February 30th, 2014

Chairman Damschroder, Vice Chair Ruhl, Ranking Member Mallory, and members of the Transportation, Public Safety, and Homeland Security Committee:

(Your name, your club name or company name) supports Ohio State Beekeepers Association’s endeavor to create a license plate that will increase public awareness regarding the issues facing honeybees and how it impacts our food supply and environment. By approving this license plate design, our state legislature demonstrates that they understand the benefits that honeybees bring to the quality of our lives. The larger issue is the demise of honeybees and other pollinators. Pollinators impact the quality and cost of Ohio food supply, the strength of Ohio agri-business, the quality of our Ohio neighborhood gardens, parks and greenways. Honeybees play a vital role in pollination for many of the fruit and vegetable crops in our state, including soybeans, apples, tomatoes, pumpkins, and cucumbers. Reverend L.L. Langstroth, who lived in Oxford Ohio is credited with designing the beekeeping equipment with which we are familiar, so a honeybee focused license plate reflects back to the fact that Ohio is The Birthplace of Modern Beekeeping This license plate will bring honeybee plight to the forefront public awareness and promote beekeeping, provide educational information about beekeeping, and support state and local beekeeping programs and research. Thank you for your time and your support. Respectfully submitted for your consideration, YOUR NAME OR ASSOCIATION AND TITLE HERE