<< Back 11/20/02 Record quarter for Smokies license plates SMN Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park has received a check for $33,400 from the State of North Carolina for sales of the Friends of the Smokies specialty license plate for July through September. This is the largest quarterly payment so far and a 45 percent increase over the same quarter last year. For the year, the Friends of the Smokies specialty plates have brought in a record of $107,760. The money has been used to support the elk release in Cataloochee Valley, the Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob, Fraser fir research and protection, and the Parks as Classrooms program for local schoolchildren. “The plate money has helped us do so much more for the North Carolina side of the Smokies,” said George Ivey, director of the Friends’ office in Waynesville. “More than 5,300 people bought or renewed their Smokies plates in the last year, and we are grateful for every one.” The Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park license plate is available any time from any local North Carolina license plate agency office. Of the added fee for the specialty plate, $20 goes to Friends of the Smokies to support park projects and programs.