Prepared remarks delivered by Executive Director of Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association Tabitha Montgomery at the official launch of the EV Spot Network: EV Spot Charging and Evie Carshare.
Well, listen, you can’t really buy an introduction like that.
Thank you so much, Mayor Carter, and to all of my dear friends behind me, certainly Mayor Frey, who is a dear partner over in Minneapolis where I serve; Senator Smith, for your enduring partnership and leadership at the federal level; and certainly all of my dear friends, new friends, at HOURCAR, Paul Schroeder and his entire team, that allows me to share briefly with you this moment.
So, I’m just going to simply recap what I think that I heard that the messages that have already been landed.
What happens when crisis is met with the right people in the right place with the right partnership and the right persistence? You get amazing possibility, and this is one of those moments.
We don’t often in our lifetimes and generations come upon opportunities like these to name and declare that we’re not only going to lead, but we are going to demonstrate what happens when we look boldly into the light of possibility.
This is that moment.
In South Minneapolis, in the community that I serve, one of the most dear opportunities that I have, not only working alongside amazing people, who are committed to serving community, but it is opportunities when I get to name that there are not enough adequate resources to transform the moment, and this is a moment when adequate resources have been applied to the need, and so this is a model not only for other places in the country related to how electric vehicles need to be a part of how we think about our future.
This is a model that we can all declare in every part and walks of our life, no matter what you do, no matter where you serve, no matter what your title is, that when you’re in a meeting, and you have an opportunity to meet the right people in the right place and are talking about the right partnerships for the right possibilities, we will do more together than we could ever do apart.
We can do more together that we can do apart.
It is about more than the vehicles. It is about more than just one leader. It is about more than just one idea. It is about more than the problems that we think that we face. It is about linking all those things together to say firmly, “Not on my watch will we let an opportunity to transcend crisis pass me by.”
You can do that in small ways and large ways, and because of that it is truly my pleasure to be in the light with you today on a gorgeous day that I probably, maybe 24 hours ago, didn’t think I would be here without an umbrella.
Thank you, Minnesota weather.
But truly to be with everyone in this space, and everyone who might be listening or watching layer in their respective places, to know that partnership and people and place and possibility matter, and the right combination always, not just today, but always transforms any problems we face.
And with that, it is truly my pleasure to bring to this podium the leader of HOURCAR, who is an instrumental, key partner in this partnership, Paul Schroeder, the president and CEO. Join me in giving him a rousing welcome this morning.
