Voting for the next inductees into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame has started, and will run through October 14. TIA invites designated points of contact at TIA member companies, former Hall of Fame inductees, and recent TIA Board members to rank their choices in the living and posthumous categories. Each first place ranking will receive four points, each second place ranking will receive three points, and so on.
The candidates for induction into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame are: Judith (Judy) Ellis, chair, toy design department at the Fashion Institute of Technology; Patrick (Pat) Feely, president of PSF Consulting; Arnie Rubin, founder of Funrise, Inc.; and Jerry Storch, CEO and chairman of Toys “R” Us, Inc.
The candidates for posthumous induction into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame are: Russell (Russ) Berrie, founder of Russ Berrie, Inc.; Jack Friedman, former chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Jakks Pacific; and Frederick August Otto Schwarz, founder and president of FAO Schwarz.
The 2012 inductees will be announced in conjunction with promotion of the annual Toy of the Year (TOTY) awards program. The inductees will be honored during a ceremony held in conjunction with the TOTY Awards on February 11 at the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. For more information, visit www.toy-tia.org.
