Hilton Head couple ‘proudly promotes the plaid’
If ever there were such things as “ambassadors of the plaid” it would be Don and Lisa Preston.
The Prestons have been attending the RBC Heritage while proudly sporting their plaid for at least 10 years now.
In fact, the couple who were out enjoying the tournament’s “Plaid Nation Day” on Saturday, has never missed a day of the event in all those years.
Well almost.
“Six years ago, on the final day, we had to miss,” said Lisa, smiling like a woman who had just won the lottery.
And in some ways, the Prestons did.
That was the day she and her husband of 45 years got the call they’d been waiting for. Don was finally going to get the liver transplant he needed.
Having suffered from liver cancer, Don had been on the waiting list for about two months, Lisa said. It just so happened the call came during the Heritage.
So just before leaving for the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., the two decided they had better call the staff at Island Recreation, where they volunteered, to tell them they wouldn’t be able to make the final day.
“They said, ‘Well why not?’ ” Lisa Preston remembers.
The two still have a good laugh over that.
As the couple waited for the “Best Dressed in Plaid Contest” to start Saturday afternoon, Don delighted in talking to people and posing for pictures in his Marine Corps tartan kilt.
“You can see he’s enjoying himself,” she said.
A Vietnam veteran, Don said he usually wears his McClellan Clan tartan but also likes to switch things up.
“You know each branch of the service has a plaid,” he said, as people stopped by, shook his hand and thanked him for his service.
And while the couple had won the plaid contest in previous years, winning is not as important to the Prestons, they said, as just getting out and enjoying life.
“It’s not our goal to win, but to promote the spirit of the plaid,” Lisa said. “(And) it’s just a lot of fun.”
Asked for advice on how to “do the Heritage,” Don said newbies should pace themselves and not hesitate to ask someone where to go.
“Wear comfortable shoes. Drink water and put sunscreen on,” he said, with the wisdom of someone who has done a thing or two in his life.
Later, as about a dozen or so spectators began lining up for the contest, Don hollered at a group passing by.
“If you got your plaid on, come on up,” he said.
Mindy Lucas: 843-706-8152, @MindyatIPBG
Kids were “plaidest” for Plaid Nation Day
From plaid leggings to kilts and plaid hair bows, kids, as it turned out, were among the “plaidest” — yes that’s a word — for Plaid Nation Day on Saturday.
In fact, 9-year-olds Jessica Stiger and Annabella McSwain won the “Best Dressed in Plaid” contest for their matching black-and-red plaid ensemble.
The contest was part of the RBC Heritage tournament’s activities on the Heritage Lawn at midday.
Also, sporting a dashing red, button-down shirt was 3-year-old Kellen Bruegger who walked barefoot across the turf-covered area set up for the contest and promptly sat down.
Parents Page and Brien Bruegger said the tournament was very family-friendly. In fact, Kellen stood quietly with his father at the 13th tee box last year watching all the action, dad said.
“A lot of the golfers were impressed with how quiet he was,” he said. “And he clapped when everyone else clapped.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Hilton Head couple ‘proudly promotes the plaid’."