After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Palm Beach County firefighters raised $1.2 million for New York City firefighters and their families, but there was one thing they didn't anticipate.
"After we raised this money, we realized that local charities would be losing out on money that went to New York and not to them," said Fred Angelo, legislative vice president of the Professional Firefighters of Palm Beach County.
So, he and Armand Nault, a lieutenant with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, came up with a plan to help local charities.
"We thought, `What can we do to pay back the community that was so generous?' and we came up with the idea of a specialty license plate as a fund-raiser," Nault said.
Nault wrote the original legislation for the tag and state Sen. Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, who was then in the House of Representatives, sponsored the proposal.
Although the firefighters are excited about the commemorative license plate that reads, "Florida salutes firefighters," they are missing one vital element before the plates can be produced and sold.
"Even though Gov. Bush signed the bill into law to create the specialty firefighter tag, we must have 15,000 registered car owners fill out a brief questionnaire, including their license plate number, on our Web site, before the tags can go into production," said Kelley Burke, project coordinator for the Florida Professional Firefighters.
The Web site address is www.firefightertag.com.
Filling out the questionnaire does not obligate the respondent to purchase a tag; it only shows officials that there is sufficient interest to warrant a specialty tag. However, respondents are asked if they mind being contacted by the organization about purchasing a tag.
So far, about 5,000 signatures have been accumulated.
The plate, which will be available statewide, will cost an additional $20, plus a $2 state processing fee. Money raised from the sale of each plate will be collected by the Florida Firefighter Charities and will be distributed back to local charities chosen by the firefighters in counties where the tags are sold.
"The sooner we gather the 15,000 respondents, the sooner we can submit our paperwork to the Department of Motor Vehicles," Burke said. "It still takes six months before the tags are available for purchase, so we are looking six to eight months down the road before the first tag is sold."
Paula Stanfield, management analyst for the Division of Motor Vehicles, said there are 54 specialty license plates available for purchase, with 11 more waiting to be signed by the governor. Ten percent of Floridians purchase specialty tags.
"Specialty license plates raise a lot of money for a good cause," Stanfield said.
Bob Carver, president of the Professional Firefighters Association, hopes the public will see the inherent good in this venture.
"The statewide license plate is being designed so citizens can be proud to show their support and salute the Florida firefighters," Carver said.
