For 30 years Mike had, to many in the retroreflective products industry, been the public face of 3M and a very cheerful and welcoming face it was, with a warm, generous and helpful spirit to back it up. Mike had been a key figure in our industry for so long that it is perhaps worth taking a little time to look back at the man behind the smile.

The story of Michael John Mason begins in the Merseyside terraces of Trinity Road, Wallasey on 7th March 1948 as the only child of John and Brenda Mason. John Mason came from a musical family and was an accomplished professional concert pianist with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, whilst Brenda was a dedicated amateur local historian. It was therefore from his father that Mike inherited a lifelong love of classical music, although he never took up an instrument, and from his mother came his keen and abiding fascination with the developments in transport and social patterns that drove the Industrial Revolution.

As a lanky, curly haired, freckle faced lad, Mike’s success in the ’Eleven Plus’ and his openness to change led him to choose Wallasey’s new technical grammar school instead of a traditional grammar school. Here he developed not only a sound understanding of how the world and its society worked but also of how to challenge it, whether that was in his love of a good debate or his loathing of cross country running for which he devised an ingenious (and undetected) shortcut. His cheerful and enthusiastic approach to life extended from his love of language and the physical sciences, to a youthful interest in cards, alcohol and tobacco and he showed an early aptitude for leadership across this full range of activities, even convincing the school establishment to make him a prefect in the 6th form.  But even at that early age Mike seemed to have that characteristic instinctive balance between work and enjoyment that gained him a group of lifelong friends and a sufficiently impressive haul of A levels in Maths, Physics and Chemistry to win him a place at Leicester University. With his typical inquisitiveness about life’s possibilities, instead of reading one of his established science subjects, Mike chose to take his degree in Psychology and Sociology.

Mike’s years at Leicester provided the platform for the rest of his life in more ways than one, as it was one of the new group of friends that he made there who later introduced him to Maureen who he married in 1974 and with whom he was to share the rest of his life.

On leaving University Mike’s first job was in sales and marketing for Cadbury Schweppes (later United Biscuits) for whom his area of responsibility was cake sales. It was at the end of 1975 that Mike and cakes parted company, but only as far their sales was concerned, as he always maintained a keen interest in their consumption.

A period of consultancy work followed until, in May 1978, Mike first appeared on the retroreflective industry radar when, at the age of 30, he was recruited by Bill Shouler to 3M as a Senior Sales Representative for the Scotchlite range of reflective materials used on personal safety garments: anything from reflectorised children's clothing for Mothercare through to high visibility safety clothing for the road traffic and construction industries. With his aptitude for the sciences and having a logical and acutely analytical mind that could think its way through confusing and complex situations, it is not surprising that Mike gravitated towards technical sales, product developments and specifications, including performance standards in which he became an acknowledged expert.

His initial involvement with British Standards was the contribution he made to the first standard for high visibility clothing in 1985. He was also involved in drafting the standards for marine safety: the so called SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea) standards that set the framework for the compulsory reflectorisation of life jackets and life rafts.

Mike’s progression through a number of sales and marketing positions generally followed the twin themes of retroreflective materials and the highways environment and he was appointed to the position of Market Development Manager in 1995. Here he was responsible, among other things, for the sales and development of a range of pre-formed road markings used in both permanent and temporary road situations. With these products came the requirement for international performance standards to cover them and Mike embarked on his most extensive portfolio of standards work, eventually Chairing the relevant BSi committee and leading the UK delegation for this work at European level. Mike’s long and distinguished career with 3M was capped in 1998 by his appointment to Product Development Manager.

Sadly it was not long after this that Mike began to suffer increasingly from debilitating bouts of arthritis which, despite his careful management of the condition, eventually limited his ability to drive long distances on a regular basis and forced his early retirement from 3M in July 2002. However, with the greater flexibility in his working pattern that this allowed, he continued to work on 3M’s behalf in a consultant capacity right up to his death.

25 years ago it was Mike who first realised the potential benefits to 3M of membership of the embryonic REMA, which then comprised just a handful of cone and sign manufacturers. It was therefore he who took 3M into the Association and his enthusiastic and expert contribution, backed up by the resources and reputation of his company, were significant factors in its early growth and influence.

Mike was therefore a key member of REMA for all of those 25 years as well as being its chairman for the last ten years. Looking back at REMA’s image and output as it was ten years ago, the Association has been transformed under Mike’s leadership. Not only has the membership increased, but the improved quality and professionalism in the presentation of the Association has greatly raised its profile and its reputation. REMA is now very well represented on British Standards technical committees and is now among the primary consultees for the Department for Transport, the Highways Agency,  specifiers and users, for all matters relating to retroreflective products and much of the credit for that is Mike’s.

On standards, his years spent trying to coax or push our disparate European partners towards a sensible consensus should have been crowned triumphantly last year with the adoption of seven new European Standards that will, for the first time, unify the performance of road markings across the EEC. However, to Mike’s intense but (as always) restrained frustration, the legal consultants in Brussels managed to throw some red tape into the works and delay the final stage. However, it now appears that the final hurdle will be cleared this year and although sadly Mike will not see fruits of his labours, it will certainly be another time for us to remember him with special gratitude.

Whilst it is probably difficult for anyone not involved, to appreciate what Mike did for our industry, the thing that really set him apart is just not what he achieved but the manner in which he did it. Confident, committed, considerate, conscientious and of course unfailingly courteous,  Mike was also blessed with the ability always to see the bigger picture, so he had a clear vision of the eventual goal but also the wisdom to know that there was more than one route to it.

All of this and his encyclopaedic knowledge of all things retroreflective, earned him the respect and admiration of everyone in our industry from the humblest to the highest, from installers to legislators.  But, his cheerful enthusiasm for everything he did, his willingness to share his knowledge and to help others, together with his quick wit and irrepressible sense of humour, also won him their deep affection and gratitude. 

It may have been a reaction to the urban confines of his upbringing that led Mike towards a more rural lifestyle, but a year after they married he and Maureen moved to the delightful village of Ockbrook, on the outskirts of Derby, which became their home for the next 36 years.
They were not fortunate enough to have children which meant that Mike’s obvious potential as a wise, caring and hugely entertaining dad found outlets in other areas of his life.

Away from his work and REMA Mike and Maureen had a great love of the outdoors and liked nothing better than to spend a day walking it the Dales with the dog, rounded off with good food and a glass or two. Just a year before he died they finally realised their dream of having a base there when they bought a cottage in the picturesque Wensleydale hamlet of Worton.

Despite his love of the open air and his private space, Mike was no recluse but had a sociability, not common in only children, that brought him a circle of lifelong and loyal friends. He took great pleasure in good company and group holidays, for which he was always the organising force. Mike also had a passion for railways and their history; not just steam engines, but the whole Victorian transport infrastructure of rail and canals and would be totally absorbed by old maps and timetables.

He never lost his inherited love of music (or his fear of spiders), with Rachmaninoff being a particular favourite, and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic concerts were a regular part of visits to his home area.

Although Mike had a keen interest in sport, in Maureen’s words, “he was useless at tennis and golf” but in swimming he found the sport at which he excelled and he remained an enthusiastic swimmer throughout his life.

Despite his interests and commitments Mike also found time to take part in fundraising events for charity. Having lost his father to cancer (ironically the same cancer to which he was also to fall victim) it was the cancer support charities to which he directed his efforts. In 2006 he was part of a group who completed a sponsored walk along the entire length of Hadrian’s Wall and in 2008 his group raised almost £2,500 for Macmillan Cancer Support by completing the challenge of crossing Scotland by boat which, just to make it more difficult, included an eighteen mile off-road cycle ride in the middle

Like many achievers he was driven by impatience but unlike many achievers he rarely allowed it to show in public. However, one close friend tells of a time when Mike’s restraining instincts failed and he hurled his overnight bag after a departing train that he had just missed, only to see it land on the tracks below. So effectively did he regain his composure and charm that the station security staff who pounced on him ended up feeling so sorry for him that one of them climbed down and retrieved the bag for him!

In all his endeavours Mike was outstandingly good at carrying people with him.  Firstly because they knew he was usually right and secondly because he made it an enjoyable journey.  Yes, he had an annoying habit of being right, but that was more than offset by his endearing habit of being almost apologetic about it!

In summary, it was simply a pleasure and a privilege to have had the benefits both of Mike’s very fine mind and of his entertaining company.  We can now only be grateful for the distinguished life of a quite delightful man and grateful also to Maureen for helping Mike to help us.  The work of REMA is going to be immeasurably more difficult without him but equally importantly it is going to be a lot less fun.