An idea that sticks: Panther license plate decals


Amy Picray poses with one of the new license plates that leave room for a Monticello Panther decal. Proceeds for purchase of the decal go to the Monticello Athletic Booster Club. (Photo by Pete Temple)

The license plates are issued at the Jones County Treasurer’s office, and the decals are available there, and at Panther home athletic events. (Photo by Mark Spensley)
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Sports Editor

     Monticello Panther decal license plates aren’t everywhere yet, but they might be before long.

     Thanks to a law change, an idea from Monticello Athletic Booster Club member Amy Picray, and the work of both the booster club and the Monticello Express, motorists can now stick a Panther logo decal on a new kind of Iowa license plate.

     Picray, who as Jones County treasurer deals with license plates on a regular basis, learned of the law change and came up with the idea for a Panther decal.

     “The Iowa Department of Transportation used to have special processed emblem plates, so if an organization wanted to have a plate made available, they had to get 500 paid applications before the state made the plate,” Picray said.

     A new law, which took effect Jan. 1, changed that.

     “Instead, they came out with a decal license plate that has a blank space, that organizations can put a decal on,” Picray said.

     It’s a little-known law change, and so far, only six organizations statewide have taken advantage of it.

     “And we’re the only one in Eastern Iowa,” Picray said.

     The decal plates have less space for letters and numbers, allowing room to affix the decal. The Panther decal is 3.5 inches tall and 3 inches wide.

     People can turn in their current plates to the Jones County treasurer’s office and purchase the new decal plates for $5 a set (new car buyers can request decal plates to begin with).

     Another option is to get personalized decal plates (sometimes called “vanity plates”). Those cost $25 a set.

     “We have the decal plates in inventory, unless you get them personalized; then we have to order them,” Picray said.

     Panther decals to stick on the plates are available for purchase at $5 a pair, from the treasurer’s office, and in the concession stand at Panther events.

     Any decal design has to be from a nonprofit organization, and has to be approved by the DOT.

     “Once the DOT approves that decal, then it’s up to the organization to get those decals processed to sell them,” she said. “The organizations can sell them for whatever they want.”

     The booster club chose to sell the decals for a low rate.

     “When they first came out with the plate, I had in my mind that this would be a neat thing for the booster club to do,” Picray said. “Not so much to raise money, but to promote school spirit. I just thought it would be neat; go to an out-of-town game, and have the parents driving in with all these Monticello Panther plates.”

     Picray got serious about the idea in September, and came to Express co-owner Mark Spensley to have the decal designed. It took two weeks to have it approved, and the club wound up going through the process twice.

     “Our first decal was a red ‘M,’ outlined in black, with a white background,” Picray said. “Then when we put it on the plate, I thought it looked really tacky with the white sticker slapped on, because the plate itself isn’t white.

     She came back to the Express, and after a few attempts to modify it, Spensley suggested changing the ‘M’ to black, with a red background.

     “Then we had to go back to the DOT to get the design reapproved,” Picray said. “I’m glad we took the time to do that, because I think the finished product is really sharp.”

     “Amy was very easy to work with,” said Spensley, who collaborated with Express graphic designer Sheralyn Schultz on designing the decal.

     “We ended up changing the design after it was approved, and Amy quickly got the new design approved. Sheralyn did a nice job on the redesign.”

     Picray noted that motorists have to get the plates from the treasurer in their own county. For instance, a Monticello teacher who lives in Dubuque or Delaware counties cannot get the plates from Jones County.

     “They can only display DOT-approved decals,” she said. “Some kid can’t go to a gumball machine to get a sticker and put it on there.”

     “I really appreciate the booster club for supporting us at the Express and for all their hard work and dedication they provide to our student athletes,” Spensley said. “I can’t wait to start seeing Monticello Panther decals on license plates.

     “We recently purchased a 30-inch wide laminator and used it for these decals, so they should last a long time.”

     The first Monticello decals were sold Oct. 25, and they are starting to catch on. Above & Beyond Home Health Care in Monticello, for instance, purchased them for each of its vehicles.

     “There’s a lot of excitement,” Picray said of the community’s reaction to the decals. “It’s nice to be on the cutting edge of it, too.”

 

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