Our Story - How One Idea Caught Five Minds

Several years ago a thought crossed Mario Landau-Holdsworth's mind. Something about electric cars, although he did not know exactly where the thought was going. The idea resurfaced in the fall of 2005, racing out his voice, his eyes, his whole animated being. And just like that, the idea now had five minds to call its home.

Adan Vielma was walking to lunch at Lewis & Clark College when Mario ran up to him and passed the idea. An hour later, both of them were chatting on the moist lawn in the sunshine next to one of the College student dorms. Bouncing ideas off of each other, they increasingly attached themselves to the escalating sense that “this is right, this is what we can and need to do.” They both saw the value in the idea of electric cars; they were enraptured by the idea.

Eventually going to lunch, Adan increasingly pondered the project, even though it was not yet even defined as a project; it was still an idea. “Mario soon asked me if I would like to join the project,” said Adan, “and I was practically chomping at the bit to say ‘Yes! Yes! I’d love to join it.’ ”

Later in the spring, Mario opened the idea to Ben Thonney, Joey Braman, and Amber Case, all of whom joined the effort, bringing their own abilities to the project with Ben's writing, Joey's business planning, and Amber’s sociological knowledge.

"We're looking for more students" says Adan when asked if they're interested in recruiting other student for the electric car club. "Frankly said, we would love to have anybody who is interested."

If you're interested in joining, simply e-mail: ecar (at)  lclark (dot) edu.

About the 5 Leaders:

Mario (Co-Founder, Idea Man)
Qualities: Enthusiastic, friendly, inspirational.
Contributions: Convinces others how amazing this is, brings forth ideas, smiles. "Mario's the kind of a happy leader who has a truly true smile on his face, if you know what I mean," chuckles Adan.

Adan Vielma (Co-Founder, 2nd Idea Squad Member)
Qualities: Happy, energetic, and attentive to work.
Contributions: Inspires Mario and himself as they bounce ideas back and forth. As Mario says, "With Adan, if I throw one idea at him, he comes back with like 10,000 different ideas."

Ben Thonney (Club Writer and Board Member)
Qualities: Smart, quiet, and an extremely great writer.
Contributions: "So when I was reading a letter Ben wrote for the Electric Car Club, I was so moved by the end of it that I was saying, 'Boy, someone really should do this electric car project!' and the funny thing is then I realize we are the one's doing it!" says Mario about one of Ben's amazingly written letters. He deserves an electric car shaped cookie for his writing efforts!

Joey Braman (Business Planner and Board Member)
Qualities: Business minded, legal advice, fundraiser.
Contributions: Brings business to the mix with planning and legal advice. Joey's also on the same page with fundraising. "He's the kind of guy who's eager to jump up and go knocking on lots of doors to get people informed about our events," Adan replies with a smile.

Amber Case (Society Expert, Mentor, and Board Member)
Qualities: Intelligent and approachable.
Contributions: Provides an interesting perspective on society and is always available to throw in a deep comment about any conversation we may be having. “Amber can glean useful information from anyone or anything,” says Ben “She constantly draws connections and reanalyzes information in really amazing ways.”

About the Electric Car Club:
The Electric Car Club at Lewis & Clark is organizing talents to create an electric car.

Also see:

• News and Photos of Their Project
• How Electric Cars Work (In a Nutshell)
• How You Can Help