Hawai‘i’s Polynesian Voyaging Society license plate wins national award

The state of Hawai‘i has been honored by the Automobile License Plate Collectors Association with the 2022 Best Plate Award, recognizing the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s depiction of its iconic voyaging canoe Hōkūle‘a at anchor at Kāne’ohe Bay, the site of its inaugural launch in 1975.

This is the 58th plate to be recognized by the collectors association, and the first time Hawai‘i has been honored.

The award was presented to Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green in his ceremonial office. Award plaques were also presented to the City and County of Honolulu, which creates and distributes the plates statewide, to the Polynesian Voyaging Society and to the plate’s designer, artist Todd Yamashita of Moloka’i.

The ceremony was attended by members of the Hawai‘i State Legislature who supported legislation to allow the specialty plate.

“It is my pleasure to present this award on behalf of our 3,000 members around the world,” said Automobile License Plate Collectors Association President Cyndi McCabe, who traveled to Hawai‘i from Ohio to present the award. “The PVS plate, which quickly emerged as a member favorite in the balloting and was ultimately selected by a landslide, is being honored for its legibility and its stunning, colorful design.”

Polynesian Voyaging Society Chief Executive Nainoa Thompson, who is in Alaska preparing for the June 15 launch of the Moananuiākea circumnavigation of the Pacific, delivered mahalo remarks via videotape.

“Each purchase is a support to the Polynesian Voyaging Society and our next voyage, which is our most extensive voyage, the one that will take more time and distance that any other voyage in the last 48 years. And we do this because of the belief that living systems on Earth will never be healthy unless the ocean is healthy. This is a campaign to build a movement around the protection of the world’s oceans,” Thompson said. “Every license plate that someone purchases supports what we call ‘Malama Honua’ — to care for the Earth, the only island we
have.”

The cost of a pair of plates is $35.50 initially and $25 for renewals, of which $20
per year goes to the Polynesian Voyaging Society. The plates went on sale in February 2022.

More than half of the 23,632 pairs of plates produced — 12,227 — have been distributed throughout the archipelago, raising $244,540 to support PVS’ mission.

The plates are produced and distributed by the City and County of Honolulu Department of Motor Vehicles.