TAGIE Awards Winners Announced
The winners for the ninth annual Toy & Game Innovation (TAGIE) Awards have been announced. The TAGIE Awards paid tribute to toy and game inventors from around the world whose creative imaginations and playful inventions resulted in today’s play products. At this year’s awards ceremony, excellence was recognized in the categories of Toy Innovator, Game Innovator, Rising Star Innovator, and Digital Toy or Game Innovator. The winners were selected by their industry colleagues and the public.
TOY INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
Winner: David Yakos, Steamline Design with Lionel Trains for Mega Tracks
Presenter: Jeffrey Breslow, Toy Designer for 41 years
GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
Winner: Jeremy Posner, Big Monster Toys with FatBrain Toys for Coggy
Presenter: Jeff Pinsker, President of Pressman Toy
RISING STAR INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
Winner: Alice Brooks, Roominate with PlayMonster for Cotton Candy Carnival
Presenter: PJ Palijo, Vice-President of Product Design & Development for NBC Universal Consumer Products
DIGITAL TOY OR GAME INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR
Winner: Phoebe Hayman, Seedling for Maze
Presenter: Robin Raskin, Founder of Living in Digital Times (LIDT)
Excellence was also recognized in the categories of The Hassenfeld Family Humanitarian Award, Lifetime Achievement, and Inventor Advocacy. The honorees for these categories were selected by a closed jury of industry-based judges. The Hassenfeld Family Humanitarian Award went to Special Olympics Chicago.
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree was Reyn Guyer, who developed and licensed Twister game to Milton Bradley/Hasbro and developed and licensed Nerf Ball to Parker Bros./Hasbro. He was inducted into the Hasbro inventors’ Hall of Fame in 1986. The award was presented by Phil Sage, Director of Global Product Acquisition & Inventor Relations at Hasbro.
The Inventor Advocacy Honoree was awarded to the UK Inventor Dinner Committee. This committee puts together the most unusual dinner each year for charity during the London Toy Fair. They are creative and show some of the less well-known London landmarks by choosing a different venue each year. The award was accepted by Simon Skelton, the co-founder and face of Big Ideas!
For more information about the TAGIE Awards Gala visit chitag.com/tagies.