ReMA Gulf Coast Region names 2025 Proler Award honoree

The Recycled Materials Association (ReMA) Gulf Coast Region (GCR) will recognize Charles Johnson, president and COO of M. Lipsitz & Co. Ltd. of Waco, Texas, with the 2025 Israel Proler Award during the GCR Summer Convention in San Antonio on June 19.

The award, named in memory of Israel Proler of Houston-based Proler International Corp., who served as Gulf Coast Chapter president of the Institute of Scrap Iron and Steel (a ReMA predecessor organization) from 1955-1956, recognizes individuals for their outstanding leadership, achievements and contributions to the recycled materials industry.

Johnson, a Texas native, began his career in the recycling industry in 1988 when he started working for M. Lipsitz & Co. In addition to his current duties as president and CEO, he oversees the company’s ferrous marketing, safety program, environmental efforts and strategic planning.

Throughout his career, GCR says Johnson has been active in the recycling industry’s trade association, ReMA, formerly the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, or ISRI, having served on numerous committees and holding several leadership roles in ISRI’s Gulf Coast Chapter (now ReMA GCR), including seats on the chapter’s board of directors and executive committee, as well as a term as the chapter’s president from 2017-2019.

Johnson also is a leader in his Texas community, including being part of the Leadership Waco class of 1994 and serving on the board of The Arc of McLennan County, a disability rights organization.

On a more global scale, Johnson is a board president of Upright Africa, a nonprofit humanitarian organization working predominately in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.