by JULIE GWALTNEY, Vice President of Toys, TOMY International
Awards season within the toy business is a time to rejoice excellence in product, design, invention, advertising, and gross sales. It additionally presents a possibility to provide again to our communities and encourage the following technology of leaders. One factor I really like about my work with Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment (WiT) is the chance to rejoice excellence in girls past awards season and all year long.
An essential means that WiT champions success is thru the Ruth Handler Mentorship Program. Working with a mentor can have a huge effect on girls and help them in reaching their highest skilled objectives. It helps mentees construct talent units, improve management talents, and supplies a possibility to applaud successes with trusted sponsors. From expertise, I can say that mentors can be taught lots from their mentees as effectively! It’s a development alternative for everybody.
As a Co-Chair of WiT’s Chicago Chapter, I really like toasting achievements with my native WiT members. By means of our native occasions, we carry girls and our neighborhood collectively to community, uncover new alternatives, construct lasting relationships, and carry one another up all year long.
WONDER WOMEN EVERYWHERE
Certainly one of my favourite methods WiT celebrates excellence amongst girls is thru the Surprise Ladies Awards. In the course of the LA Fall Toy Previews, we gathered in Hollywood on the historic Beverly Hilton to honor our industry’s amazing entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and changemakers. This gala celebrated excellence whereas fostering connections and alternatives that final effectively past the one night. It was additionally an evening to mirror and encourage.
There have been so many unforgettable moments throughout the occasion, together with reconnecting with mentees from our mentorship program, connecting with colleagues in individual that I hadn’t seen in a while, and celebrating achievements by way of the awards themselves. It was nice watching groups collect to help and cheer on their members whereas studying new issues about colleagues and fellow producers. In fact, a spotlight of the gala was celebrating and honoring Kitty Black Perkins, the designer of the primary Black Barbie at Mattel.
However there was one further second of the night that basically stood out: the second we introduced the WiT Scholarship winners they usually took the stage. This numerous group of robust and clever younger girls represents the way forward for our business and would be the supply of nominees and winners to be honored at future Surprise Ladies Awards.
Sure, we have been celebrating their excellence in tutorial and philanthropic accomplishments thus far, however greater than that, we have been all imagining what they will — and can — accomplish sooner or later! As a WiT Board Member and a reviewer of the scholarship candidates, I’m proud to be a part of a company that celebrates its present members and helps the following technology.
So, as we proceed to take part in awards season celebrations honoring excellence in our business, take a second to mirror not solely on the achievements but in addition on the satisfaction we should always all really feel being part of an business that not solely celebrates excellence but in addition provides again to our communities in a means that units the stage for a brilliant future.
A model of this function was initially revealed in The Toy E-book’s 2025 Toy of the Yr (TOTY) Awards Problem. Click here to learn the complete problem! Wish to obtain The Toy E-book in print? Click here for subscription choices!
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