A very good day for Edison2 at the State Capitol.
On Thursday February 10 Edison2 received a commendation from the Virginia General Assembly. House Joint Resolution 828 (HJ 828) detailed the achievements of Edison2, noting " the success of Edison2's Very Light Car in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize is a reflection of the creativity, knowledge and dedication of Edison2's entire workforce"
As an additional honor, Edison2's Oliver Kuttner and Brad Jaeger represented the team in a "Center Aisle Presentation" on the floor of the House of Delegates, in which patrons of HJ 828 (Ward Armstrong, D-Danville, Scott Garrett, R-Lynchburg, David Toscano, D-Charlottesville and Rob Bell, R-Albemarle) explained the accomplishments of Edison2 to the their colleagues in the House, and passed around very light lugnuts as examples of our light-weight craftsmanship.
At the same time, in the other chamber HJ 828 co-patron Senator Ralph Smith (R-Botetourt County) introduced Edison2's David Brown and the accomplishments of Edison2 to his fellow senators.
Edison2's #97 car was showcased in Capitol Square for several hours, drawing interest from numerous Delegates and Senators, as well as lobbyists, schools groups and others visiting or working at the Capitol.
There were a lot of positives about this day. It was gratifying to be honored before the Virginia General Assembly – a bookend of sorts to the recognition from Governor McDonnell we received on September 16. It was pleasing to serve as a focus of bipartisanship in a time when that is too often lacking. It was satisfying to have our car described by legislators who have visited the shop and who clearly understand what we are doing and its significance. And it is just plain fun to show the Very Light Car to people, answer their questions, gauge their reactions and tell them about where Edison2 is headed.