Hershey Bears will honor former Hershey CEO Ken Hatt with emblem on helmet

One of the most familiar faces at Giant Center was Ken Hatt’s. The former president and CEO of Hershey Entertainment and Resorts was one of the biggest supporters of the Hershey Bears and could be regularly found in the team’s suite at the north end of the arena.

Hatt passed away in late August at 93 years old.

Bears vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer got to know the Milton Hershey School graduate during their time spent together in the suite and felt it would be appropriate to honor Hatt’s contributions to both the team and community this season.

“I was trying to come up with some way to honor Mr. Hatt, obviously for what he’d done for people, not just in Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, but [Milton] Hershey School, and his legacy,” said Helmer. “I got to know him personally in the suite last year so I wanted to come up with some way to honor his legacy, and I thought what better way than to put his initials on the back of the helmets. I asked a few people what they thought, and they thought it was a great idea.”

KH will now be featured on the back left of each helmet of this season.

Hatt started working for Hershey in 1941 as a mail messenger and worked his way up to the top executive position in the company in 1980. He served on the Board of Directors for HERCO, the Hershey Trust, Hershey Foods Corporation, and the Board of Managers for both Milton Hershey School and the Milton S. Hershey Foundation.

He oversaw the expansion of Hershey, from the park to lodging, to events, setting the groundwork for what Hershey, Pennsylvania is today. Hatt also was a key player in bringing Penn State Hershey Medical Center to Derry Township.