Her FART license plate has to go, NC woman says. But its legacy will live on

A weeks-long standoff came to an end when a North Carolina woman was told by the state’s Division of Motor Vehicles that she couldn’t keep her FART license plate on her truck.

“The text has been on our unapproved list for some time and should not have been issued to you,” the agency told Karly Sindy in a letter, she said.

But the DMV extended an olive branch along with the news, Sindy, an Asheville resident, told McClatchy News on March 21.

When she received a letter from the DMV telling her someone had complained about her plate, Sindy appealed and told the agency that FART stood for Friends of Asheville Recreational Trails, an outdoor activities club. She created a website for the organization, and people started expressing interest in joining. The club had its first meeting in February.

“As a commemorative token of this fun moment we found ourselves in, you are welcome to keep the FARTSM plate,” the DMV’s letter said, according to Sindy. “Some of our NCDMV staff donated the $10 fee on your behalf. We wish you and the Friends of Asheville Recreational Trails much luck in the future.”

Sindy’s grateful for the impact the license plate has had on her life — and for the fact that she can keep the plate in her possession, if not on her truck, she told McClatchy News.

“I couldn’t be happier that my fifteen minutes of fame was about farts,” she said.

And the story of the FART plate is hardly over — 100% of the proceeds Sindy earns from Friends of Asheville Recreational Trails merchandise sales will go toward Read to Succeed, a nonprofit that aims to close literacy gaps among young children in Asheville and Buncombe County, she said.

F.A.R.T. has sold merchandise all over the country, as shown on a map Sindy programmed herself. She’s not sure how much money she’s raised so far but estimates it could be thousands of dollars.

“It’s been so fun to not only make people happy with the F.A.R.T. merch but to also know that I’m working for this great cause as well,” Sindy said.

Sindy said she chose to partner with Read to Succeed after her daughter’s teacher recommended it. The nonprofit takes a race-based approach to closing literacy gaps by offering tutoring, after-school programs and other services.

According to the organization’s website, ”Asheville has the fifth largest achievement gap nationwide and the largest racial achievement gap between Black and white students” among all of North Carolina’s school districts.

“[Read to Succeed] is training community leaders from the Black community, they’re hiring Black leaders … they really want to get kids excited about reading,” Sindy said.

Sindy said she wants to partner with other organizations in the future and to uplift her Asheville community.

“I definitely want to try to keep the donations local,” Sindy said. “I think that’s what this has been all about — the community coming together.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2022 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Her FART license plate has to go, NC woman says. But its legacy will live on."