Mainers are one step closer to having a new “Support our Troops” license plate thanks to a weekend barbecue held at the Two Trails Diner on Route 25 in Standish.
The event, which started at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, raised $2,080 by donations for the Yellow Ribbon Plate Fund, the brainchild of Rep. Don Pilon, D-Saco. The Maine Secretary of State requires $40,000 to start casting new license plate designs. Sales of the $45 plates will go to help the families of troops stationed overseas.
Pilon said the inspiration for the plates came after hearing the financial problems of the families of some Maine troops.
“Basically what we’re doing is taking the natural provider and sending them overseas,” Pilon said Saturday.
For every special plate sold, $10 will go into a trust fund that will be available for needy families of Maine troops. A special committee will be appointed to handle the distribution of the funds.
Saturday’s barbecue featured live music by local artists David Angel and the Memories, Broken Beauty and 11-year-old country singer Brian Wardwell.
Performer David Angel, who donated a guitar for a raffle, said all the musicians performed for free as well. “Every cent [raised here] is going to the cause,” Angel said.
The food for Saturday’s barbecue was donated by Michael’s Fancy Cakes & Homemade Pastries of Gorham and Hannaford Supermarkets.
Two Trails Diner is owned by Gibb Douglass, 61, of Bridgton and Holly O’Brien, 42, of Limington. Both were in attendance Saturday.
“I think the best thing about this event is that it’s apolitical,” Angel said.
A number of the attendees echoed his praise for the nonpartisan nature of the Yellow Ribbon Plate Fund.
“We need to support these folks, we can argue the politics later,” said Wayne “T-Bone” Smith, one of Angel’s band mates.
“There are still guys over there that need our support,” said Tammy Turgeon, 47, of Buxton. Her son Ed Turgeon, 22, is an Army specialist currently serving in Iraq.
Limington resident Larry Coty, 55, called the plates a “super-great” idea, adding, “We have a plate for everything else, don’t we?”
Pilon submitted 2,000 signatures in favor of the plate design this May after nine months of canvassing parades and county fairs. Saturday’s barbecue brought the amount raised by the Yellow Ribbon Plate Fund above $27,000, according to marketing director Nancy Bozenhard.
This is the third such barbecue the group has held this summer. A fundraising bike-a-thon was also held this July in Millinocket.
The overwhelming majority of the money has been donated by citizens, not businesses, according to Bozenhard. A significant amount of those citizens are the families of the troops, the very same people the campaign was created to help, Bozenhard said.
Pilon estimates that in a best-case scenario, the plates could be on sale next June.
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