Mike Fuches poses with his granddaughter, Abigail Cox, beside the Mustang show car he built in support of local law enforcement officers.

MOULTRIE, Ga. — In these days of email, text messages and cell phones, a hand-written letter is rare, but a Moultrie man knows it can be very effective.

“I learned a long time ago if you want somebody important to read something you send, you write it longhand,” Mike Fuches told The Observer recently.

And it worked for Fuches, who wrote a letter to President Donald Trump early last year.

Fuches has restored automobiles and worked with hot rods for decades. He’s probably best known for a Mustang he customized in honor of both the Moultrie Police Department and the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office. He displays it at public gatherings and car shows in support of law enforcement officers everywhere, and in his letter, he told Trump about the car and where he takes it. He included photos from many of the places he’s taken it — Disney World, Wild Adventures, the Atlanta Dome — and he included magazine articles about it.

He thanked the president for his support for the country’s law enforcement officers.

About a month ago, Fuches received a package from the White House. It included a letter of appreciation for the things Fuches does for law enforcement, and Trump’s signature was at the bottom. There was a signed photo of the president. Fuches had sent Trump copies of artwork of the car, which Trump also autographed.

Fuches framed the items he received from the White House into a display, which he brought to The Observer for the interview but usually keeps hanging at his house. He acknowledges he doesn’t know if Trump himself signed the items — the president has a staff to handle correspondence — but Fuches knows for sure his hand-written letter got someone’s attention.

You can see Fuches’ law enforcement tribute car at Spring Fling April 20 in downtown Moultrie and the Thomasville Rose Show the following weekend.