It all started as a gag in 1954, when charter PPA member Gordon Brown appeared at breakfast wearing a particularly garish-looking Hawaiian shirt, giving rise to many disparaging remarks. He stripped off the shirt and “awarded” it to his loudest critic, A.R. Van Horne, with the proviso that he present it to another “deserving” member at the next meeting.
That same shirt, now bearing the signatures of each member receiving the award, is presented at the Annual Meeting to a member who, in the opinion of the current president, typifies the spirit of the Plastics Pioneers.
Lance Neward and Wendy Hoenig passed the MTS to Jeff Mengel for 2023. Wendy is shown at right displaying the long list of past members that bear the legacy of the shirt.
