The Jones Publishing Lifetime Achievement Award is bestowed upon one recipient per year. This award was created in 2002 in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the teddy bear, with the first recipient being Steiff, a German-based plush toy company known for its high quality and prices.
The Lifetime Achievement recipient must be or have been involved in some aspect of the doll and/or teddy bear field for a minimum of 25 years. The recipient may be an individual, partnership, corporation, company, author, artist, marketer, historian or any other industry professional. Lifetime Achievement Award nominations may be made by previous recipients or members of the LAA committee.
To qualify as a nominee, entrants must meet the following criteria:
- Been active in the doll or bear field a minimum of 25 years.
- Maintained or increased the quality of reputation and product or service provided since inception.
- Served the industry with integrity, honesty, reliability
- Received a majority of the votes from previous recipients.
The Lifetime Achievement Award has been presented to the following individuals and companies since its inception:
2002 Steiff
2003 Hildegard Gunzel
2004 Alexander Doll Company
2005 R. John Wright
2006 Wendy Lawton
2007 Virginia Turner
2008 Toy Shoppe
2010 Helen Kish
2012 Maggie Iacono
2013 Heidi Plusczok
2014 Jack Johnston
2015 Kaye Wiggs
2016 Robert Tonner
2017 Berdine Creedy
2020 Pat Moulton
2022 Dianna Effner
2023 Beverly Stoehr
