Award-Winning Plate has Netted $51,000+ for Preservation Efforts

ALPCA (Automobile License Plate Collectors Association) is the largest license plate collectors’ organization in the world, with over 2,700 members from 50 states and 19 countries. Each year, members vote on the Best Plate of the Year.

The Arizona MVD requested ACI’s tag plant to develop a design for an Arizona specialty plate that MVD was working on, using “Route 66, Get Your Kicks” as the theme. They sent the original design to the Shop Supervisor, Randy Price – showing a white plate with a distressed road and text. Randy researched and found the historic route 66 road sign to add to their rendition.

Randy gives credit to the design inmate at the shop who came up with the curved white road on a black plate, and to the inmates who reworked the original “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” font to fit on the plate. Prototypes were submitted to the DMV and to ALPCA. The Association chose the final design plate – the black plate with a white road and white font. The shop has produced 1400 owner Auto series and approximately 4000 personalized plates for MVD since November of 2016 when Arizona released this plate to the public. This is the third time an Arizona plate was selected for Plate of the Year.

The pre-numbered plates, available at the MVD (servicearizona.com/personalizedPlates), and vanity plates contribute a portion of the customer’s costs to the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona. The plates went on sale in December of 2016.

ADOT Director, John Halikowski, had this to say about the new plate:

“The ‘Mother Road’ has been celebrated in movies, television and popular songs such as 'Get your kicks on Rt. 66' which mentions three Arizona communities. Now it earns a coveted spot on vehicle bumpers that will travel every mile of Arizona and beyond.

So it’s no stretch to say Arizona means a lot to Route 66, and the road means just as much to the history of our state. That’s why I’m so pleased that in just a few months of being made available, the sales of this award-winning plate have netted more than $51,000 for preservation efforts.

That number will continue to grow over the years, and it’s added to an astounding amount of money that specialty plates raise for worthy causes. In fact, in 2016 specialty plate sales raised about $9.4 million for Arizona causes.

Encouraging generosity and award-winning good looks are a great combination!”

And we congratulate the ACI combination at the Tag Plant as well – Supervisor Randy Price, IPS Fred Schultz, and their crew of 15 inmates at Eyman Complex! 

Reprinted from Florence Brand Newsletter, July 2017

Samuel Washburn, Deputy Warden

ASPC-Florence/Globe Unit