PLYMOUTH – Phase one of the Plymouth 400 commemorative license plate initiative is complete.
The plate applications, all 1,544 of them, were delivered to the Registry of Motor Vehicles Wednesday, and the RMV will now be able to process those applications and move forward to produce and distribute the first 1,500 Plymouth 400 plates.
The applications were officially presented to the Registry this week by Ed Santos, vice president of the Plymouth 400 Board of Directors, and Plymouth 400’s administrative coordinator, Cheryl Soares, who worked diligently for two years to complete the first phase of the license plate project.
“We’re on our way to getting those plates on the road,” Plymouth 400 Media Specialist Sheila Fey said.
“The Plymouth 400 staff would like to thank each and every one of our 1,500 supporters who purchased a plate. Stay tuned for more information on when the plates will be produced and shipped,” she added, noting that’s expected to happen within six months.
Vehicle owners across Massachusetts who were not among those to reserve a plate in phase one of the project will still be able to order a 400th anniversary commemorative license plate, but they are no longer available through Plymouth 400 Inc. In phase two, they’ll be sold directly through the state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles, Fey explained, and online through the RMV website.
Plymouth 400 will receive $28 from the sale of each commemorative plate.
Plymouth 400 Inc. also recently announced a new opportunity for businesses and organizations to become part of the 400th commemoration – the Plymouth 400 Partner Program, which will offer what the nonprofit is calling “engagement opportunities” at the local, state, national and international level. Businesses and organizations that pledge their support in 2015 will be recognized as Plymouth 400 Founding Partners.
On Beacon Hill, state Rep. Matt Muratore has requested a new line item in the state budget that would help support Plymouth and the many other communities in Massachusetts that will celebrate their own 400th anniversaries soon after 2020.
Muratore’s legislative measure would provide $500,000 in state funding for these commemorations, noting that they are expected to have a significant impact on the economy of not just the individual communities turning 400 but on the commonwealth as a whole.
And this summer’s Plymouth 400 events are also growing, officials noted.
This year’s Bass and Blue fishing tournament will include educational components and a seafood event. And Forefathers Family Fun Day will be bigger than ever, incorporating the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in the event’s programming.
