R. David LeButt Award

Announcing Award Recipient | Dwight Schmidt

The ISTA Educational Foundation (ISTAEF) is thrilled to announce Dwight Schmidt as the recipient of this year’s R. David LeButt Award, which recognizes packaging professionals for their outstanding contributions to education in transport packaging. Dwight will be honored at the 2025 ISTA Forum, which includes TempPack and TransPack events, in Orlando, Florida, this March.

With more than 50 years of experience in the transit packaging industry, Schmidt’s career has been defined by his unwavering commitment to advancing education in packaging design and testing. His post-career efforts have focused on supporting packaging education, mentoring students and fundraising efforts, particularly at Michigan State University’s School of Packaging, his alma mater. Schmidt’s contributions have also extended nationally, as he has helped shape curricula, research programs and funding initiatives to strengthen packaging education across multiple universities.

“Reading through Dwight’s career accomplishments gives one a model to aspire to—his career speaks for itself as a successful executive in his own right. But it’s his contributions in retirement, specifically to the advancement of packaging education, that separates him from the rest,” said Nora Crivello, ISTA Global Board Chair and CEO of WESTPAK, Inc., who nominated Schmidt for the award. “He gives quietly and graciously of himself to our industry. He takes people under his wing, acting as a mentor and counselor, and ensures not only that there are diverse voices at the table but that they are heard.”

At MSU, he has served on the School of Packaging Industry Advisory Board, been a visiting lecturer, and created the MSU School of Packaging Distribution Consortium, a groundbreaking initiative focused on optimizing transport packaging solutions for sustainability and damage prevention. In addition to his involvement with MSU, Schmidt played a critical role in raising over $6 million through the International Corrugated Packaging Foundation to support packaging programs at more than 19 colleges and universities.

Schmidt’s leadership has also had a profound impact on ISTA itself. As a longtime ISTA board member and past administrative liaison, he spearheaded the ISTA Advocate Research and Value Delivery Program, securing a $2-million fundraising initiative to advance critical research in transit packaging. His work has helped develop new ISTA test and simulation methods to address emerging industry challenges.

Beyond ISTA, Schmidt has held key leadership roles, including president of the Fibre Box Association and executive director of the Corrugated Packaging Alliance. He has also been a member of major packaging organizations, such as the Institute of Packaging Professionals, the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry, and the International Corrugated Case Association.

“Dwight Schmidt is a rare leader whose impact extends far beyond his own distinguished career. His selfless dedication to the advancement of packaging education has touched countless students, educators and industry professionals. He leads not for recognition but out of a deep commitment to the future of our field,” said ISTAEF President A.J. Gruber.

The ISTA Educational Foundation established the R. David LeButt Award in 1999 after the untimely death of Dave LeButt, an ISTA officer who participated in — and realized — the importance of a packaging education. The award has been given to 24 other professionals since its creation.

"“Throughout my packaging career the tremendous benefit ISTA provides to the entire packaging community has always been clear,” Schmidt said. “Over the past 20 years, as I became personally involved as a director and with programming, I came to admire ISTA’s strategic efforts, the passion of the leadership and staff, and their focus on assisting members in meeting their sustainable packaging goals. I feel honored to be recognized with this award for my contributions in support of packaging education and research.”

Make a Nomination

Award candidates are nominated by industry peers and reviewed by the Foundation Board Members for final selection. The selected recipient will be honored at ISTA's Annual Forum. Review full nomination criteria below prior to making a nomination. Nominations may be submitted for consideration at any time through the online form. The deadline for nominations to be considered in a given year is December 31st.

Previous Award Recipients

Nomination Criteria

Who May Nominate

Any ISTA member in good standing may nominate candidates for any of the awards.

Nominee Eligibility

1. ISTA wishes to recognize its members through the R. David LeButt award program while also recognizing the most respected individuals worldwide. ISTA membership is not required. However, because contributions to the packaging community are important criteria in the selection of award recipients, ISTA service or participation may be a discriminator between otherwise equal candidates.
2. It is the nominator‘s responsibility to verify the nominee‘s eligibility. In general, the nominee must not have been a rostered member of the ISTA Global Board of Directors or the ISTA Educational Foundation Board of Directors for at least 1 year prior to the nomination deadline.
3. Under extraordinary circumstances, however, individuals who are or have been members of the ISTA Global Board of Directors or the ISTA Educational Foundation Board of Directors during the preceding year may be considered for the award provided the procedures contained in this document and the following additional process and conditions are followed:
   1. Prior to preparation of the nomination package, the nominator should contact the Chair of the AC with a request for waiver, allowing sufficient time prior to the nomination deadline. The nominator should provide a brief write-up describing the nominee‘s achievement and its importance and why the nominee should receive the award at this time.
   2. If the AC receives a nomination package (without waiver approval) for an individual who is or was a member of the ISTA Global Board of Directors or the ISTA Educational Foundation Board of Directors during the preceding year, ISTA will return the nomination requesting that the nominator contact the Chair of the AC to determine eligibility. If the waiver is granted, the nominator may re-submit the nomination with the letter or email from the Chair of the AC.
      1. The Chair of the AC will only consider eligibility waivers when extraordinary circumstances exist. An example of a circumstance where the waiver might be warranted is for someone who is being nominated for a recent accomplishment where waiting might result in a disadvantage to the potential nominee.
      2. If the Chair of the AC approves the waiver, the nominator may begin preparation of the nomination form. A copy of the Chair of the AC‘s approval letter or email will be included as part of the package which is submitted to the AC on or prior to the nomination deadline. If the CHAIR OF THE AC does not approve the waiver, the nominator may submit the nomination when the nominee becomes fully eligible.
   3. Current AC members are not eligible to be nominated for the award that is under their oversight. Additionally, they should not serve as a nominator or reference for awards under their purview during their term of service.
   4. Nominees/awardees may not receive more than one ISTA award for the same accomplishment or body of work. Nominating the same person for multiple ISTA awards during the same nomination cycle is not allowed. Careful consideration should be given when nominating to ensure that the relevant accomplishments of the nominee are presented clearly and precisely, so that overlap between prior and future awards does not exist.
      1. Some ISTA awards may recognize specific and recent accomplishments, while others recognize lifetime achievement. As discussed in the previous point, nominators should be careful to distinguish new nominations from previous ISTA Award winners in either of these two categories so as to ensure there is no overlap.

Nomination Deadline

1. The deadline for nominations to be considered in a given year is December 31st.
   
2. A complete nomination form must be received by the AC on or prior to the deadline date. Nomination forms will be accepted on a daily basis and considered for the appropriate award year.

Nominations

1. All award nominations must be submitted using the online nomination form. At the nominator‘s option, additional letters of endorsement may be attached to the online form.
   
2. All nomination packages must be received at ISTA on or prior to the deadline.