a return trip to OfficeMax for more copies of our MiHG flyer. Not only the the man at the counter give me a break on the price, he also took a look at the flyer while the copies were printing, & asked me about hybrids. So I had another chance to do some "outreach" ;) He was really interested & asked lots of questions (my personal favorite - "Do you have to plug it in?). After I'd paid for the copies, I gave him one & invited him to check us out. He said he would, & that he would share it with his co-workers. :):):)

When Bradlee & Justin came in, I said I would stay & help with the break-down. But I don't think I was much actual help, as we had 2 very talkative people come in at the last minute, & I wound up talking to them while Bradlee & Justin did all the physical work - sorry guys :o

Before we took things apart, I did manage to get pictures of our booth, with Bradlee & Justin, & Bradlee took a couple of pictures of me in the booth with my "Ask me about my Ford Escape Hybrid" t-shirt. I will try to send those when I get home tonight.

All in all, I think it was even more of a success than we expected :):) I told Bradlee that if we do this again, he can count on me :D

Wayne, I have an MP4 file of Debbie's interview with Gus I can burn for you. I can give it to you at the next meet if you like. Or if I know you will be there I can even put it on a thumb drive and if you have your laptop with you we can just transfer it to your drive.

I still want Deb's signature.

Rees

Hi Rees:

___Can we have you upload it to Tom’s personal server and we can post it in the Multi-media Gallery with links to the 2007 MAS thread? It sounds like you guys had a great Saturday afternoon! I was working but wish I could have been there.

___I love the stories coming out of the Milwaukee Auto Show even better then Detroit and Chicago because of the personal feel and flavor!

___Good Luck

___Wayne

You could try the new files section.

Hello to all MiHG members and friends,

I apologize for not letting you know how the MAS was progressing during last week. My father passed away last Thursday night and as you can imagine things have been a bit hectic. I do want to thank all members and spouses who volunteered to staff our booth and willingly give of their time. Through your efforts, you’ve made the MAS a wonderful success for the MiHG.

Through your hard work, we have added 108 new names to our MiHG roll, that’s a 68% increase. At this time, that means that we have almost 260 individuals that want to be on our email list and have expressed an interest in what the MiHG is doing. EcoDriving, which was a secondary focus at the MAS, was very well received by the public. This will be something that we will need to blend into our STEP goals in some way.

As far a paper outreach, we handed out over 500 copies of our Ecodriving Tips, over 400 copies of our MiHG Flyer, over 400 copies each of several pieces of informational literature on hybrid vehicles and over 400 pens from Honda Motorwerks. We also handed out over 200 copies of information on the Green Vehicles Workshop and Hybridfest 2007. Through this outreach material, the message of the MiHG was very well received indeed.

We were very fortunate, through the efforts of ADAMM and SPIN Communications, to receive great publicity for our initial participation at the MAS. Our presence was listed everyday in the Wheels section of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, we had TV interviews with Channel 4 and member Debbie Anders was interviewed with Gus Gnorski from Channel 6, I did a radio interview with Bob Bach from WPR with WUWM and Debbie was mentioned in another article in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. In addition, we made numerous contacts with auto corporate reps at the show along with other professional contacts that may be very useful to the MiHG in the future. This media blist was pretty successful because we had many people who came to the MAS actually looking for us.

All in all, the MAS was a lot of work and a lot of time, but for those that were there it was a time to remember. This experience will give us enough confidence to reach out to the public in similar ways in the future. Our MiHG message and mission has reached further than Justin and I ever imagined, in just a little over 1 year of existence. This had been a group success and we look forward to yet bigger and better MiHG in 2007.

Thank you for all your support and encouragement,

Bradlee Fons

I want to thank Wayne and Marian Gerdes, George and Peggy Kalkas, Tony Schaefer and Cheryl Appel for traveling to Milwaukee to work at the booth.

Wayne:

The MP4 file has been uploaded.

Hi Rees:

___I cannot find it. Did you upload to the files section as a zip?

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I uploaded it to the Gallery section. It's a bit over 30 meg.

Hi all!

I *finally* posted the pictures from the last day of the MAS - they're in the Gallery, in the Events & Gathering/Milwaukee Auto Show section.

Hi Debbie:

___I saw them when I woke up! Nice pics and for everyone else, here they are …

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/554/medium/20070318_034.jpg
Bradlee and Justin manning the booth while educating the masses.

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/554/medium/20070318_033.jpg
Bradlee and the MiHG booth from a different angle showing even more information!

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/554/medium/20070318_032.jpg
Debbie promoting hybrid ownership with her “Ask me about my Ford Escape Hybrid” shirt.

___I wish some of our members could have seen both Bradlee and Debbie in full hybrid promotion mode. It was like watching a group of artisans painting his or her Renoir’. Truly a great “work in progress” seeing their passion in person … And we all had a great time while sitting around talking about all things related to hybrids, automobile ownership, future automobiles and environment was a lot of fun too :D

___Good Luck

___Wayne