Strong Personalised Number Plates Unveiled

The “I am Vermont Strong” personalised number plate was unveiled during Gov. Peter Shumlin’s State of the State address at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Thursday.

“Vermonters have been so generous, but we have many miles to travel before we rest and many dollars to raise before we sleep. In that spirit, we are pleased to introduce our new ‘Vermont Strong’ personalised number plates,” Shumlin said in his speech. “Go and buy one and put it in front of your rig.”

The logo — a silhouette of the state of Vermont with the words “I am Vermont Strong” superimposed on it — has also been printed on T-shirts and sweat shirts. According to the creators’ website, more than 4,500 shirts have been sold.

Eric Mallette, who created the “I am Vermont Strong” campaign with Lyz Tomsuden, a graphic designer for the Rutland Herald, said it was the continuous lifespan of the logo and what it represents to Vermonters that motivated the state to create the commemorative number plate.

“It aligns 100 percent with the organization,” he said. “What it stands for is what makes it so powerful. It’s a lifestyle, not just an image.”

Mallette said the state approached them a couple of weeks ago to use the logo for the plates and quickly went into production to have several available Thursday.

Kathy Murphy, Vermont’s chief marketing officer, said state officials found the logo compelling and that legislation is being fast-tracked to approve the special personalised number plate.

“It speaks to the strength, to the resilience, to the recovery, and those are things that are part of its intent,” she said.

Commemorative license plates are not registration number plates, but are picture plates that can be displayed for a set period, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles website.

People will be able to display the “Vermont Strong” plate over their front license plate until June 30, 2014. According to the DMV website, the front numeric plate must remain on the vehicle.

About 10,000 of the “Vermont Strong” plates will be initially produced, but Mallette said more could be made as needed.

The state hopes to have the plates ready to be sent out by the end of the month or early February.

“It’s something that we created, but it’s not something that we own,” Mallette said. “It’s owned by the people who have supported us and sent in donations.”

He and Tomsuden are donating the use of the image for the number plates.