Voting Closes Friday for Toy Industry Hall of Fame
August 26, 2024 | Toy Association members are reminded to help decide the 2025 Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductees by submitting their ballots by Friday, August 30.
Ballots have been emailed to all eligible voters*; to
request a link to the ballot, email The Toy Association’s Janis Zegman.
The candidates up for consideration are:
- Maxine Clark, Founder & CEO, Build-A-Bear Workshop
- Sharon DiMinico, Founder, Chair, Learning Express Toys
- Michael Kohner, President, The Michael Kohner Corporation
1975-Present
- Isaac Larian, CEO & Founder, MGA Entertainment
- Shirley Price, President, Funrise
- Erno Rubik, Professor & Inventor, Rubik’s Cube
- Michael Wood, Founder, LeapFrog
These candidates were selected by the Association’s Hall of
Fame Committee from a slate of highly qualified nominees.
The posthumous candidates will be decided on by the Hall of
Fame Subcommittee for Posthumous Selection (with approval from the Hall of Fame
Committee) and will be announced in February along with the 2025 inductees. All
inductees will be celebrated during a formal ceremony at the Toy of The Year® Awards on Friday, February 28, 2025.
Established in 1984, the Toy Industry
Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed upon individuals in the toy industry
who have made outstanding contributions and/or provided impactful service to
the industry and The Toy Association throughout their careers. Past inductees
include Ruth Handler, Jim Henson, Stan Lee, George Lucas, and Joan Ganz Cooney,
among others. The Toy Industry
Hall of Fame is housed alongside the National Toy
Hall of Fame at The Strong museum in Rochester, New York, featuring kiosks with glass
plaques and touch-screen monitors with biographical information about every
inductee.
*Eligible voters include designated points of contact for
current members of The Toy Association; current members of The Toy Association
Board of Directors and board members who have served in the previous five
years; and former Hall of Fame inductees. More details about the nomination
criteria and selection process is available online.