Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support the IDS in College Media Madness! Donate here March 24 - April 8.
Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

politics

BMV celebrates Ind. bicentennial with new license plate

A new Indiana license plate will be available to drivers this year, commemorating the state’s bicentennial celebration in 2016.

The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles approached the Bicentennial Commission, which is co-chaired by Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman and former congressman Lee Hamilton, with the idea for the new license plate, said Tyler Stock, Skillman’s press secretary.

The bicentennial plate will replace the “blue torch” plate design as a standard option for the next five years. The “In God We Trust” plate will continue to be offered as a second option. Both plates are free of additional charges to drivers, unlike specialty plates.  

The license plate includes a graphic of the state of Indiana with the number 200 on the left-hand side. A ring of 19 stars, one of them gold, will be wrapped around the state map, representing Indiana’s placement as the 19th state in the nation, Stock said.

Across the bottom, a gold banner displays the words “Bicentennial 1816-2016.”
The plate, which was designed by the BMV and the Indiana State Museum, was unveiled by the Bicentennial Commission on Oct. 11 at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis, Hamilton said.

Stock said the plate will serve as free marketing for the coming bicentennial, since an estimated 2 million drivers will display the license plate on their vehicles.

“It will be a traveling billboard, if you will, to alert people to 2016,” said Hamilton, who is also the director of the IU Center on Congress. “It will be a reminder that a big celebration is coming to our state. We hope it will create enthusiasm.”

The plate will become available to drivers starting Dec. 27. All Indiana drivers will need to upgrade their license plates during the coming year as part of the standard five-year cycle, Stock said. Each driver will be assigned a specific month to carry out the upgrade, designated alphabetically by last name.

The timing for the plate design is ideal because its cycle will overlap with the bicentennial celebration, Stock said.    

The plate is one of many initiatives planned by the Bicentennial Commission to prepare for the 2016 celebration, Hamilton said. The commission was appointed by Gov. Mitch Daniels at his final State of the State Address in January.

Hamilton said the group has had four meetings so far and has begun discussing projects related to the celebration.

“We have received scores of ideas and are beginning to sort through them now,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said the commission has considered ideas from the centennial celebration in 1916 during its brainstorming process.

According to the Indiana Magazine of History, several ceremonies and pageants were held in counties across   the state during that year, under the direction of former Gov. Samuel Ralston.

One memorable ceremony took place on Oct. 12, 1916, at the state fairgrounds. President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech on the importance of a highway system, providing encouragement for the completion of the Dixie Highway in Indiana.

“We’ve discussed the possibility of a major event,” Hamilton said.

The centennial also marked the establishment of Indiana’s state parks system, Hamilton said.

He said the commission will almost certainly develop land trusts in honor of the bicentennial, possibly even creating a new state park.

“We want the celebration to be forward-looking as well as historical,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said the commission hopes to plan an inclusive celebration encouraging all Hoosiers to get their towns and counties involved.

“We want the celebration to come from the people themselves,” he said.

Get stories like this in your inbox
Subscribe