Previous Winners

The 2009 recipient is Barbara Arnold Feret.  The following is abstracted from the speech made by SPE President Bill O’Connell at the SPE Celebrates Luncheon at ANTEC 2009 as he revealed Barbara as the recipient.

Each year, the SPE President has the pleasure of recognizing one individual who has, over the years, provided outstanding service to the Society of Plastics Engineers. As most of you know, the name of the individual selected to receive the President’s Cup is kept secret until it is revealed at today’s awards luncheon. So, see if you can guess whom I’ve chosen as I give you clues to the identity of this year’s President’s Cup recipient.

In last month’s US national spelling bee, the winning word was laodicean. Laodicean is a term that has never been associated with this year’s recipient. For any of you who might have missed the spelling bee, l-a-o-d-i-c-e-a-n means indifferent or lukewarm, especially in official matters. The year’s recipient has consistently and enthusiastically put all of themselves into every project they have undertaken, particularly for all the projects undertaken for SPE.

Our recipient’s professional career has spanned much of the US, with assignments in the East, Midwest, West and South. “They” have worked for both large and small plastics companies, almost always in a customer oriented position, and also managed their own company. One of our recipient’s mangers has defined this person’s expertise as bringing customers, products and processing together.

This year’s recipient has been an SPE member since 1986 and has risen through the leadership ranks of both Sections and Divisions. They have served on Council and chaired several committees.  Being awarded the President’s Cup automatically makes you an Honored Service Member. As has been the case many times before, the 2009 recipient already is an Honored Service Member.

So enthusiastic for our industry is our recipient that this person is involved in other professional societies in addition to SPE and has taken leadership roles in those societies.

Our recipient has served as Chair of the Sections Committee, Chair of the CCOW, and has also served on our Executive Committee in a very non-laodicean manner.  Beginning then and continuing now, she has developed and maintained at least one contact in just about every Section in North America, working vigorously to help those Sections find new ways to grow. 

Some of us play musical instruments. Some are professional actors. Some of us take up aerobics. Some are runners. Our honoree took up dance and remains the only Councilor I have ever seen dance, musically, before Council. This person took not just dance, but Middle Eastern Dance. That’s belly dancing, my friends.

About now, I was supposed to have someone off to the side start playing finger cymbals as I announce this year’s recipient of the SPE President’s Cup: Barbara Arnold-Feret.

2007: Ken Braney, SPE Executive Committe Member
2006: Hector Dilán, HDI, Inc.
2005: William O'Connell, Broconn, Inc.
2004: Donna Davis, ExxonMobil & Susan Oderwald, Executive Director, SPE