Fairfax County General :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
‘Friend of the Occoquan’ license plates in the works
Posted by:
‘Friend of the Occoquan’
()
Date: July 18, 2014 07:29AM
‘Friend of the Occoquan’ license plates in the works
http://www.insidenova.com/headlines/friend-of-the-occoquan-license-plates-in-the-works/article_71f3a65a-0d6f-11e4-9303-0019bb2963f4.html
Colleges have them. Military organizations have them too. For that matter, so do dogs, horses and lighthouses.
Virginia drivers can choose from more than 200 specialized license plates with a portion of the application fee going to support a designated charity.
A “Friend of the Occoquan” plate may soon be added to the list.
The Occoquan River Communities organization is working to collect 450 applications which will the start the process.
The Occoquan plates were the idea of Kristyn Gleason, owner of the Polka Dot Divas in Occoquan. She said she was at the Department of Motor Vehicles looking at some of the plates when she thought, “Why doesn’t Occoquan have one of these?”
“Then I thought about what charitable organizations in our area that something like this could be used for.”
Then Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta suggested the plate reflect the non-profit Friends of the Occoquan -- which holds two river cleanups each year promotes keeping the watershed – the region’s source of drinking water – clean.
Gleason asked her artist friend Donna Merchant to design the plate. Merchant said she chose to represent the historical aspect of town by including the gazebo in Mamie Davis Park, as well as a gas street light, which can be seen throughout the town. She also wanted it to depict the riverfront community theme with a heron, boat and kayak.
With drawing in hand, Gleason pitched the idea to her fellow Occoquan River Communities Board of Directors members.
“It actually fits the Occoquan River Communities charter perfectly, promoting this area as the destination and being stewards of our river,” Gleason said.
The board agreed.
“We’re delighted to be sponsoring this effort that we hope will soon have cars throughout the region sporting this beautiful plate which will serve the dual purpose of both promoting the Occoquan region and providing financial support to help keep it beautiful,” said Betty Dean, president of the organization.
For the license plate to be created, Occoquan River Communities needs to collect 450 completed and paid applications by Jan. 30. State Del. Richard Anderson, R-51st District, and Del. Luke Torian, D-52nd District, have agreed to sponsor a bill to have the special plate approved.
The process then shifts to the DMV, which finalizes the artwork and puts the plate into production.
Because the process from the time a person submits an application to the time they actually receive their plate can be very long, perhaps as long as 18 months, Occoquan River Communities has added an incentive. “Every person who mails us their paid application will also be given free individual membership in ORC good through December 2015. Individual memberships are normally $25 per year – the same cost as the plate.”
When 1,000 Occoquan license plate applications have been received by the DMV, Friends of the Occoquan will receive $10 from each application, retroactive to the first plate.
“So as I understand it, once the 1,000th plate is applied for, Friends of the Occoquan will get $10,000 ($10 per plate) and then $10 per plate for every plate afterwards,” Dean said.
“We were very thrilled to hear that the proceeds from the license plates will be donated to the Friends of the Occoquan,” said German Venegas from the organization. “Funds will be used towards continuing our annual river clean-ups, educating the public on the importance of keeping Virginia’s rivers and watersheds clean, and to support our newest water conservation project.”
Friends of the Occoquan has started a rain barrel project to educate the public on ways to reduce rain water run-off, and to use the water for gardening.
Occoquan River Communities also is seeking volunteers to hand out the brochures about the license plates at events and in neighborhoods.
For more information on volunteering or to download an application, visit occcoquanrivercommunities.org.
Attachments:
http://www.insidenova.com/headlines/friend-of-the-occoquan-license-plates-in-the-works/article_71f3a65a-0d6f-11e4-9303-0019bb2963f4.html
Colleges have them. Military organizations have them too. For that matter, so do dogs, horses and lighthouses.
Virginia drivers can choose from more than 200 specialized license plates with a portion of the application fee going to support a designated charity.
A “Friend of the Occoquan” plate may soon be added to the list.
The Occoquan River Communities organization is working to collect 450 applications which will the start the process.
The Occoquan plates were the idea of Kristyn Gleason, owner of the Polka Dot Divas in Occoquan. She said she was at the Department of Motor Vehicles looking at some of the plates when she thought, “Why doesn’t Occoquan have one of these?”
“Then I thought about what charitable organizations in our area that something like this could be used for.”
Then Occoquan Mayor Earnie Porta suggested the plate reflect the non-profit Friends of the Occoquan -- which holds two river cleanups each year promotes keeping the watershed – the region’s source of drinking water – clean.
Gleason asked her artist friend Donna Merchant to design the plate. Merchant said she chose to represent the historical aspect of town by including the gazebo in Mamie Davis Park, as well as a gas street light, which can be seen throughout the town. She also wanted it to depict the riverfront community theme with a heron, boat and kayak.
With drawing in hand, Gleason pitched the idea to her fellow Occoquan River Communities Board of Directors members.
“It actually fits the Occoquan River Communities charter perfectly, promoting this area as the destination and being stewards of our river,” Gleason said.
The board agreed.
“We’re delighted to be sponsoring this effort that we hope will soon have cars throughout the region sporting this beautiful plate which will serve the dual purpose of both promoting the Occoquan region and providing financial support to help keep it beautiful,” said Betty Dean, president of the organization.
For the license plate to be created, Occoquan River Communities needs to collect 450 completed and paid applications by Jan. 30. State Del. Richard Anderson, R-51st District, and Del. Luke Torian, D-52nd District, have agreed to sponsor a bill to have the special plate approved.
The process then shifts to the DMV, which finalizes the artwork and puts the plate into production.
Because the process from the time a person submits an application to the time they actually receive their plate can be very long, perhaps as long as 18 months, Occoquan River Communities has added an incentive. “Every person who mails us their paid application will also be given free individual membership in ORC good through December 2015. Individual memberships are normally $25 per year – the same cost as the plate.”
When 1,000 Occoquan license plate applications have been received by the DMV, Friends of the Occoquan will receive $10 from each application, retroactive to the first plate.
“So as I understand it, once the 1,000th plate is applied for, Friends of the Occoquan will get $10,000 ($10 per plate) and then $10 per plate for every plate afterwards,” Dean said.
“We were very thrilled to hear that the proceeds from the license plates will be donated to the Friends of the Occoquan,” said German Venegas from the organization. “Funds will be used towards continuing our annual river clean-ups, educating the public on the importance of keeping Virginia’s rivers and watersheds clean, and to support our newest water conservation project.”
Friends of the Occoquan has started a rain barrel project to educate the public on ways to reduce rain water run-off, and to use the water for gardening.
Occoquan River Communities also is seeking volunteers to hand out the brochures about the license plates at events and in neighborhoods.
For more information on volunteering or to download an application, visit occcoquanrivercommunities.org.
Attachments: