A North Carolina woman who pleaded with the Division of Motor Vehicles to keep her custom license plate lost the battle — but may have won the war, she said.
Karly Sindy, a resident of Asheville, received a letter from the DMV on Feb. 24 saying someone had complained to the agency about her license plate, which says FART. In the letter, the DMV said Sindy had 30 days to submit an appeal to the DMV explaining the significance of the plate to her or risk having the plate revoked and replaced with a non-customized one, The News & Observer reported.
Sindy turned to Reddit for help, and one user suggested that she tell the DMV that the letters were simply an acronym for an outdoor activities club, Friends of Asheville Recreational Trails.
She created a website for the club, and eager prospective members told her they were genuinely interested in joining. Soon, the club was born, and it held its first meeting on Feb. 24.
Sindy submitted a letter to the DMV asking them to reconsider revoking the plate on March 3.
But on March 11, the DMV doubled down on its decision. Sindy told McClatchy News via email that the agency gave her a phone call, saying she could no longer use the plate on her truck.
But the agency also told her she could still “keep it for official club business,” she said in a tweet.
Sindy added in another tweet that the club “may have lost the battle, but I think we won the war.”
“From one complaint we have spread F.A.R.T.s around the country and the world!” the Tweet said.
Around the time Sindy got the initial DMV letter, she told McClatchy News that she was pleasantly surprised by the level of excitement and support she witnessed for the FART club — one person brought a cardboard sign with the club’s name on it, others took photos with the plate, and two representatives of Friends of the Smokies gave Sindy a year-long membership to the wildlife organization as a thank-you for her support.
Since then, FART has only grown in popularity — the club has a schedule of upcoming events, a newsletter and official merchandise, including stickers and T-shirts. Sindy was even invited to tell her story on an episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on March 3.
Sindy submitted her appeal to the DMV the same day.
“I’d like to start off by pointing out that acronyms are an excellent way to gain attention and unify around succinct causes that mean a lot to all of us,” Sindy wrote. “Whether that be UNC, WNC, NCSU, NCDOT, these short collections of letters have a meaning and help establish identity.”
“F.A.R.T. shares information about our vast network of trails through different social media outlets, and helps connect citizens who care deeply for the continued preservation of this land to be enjoyed by all,” the letter continued.
The DMV first told McClatchy News on Feb. 25 that the “personalized text in question has been on our do not issue list for some time and was mistakenly approved in our Special Plate Unit,” and that the “plate has been recalled.” However, at the time, Sindy said she hadn’t received any official communication from the agency.
After learning she can use the plate for the club, Sindy shared a TikTok video, featuring a montage of FART-related pictures and the song “Candle in the Wind” by Elton John.
“The F.A.R.T. will linger!!” a text box in the video says.
And despite the news, the club plans to continue meeting, Sindy said in the video.
“The FART club is gonna be alive and well,” Sindy said. “Thanks everybody for the fun, and let’s be kind to each other, and I’ll see you on the trail.”
According to the club’s website, upcoming events include a meeting on March 13 to “come hike, play disc golf, or just hang out,” as well as a social event at a local brewery “once we receive the response from the DMV.”
The North Carolina DMV did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 5:43 PM.