- Inventor of the Year for Excellence in Toy Design: Steve and Jeff Rehkemper of Rehkemper Invention & Design (Rehco)
- Inventor of the Year for Excellence in Game Design: Gary Donner and Michael Steer of Random Games & Toys
- Inventor of the Year for Rising Star/Rookie Inventor: Colleen McCarthy-Evans and Joyce Johnson of Toying with Games
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Jeffrey Breslow
"We are thrilled to honor the great minds behind our country's favorite toys," Mary Couzin, executive director of ChiTAG, said in a press release. "We recognize the talents of people in many industries, and it's time these creative individuals receive credit for their contributions."
Steve and Jeff Rehkemper of Rehco re-invented the flying toy category by developing the first remote-controlled toy helicopter. The company's products have generated more than $1 billion in combined sales. Rehco clients include Mattel, Fisher-Price, Hasbro, Tiger and Spin Master. The Rehkemper brothers founded Rehco in 1983.
Garry Donner and Michael Steer of Random Games & Toys gained major success with Pocket Trivia, selling more than 10 million units under the Hoyle brand. Random Games & Toys now houses six full-time inventors and is best known for Tumbling Monkeys (Mattel), the Express Line (Hasbro), Buzz Word (Patch Products), Last Word (Buffalo Games), Hit the Deck (Fundex) and Chain Game (Out of the Box Publishing). Donner started Random Games & Toys in 1974. Steer joined the company full-time in 1986.
Colleen McCarthy-Evans and Joyce Johnson (winners, Rising Star/Rookie) met at a "Game Design for Fun and Profit" class and became business partners in 2002. After only six years, the company has already been recognized for: In a Pickle and Aunt Millie's Millions (Gamewright); There's a Fly in My Soup and Beeline (Basic Concepts); Pokemon Pokeball Flip, Be the Expert, Pandamania and Dig that Dinosaur (Pressman) and Disney Fairies Fancy Flight and To Know Me Is To Love Me (Danawares).
Breslow is the creator of the popular Ants in the Pants board game and many other well-known toys. Breslow, who began his inventing career under the famed Marvin Glass, recently retired as president and co-founder of Big Monster Toys (BMT), the world's largest toy and game inventing studio. An estimated 78 percent of American households own toys designed by BMT, according to the TAGIE press release.
The TAGIE awards dinner and ceremony was sponsored by two of the world's leading toy and game producers: Hasbro as lead sponsor and Mattel as supporting sponsor.
