Two Trails Fabulous ’50s Diner, on Route 25 in Standish, is hosting a community barbecue to raise money for a new Maine license plate.
The new specialty plate, dubbed the “We Support Our Troops Plate,” would raise funds for a trust administered by the Army National Guard and distributed to military families in need.
The plate is the brainchild of State Representative Donald Pilon of Saco.
Pilon serves on a the board of a nonprofit organization in Saco. A woman approached the board looking for monetary help after a family emergency left her without money to pay her mortgage. The woman’s husband was serving in Iraq at the time.
“I thought if this has happened to her,” said Pilon. “It is happening to a lot of people, and in the future it will happen to more.”
It was then that Pilon came up with the license plate idea.
“Selling plates creates cash,” said Pilon, “cash that is needed by military families whose primary financial supporter has been deployed.”
When the plate is purchased, half of the proceeds will go into a fund, dubbed the “yellow ribbon plate fund.” When a military family whose spouse is deployed needs money due to an emergency, the funds will be allocated accordingly.
“How do we take care of these people?” said Pilon. “That is the question I asked myself, and the plate seemed like a great idea. If 50,000 people purchase this plate, we will have half-a-million dollars for these families. That would be amazing.”
In order to make any of this happen, Pilon needed to raise interest, and money.
According to state law, those proposing a new license plate must collect 2,000 signatures to show there is significant interest in the plate, and raise $40,000 to make the initial 2,000 plates.
“The state puts no money into the project,” said Pilon. “It is up to us.”
It took Pilon nearly nine months to collect the 2,000 signatures, and now he is on a mission to raise the funds.
“We have raised just shy of $25,000,” said Pilon. “We only need $15,000 more. I am hoping we can raise at least $10,000 on Saturday.”
On Saturday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m., Two Trails Diner will host a community barbecue, for all who want to attend. Plenty of food will be served including the staple of any good barbecue, hamburgers.
Besides food and beverages, entertainment will also be provided.
“We are offering a little something for everyone,” said Gib Douglas owner of Two Trails Diner. “There will be music from the ’50s to the ’90s.”
Bands include David Angel and the Memories, Broken Beauty, and country singer Brian Wardwell.
David Angel, who has just returned from Hollywood, will be raffling an electric guitar signed by several cast members of his recent off Broadway play, Lonesome Town, the Ricky Nelson Story.
A $500 mini-vacation will also be raffled, as well as a trip to Boston on Amtrak’s Downeaster.
“We are trying to raise as much as we can,” said Douglas. “This is for the troops and their families.”
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