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Community Corner

Hey Marylanders! Show us Your Bay Plate

When you’re out driving this summer, where do you take your Bay plate? Is it on long road trips across the country? Or maybe just over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to Ocean City, Md.?  The Chesapeake Bay Trust wants to know and is launching a contest to prove it! The Trust, a non-profit grantmaking organization dedicated to restoring the Chesapeake Bay, is looking for Bay plate owners to snap a one-of-a-kind picture of their Treasure the Chesapeake license plate at interesting locations during this summer. Submissions are encouraged to be taken in both interesting places and in creative ways.

“The Treasure the Chesapeake license plates are a source of pride for Maryland drivers because they demonstrate the connection we all have to the Bay,” said Molly Alton Mullins, director of communications at the Chesapeake Bay Trust. “We thought this contest would be a fun opportunity for people to be creative and get outside this summer, while also showing their support for our beautiful Bay.”

The contest launches July 29 and photo submissions can be made through the Trust’s Bay Plate website. The photo submission period will end August 30.  Three pictures will be selected as the finalists for the contest and the public will get to vote for their favorite from September 3 to September 13. The official winner will be named on September 16 and there are multiple chances to win prizes. There will be two grand prize winners; one for whose picture is chosen as the best Bay plate photo and the other who will be a randomly selected voter who chose the winning photo. Grand prize winners will receive a $100 gift card to Amazon.com, tickets to the Trust’s 16th Annual Treasure the Chesapeake Celebration gala and other gifts and prizes. The winner will also have their prize-winning photograph featured in the Trust’s 2013 Annual Report. There are also fantastic giveaways for the runner-ups and randomly chosen participants daily throughout the contest. Visit www.bayplate.org to see the official rules and prizes.

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“The Chesapeake Bay Trust wants Marylanders to show how proud they are of their Bay plate and what it helps to accomplish,” continued Mullins. “Many people are unaware that when they purchase a Treasure the Chesapeake license plate they are supporting environmental education and restoration projects right here in Maryland. We hope this contest helps encourage more Marylanders to join in and show their support by buying a Bay plate.”

If you do not have a Bay plate currently on your vehicle, you can order one online easily at www.bayplate.org. (The plates will be mailed directly to your home.) For more information on the Chesapeake Bay Trust and how you can support Bay restoration, visit www.cbtrust.org. To enter the contest and for its official rules, visit www.bayplate.org.

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