Steve Jobs is a recipient of the Jim Henson Celebration Honor Award

Macworld is reporting that Steve Jobs is one of the recipients of the Jim Henson Celebration Honor – one of four Jim Henson Honors. Established in 2005, the awards program acknowledges organizations, individuals, or products that reflect the core values and philosophy of Jim Henson and the company he founded. Criteria used in the evaluation process include: a commitment to creativity, innovative applications of art and technology, and inspiration of others.

Four people are honored every year. In addition to Steve Jobs, this year's other honorees are:

• The Jim Henson Community Honor – 826 National, a tutoring, writing, and publishing organization

• The Jim Henson Creativity Honor – Neill Blomkamp, director of the movie "District 9"

• The Jim Henson Technology Honor – YouTube Symphony Orchestra, the world's first collaborative orchestra

From the official press release [PDF link], The Jim Henson Company stated that the Celebration Honor "goes to an individual, organization or product that makes the world a better place by inspiring people to celebrate life. A co-founder of Apple, Jobs has led the company and the creation of its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, iPod media player, iTunes media store and Mac computers."

CEO Lisa Henson went on to say, "Steve Jobs has continuously broken new ground with technologies that allow existing media in all forms to be easily enjoyed and also by providing fantastic tools for artists, photographers, musicians and filmmakers of all skill levels."

Jim Henson was one of the individuals featured in Apple's 1997 Think Different Campaign that many believe was central in rebuilding Apple's image in the minds of computer users.