TOCA Victoria August Newsletter

Hi,

 

Welcome to the August newsletter! 

 

As winter draws to a close, there’s plenty happening in TOCA Victoria—so let’s dive in!

 

1. Important news for all Victorian TOCA members is the upcoming AGM to be held on September 13th here in Victoria at the Tesla Mulgrave Delivery Centre, on Springvale Road.

 

a. Starting at 230pm, with refreshments to made available and a casual dinner planned afterwards, this is your opportunity to meet the outgoing committee while greeting the new incoming committee and hear of its plans.

 

b. I am pleased to announce two Victorians from your local committee have ascended to the Executive: Chris Quin has nominated unopposed, for the position of Secretary, and myself also unopposed has nominated for Vice-President, stepping into the shoes of current VP, Ross Hetherington, who moves into the role of TOCA President. Current President Pete Thorne has stepped down, but will stay on the national committee as an elected office bearer. 

 

c. Victorian member Mark Balkin, who has been instrumental in the continuing success of the Victorian section, is also a nominated national committee ordinary member as will be Garry Bukowsky, another local tower of strength, who now becomes your Victorian state representative. New members from Victoria who have nominated as ordinary committee members are Mark Bates and Dan Edwards, who will be known to many here for their regular participation in club cruises and events. Nick de Paolo will continue on the committee in his sterling role looking after TOCA's loan program.

 

d. Five positions remain vacant so if you'd like to step up and take a more active role in TOCA's decision making and direction, joining a newly constructed national committee is an excellent time. Chris and I would especially love to see more women’s voices on the national committee—your perspective is invaluable in shaping TOCA’s future.

Even though the nomination process has formally closed (August 8th), the remaining vacant positions allow the committee to make appointments at its discretion, according to Club rule 2(B)(5).

 

e. I should also make mention of Victorian ordinary committee member who also participated in the advocacy and social media group, Daniel Emmerson, who is stepping down. No doubt the outgoing Executive will make public thanks to all those leaving the committee at this forthcoming AGM.

 

2. Cruises and Events: A number of fun and educational cruises have occurred since the last May newsletter and this included the June cruise starting in Officer, south east of Melbourne,. It wound its way through the beautiful sunshine and country roads of Gippsland to Neerim South, then the Yallourn Power station, before checking out the chargers at Traralgon. It then made its way through what many considered the highlight of the cruise - the forest drive through the Tara-Bulga national park, before the final run to the artwork in Yarram where an enjoyable lunch was served at the Commercial Hotel.

 

b. The July cruise started out west in Altona Meadows visiting the newly commissioned Superchargers at the shopping centre on Central Avenue, before winding away through Melbourne's "food bowl" of Point Cook (past the RAAF base and airport) and Werribee South. After a brief refreshment stop on K Road at the Wyndham Cache, the cruise headed to the historic Eyensbury Homestead for its next short break. From there, this agricultural-aviation themed cruise headed to Diggers Rest to view the fields where Harry Houdini allegedly flew the first powered aircraft in Australia in 1910 at Holden Road. The cruise then headed to Lancefield, hoping to catch the wonderful last Sunday of the month Farmers Market but alas, the inclement weather beat us to it, and so we joined local members Jessica and her young family, and past end of year host from Benloch, Andy, who held the fort at the Lancefield Hotel until the convoy arrived.

 

c. TOCA also had a major involvement in the June EV show at the Melbourne Convention Centre, where in its absence, Tesla Australia loaned us some vehicles and member volunteers answered the general public's questions about Tesla ownership. This was a three-day event requiring a huge commitment. Many thanks to Mark Balkin and his team of volunteers for their efforts. The reward comes in the form of forging a closer alliance with Tesla Australia and seeing new TOCA members joining. The next such large scale event, where Tesla will be present, is Fully Charged at the Melbourne Showgrounds in November 2025. TOCA will be present, and already executive committee members have been offered panel speaking roles. 

 

3. Coffee and Cars meetups continue to thrive with recent brunches, hosted by Chris and Riz, attracting new and old members alike, usually in cafes close to newly commissioned (or enhanced) Superchargers installations, such as Campbellfield and Abbotsford. These will continue in the coming months with new installations near cafes, such as Keysborough on Cheltenham Road, coming online. We hope to invite many of TOCA's commercial supporters (and member discounters) to show their wares at these meetups. If you haven’t made it yet, come along—it’s a relaxed way to meet members, swap stories, and see what’s new.

 

4. For September, we are hoping for a yet to be confirmed event at the Tesla Warehouse in Footscray where traded in Teslas are prepared for sale. (with the extra year warranty!) We are aiming for September 20, so keep an eye on your Member Jungle app for confirmation.

 

5. For now, as your outgoing Victorian representative, I want to thank you and the Victorian section of TOCA for your support and camaraderie. I will take all I have learnt to the National Executive and help build TOCA in its mission. A big thank you to the local committee members for their assistance and support and I know Garry will be a great rep. to the National Committee.

 

6. Finally, please visit the TOCA Member page and plan to attend the AGM and have your say about TOCA's direction. Tesla is no longer the only show in town when it comes to EVs and batteries, and its local division will likely look to TOCA for continued support of Tesla's mission. The incoming committee will need to work hard to recruit new members, retain current members, and forge new relationships with the ever growing EV and sustainability decision makers. Our role if performed correctly will become more, not less, relevant, in the years ahead. I look forward to your support in both the local and national committees' endeavours on your behalf.

 

Regards

 

Les Posen