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 provison 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. 

Jeff Mengel passed the MTS to Jo Nell Kelly for 2024.  Wendy is shown at right displaying the long list of past members that bear the legacy of the shirt.  

Jo Nell Kelly - MTS 2024 Recipient

• 1954 A. R. Van Horne
• 1955 Neil Broderson
• 1956 Gordon Brown
• 1957 Donald Dew
• 1958 Frank Shaw
• 1959 Clint Blount
• 1960 Allan Brown
• 1961 Hans Wanders
• 1962 Stuart Landes
• 1963 Horace Gooch
• 1964 Allan Fritzsche
• 1965 William T. Cruse
• 1966 Lionel B. Kavanaugh
• 1967 Don Kendall
• 1968 Garson Meyer
• 1969 B. Frank Hantz
• 1970 Ed Vaill
• 1971 Sherwood Young
• 1972 David S. Plume
• 1973 Spencer Palmer
• 1974 George Whitehead
• 1975 J. Harry DuBois
• 1976 Carl H. Whitlock