Who We Are - Meet Some of the Personalities Behind NEDRA

Mike Willmon - President

Mike received his Bachelors Degree in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1992. For 16 years he has worked in the RF and Telecommunications fields. His is currently the Manager of the RF Network Engineering Department at General Communications Inc. in Anchorage Alaska. Mike has been interested in EV’s for some time but determined that the price of gas would have to be $3/gal to make them anywhere near practical. In 2005 and 2006 he converted his first vehicle, a 1988 Mitsubishi Mightymax, to electric. He started an Alaska chapter of the Electric Auto Association and with the help of a partner has since completed work on a 1978 Pinto electric dragster called "Crazy Horse." The Pinto has been racing at the drag strip since the beginning of the 2008 season. Mike has been showing the Mitsubishi as well as the Pinto at car shows and the annual Alaska Renewable Energy Fair to help bring awareness to the public of the possibilities of EV transportation and dispelling the myth that electric vehicles are slow and impractical.

KEN KOCH - Technical Director

Ken was born in Chicago in 1941 and lived in Indiana until age 5. After that his family moved to Southern California where he has resided ever since. In his senior year of high school he acquired the need for speed when he installed a Chrysler engine in a Plymouth coupe. Ken used to drag race it on the weekends and never forgot how much fun racing can be. In college he majored first in education, then pre-pharmacy, and ultimately engineering. Ken received a BS in electrical engineering from Cal Poly in 1973.

Ken worked for various military, aerospace, and commercial employers for about 25 years, performing mostly electrical design, test engineering, and reliability engineering. In 1984 he started KTA Services to supply EV hobbyists with conversion components and kits. This became a full-time business in 1992. KTA developed a nice history while supplying EV stuff to hobbyists and others over the years. KTA was downsized the end of 2006 so that Ken could enjoy some semblance of retirement. In its history KTA provided components and kits which enabled customers to build more than 1100 EVs.

Today Ken revisiting his old drag racing days by proudly serving as NEDRA's tech officer while beginning to build his dream project: An electric '32 Ford roadster with a drive system that has 800 peak hp capability. This is going to be a gorgeously-built street rod that he and his wife will enjoy immensely. Of course, the '32 will see some drag strip time at future NEDRA events. As Otmar Ebenhoech once said, "Your roadster should 'go like stink' and look good doing it!" Estimated completion is late 2007/early 2008.

CHIP GRIBBEN - PR Director/Webmaster/Graphic Designer/Northeast Regional Director

Growing up Chip enjoyed drawing cars, airbrushing T-shirts and messing around with electric gizmos. His interest in EVs began when he took joy rides in the golf carts at his grandfather's golf course on Maryland's Eastern Shore. Chip's education is in Graphic Design and he worked for Boeing as an illustrator, web and graphic designer and exhibit designer. Today he owns a Web and Graphic Design business called DigiZone Designs.

He converted his 1986 Ford Escort to electric power running on 144 volts and has built several custom electric powered bikes. He joined NEDRA as the webmaster in 2000 and coordinates the NEDRA Power of DC.

Chip designed the NEDRA logo and website. He also illustrates many of the NEDRA event T-shirts and designed the graphics for Roderick Wilde's Gone Postal truck, and his website, Suck Amps. He designed John Wayland's Plasma Boy and illustrated the concept for Ken Koch's electric '34 Roadster and Ken's new website, EV Consulting, Inc. He's also the webmaster for KTA Services, which sells EV components for the EV hobbyist. Chip also owns a part-time electric scooter and bike repair business called ElectroScooterWorks where he does repairs on kid's electric scooters, personal mobility scooters and builds custom electric bikes and scooters.