The British Toy & Hobby Association (BTHA) presented the Special Recognition Award at a reception held during Toy Fair.

The BTHA is proud to present a posthumous Special Recognition Award to Simon Hedge. This is a new award category introduced by the BTHA, which recognises loyalty, long service, commitment and dedication by individuals within the toy industry. Simon sadly passed away on 20th June 2023.

The first such award was presented to Simon’s family at a special reception during Toy Fair 2024 where Simon’s loyalty, dedication and passion for the toy business were celebrated. Simon’s family received a newly commissioned trophy from the BTHA, presented to them by chairman Simon Pilkington.

Simon was remembered fondly by all those who attended, which included previous team members, colleagues, friends and close family members who were alongside him during his long career. Simon was a team player who built loyal, motivated, happy and dedicated teams throughout the years.

During a career which spanned nearly three decades, Simon worked for some well-known companies and with some tremendous people, from Hasbro and K’Nex to Flair, where he started his career as commercial director before eventually becoming managing director. In over 20 years at Flair, Simon was a driving force in many ground-breaking moves by the company and revived an illustrious list of brands from Plasticine and Shopkins to Sylvanian Families and Thomas Wooden Railway, and created many others like Paper FX and Comic maker.

BTHA chairman Simon Pilkington said: “On behalf of the British Toy & Hobby Association, I am immensely proud that we have been able to present this award to Simon’s family. Simon gave so much to this industry in so many ways, and today we acknowledge the great contribution he made to the toy industry during his long career. Simon is the first recipient of the new BTHA Special Recognition Award, and a very deserving and fitting winner of this inaugural presentation.”