OAA TO ELECT OFFICERS, BOARD AT NATIONAL OPTICIANS CONVENTION

LAKELAND, Tenn.—Members of the Opticians Association of America (OAA) will be electing new OAA officers and directors during the organization’s 2009 Delegate Assembly at the National Opticians Convention, to be held Sept. 10 through 13 in conjunction with the ABO/NCLE Education Conference in Cincinnati.

Nominated as OAA president is Diane Charles of Washington, to succeed outgoing president Tom Hicks of Ohio. Shirley Earley of Ohio is the nominee for first vice president; North Carolina’s Mike Szczerbiak was nominated as second VP. The nominee for secretary/treasurer of the organization is Russ Fritz Jr. of Connecticut.

Nominees for the OAA board of directors include Thomas Barracato of Ohio, Thomas Blair Jr. of Georgia and Sandy Brown of Kentucky. In addition, Bob Reynolds of Georgia was nominated for a seat on the board representing licensed states, while Roxanne Slancik of Michigan was nominated to represent non-licensed states.

Also during the Delegate Assembly, OAA members will vote on a proposed resolution, the Title Protection Act for the Profession of Opticianary, that would define who is entitled to be called an optician, and will consider changes to OAA by-laws.


ARBO ELECTS OFFICERS

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—The Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry (ARBO) elected new officers for 2009-2010 at its recent annual board meeting.

William Rafferty, OD, of Winston-Salem, N.C., is the new ARBO president. Other officers elected were Jerry Richt, OD, of Cleveland, Tenn., vice president; and Michael Ohlson, OD, of West Union, Iowa, secretary/treasurer. Christina Sorenson, OD, of Scottsdale, Ariz., is immediate past president. The organization also elected seven board members.

Rafferty said his goals for the coming year “will focus on programs facilitating public protection through maintenance of competence” as defined in resolutions passed during ARBO’s House of Delegates meeting.


ASCO CENTRALIZES SCHOOL APPLICATIONS

ROCKVILLE, Md.—OptomCAS, the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry’s new centralized application service, was launched last month. OptomCAS provides optometry school applicants a “one-stop” application through a single Web-based application, allowing applicants to use one set of materials to apply to all 20 schools and colleges of optometry via the Internet.