Who Made the Plate Possible

We want everyone to know that the folks at the Pennsylvania Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Pennsylvania Prison Enterprises were great to work with and terrifically helpful in this process.  Ms. Penni Bernard, with the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Dorinda Zimmer, with Pennsylvania Correctional Industries were both great to work with.  We thank them for their prompt and courteous help.

In Pennsylvania Ben Blakely, III, Esquire stepped up to be the local Director for Support Our Troops. In each state Support Our Troops must find a man or woman to get involved and stand up for the men and women who stand up for all of us. In the Pennsylvania House this man was Ben Blakely. Nothing was asked. Nothing was given. He just immediately knew the right thing to do and responded quickly – for the benefit of others. And for that our thanks are given to him on behalf of all the troops' families that will benefit from this plate. Ben Blakely, III, Esquire, 90 Beaver Drive #6, Du Bois, PA 15801, (814) 371-2730.

Jessica VanderKolk, a reporter with the Altoona Mirror, here finds herself the subject of a short story for a change. We were so busy moving on so many fronts for the troops and their families, that we had misread portions of the license plate literature provided to us by the State and thought it required us to collect an initial block of 200 applications before normal sales could begin. Which was slowing things down. In preparation for her story, Ms. VanderKolk called PennDOT, went through everything, and found that the specialty plate literature discussing the block of 200 applications was actually a suggestion, not a requirement. We give Jessica full credit for letting us know that we could get going fast and plate orders could be filled as they were received. Thank you Jessica! The Altoona Mirror has a very good reporter. The Altoona Mirror 301 Cayuga Ave. Altoona, PA 16602 814-946-7411