 In 1969, Mannette was awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Silver) of Trinidad and Tobago for his innovations in pan making.For more than 30 years, he was at the forefront of the steelband movement in the United States, and in recognition of his significant contribution to this thriving art form, he received the 1999 NEA National Heritage Fellowship Award, the highest honour for the traditional arts given in the US.Also in November 2000, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of the West Indies and returned home to Trinidad, after a 33-year absence, to accept it.