Photo by Loretta Widdekind

The Hill County Park Board selected the photograph to the right to be used for a specialty license plate for Beaver Creek Park in Hill County.

The woman whose picture was selected to be used in a specialty license plate for Beaver Creek Park said she is honored her image will be on the new plates.

“I never have bought a special plate before, and no matter whether I won I would have bought one, ” Loretta Widdekind said. “I just think it is a really neat thing for our community. ”

Widdekind was the winner of the contest to select a view to go on the license plate, and won a $200 prize, with $100 coming from an anonymous donor and another $100 coming from the park funding foundation.

The Hill County Park Board selected a photograph Widdekind submitted — she entered several — to be used in creating a new license plate for the county park.

Specialty license plates require the person licensing their vehicle to pay an additional charge, with part of the charge going back to the sponsor with the remainder to administrative and production costs.

According to a webpage on the state Department of Justice’s Motor Vehicles Division, most plates return $20 per plate to the sponsor organization.

Sponsoring groups must submit a qualified design, and pay a $4,000 initial cost to get the plate into production.

The idea first was proposed by board member Robbie Lucke, who said last December he thought something should be done to fill the void of not having any local specialty license plates.