GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A Madison man was in Green Bay Thursday to see the rewards of a good idea and hard work.
A check for a little over 17,000 dollars was presented for the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial. The money came from the work that was started by Steve and Paula Fitzsimmons of Madison.
The couple helped change a law that allowed a Law Enforcement Memorial license plate to become a fundraising plate.
“Sounds simple when the Department of Transportation says all you have to do is change the law, but then you get into what you have to do to change that law,” Steve said.
Fitzsimmons said that process started with support from Green Bay Police Officer Craig Kolbeck, who serves as the President of the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.
“We were always worried that we would fall off because we could run out of time, even though we started this process two years into it,” Fitzsimmons said.
He later got support from State Representative David Steffen and State Senator Rob Cowles.
“I didn’t realize how many different pieces were going to be in this.”
Now, a purchase of the plate goes right to the Memorial funds.
A law signed earlier this year collects 25-dollars from drivers who request the specialty license plate.
“You never get anything in the mail or flyers asking for donations, it is just automatic.”
Fitzsimmons said the process is similar to other fundraising plates in the state and pledged that the money would pay for maintaining the Law Enforcement Memorial at the State Capitol and help the families of officers killed in the line of duty.
The law was signed by Governor Walker in April.
