Vision Source CEO, Glenn Ellisor, OD,
welcomes attendees.
DENVER—Blind mountain climber and adventurer Erik Weihenmayer urged the more than 2,000 attendees at the Vision Source North American annual meeting held here in mid-April to push beyond conventional thinking to achieve greater heights.

Weihenmayer, who became blind as a teenager, showed slides and videos of his ascents to some of the world’s highest peaks—including Mt. Everest. His keynote speech encouraged the attendees, including more than 1,000 doctors and 400 staff in Vision Source’s North America network, to transcend their own limitations. “How do you turn into a storm and emerge, not just unscathed, but stronger?”

Echoes of that theme of climbing to the next level of success were heard often during the meeting, titled Summit 2010. Glenn Ellisor, OD, Vision Source CEO, said in his opening remarks that the organization is not yet at its summit. “We’re at a base camp en route, from which the view is good. We have a climb ahead of us,” he said. “But the view from the top will be magnificent.”

Vision Source is North America’s largest network of private practice optometrists with more than 2,100 practices in the U.S. and Canada. The group’s four-day annual event included practice management sessions, vendor presentations and special sessions for staff, as well as an exhibit hall. Vision Source previewed its 2010 Vision Source Experience program, a practice enhancement program that will be offered to member doctors throughout the country later this year.

Three practices were recognized at the meeting for largest growth in 2009. Chris Eiler, OD, from Spring Hill, Tenn., received the award for largest volume percentage growth. Coly Marsh, OD, and Jeff Thomas, OD, of Frisco, Texas, were recognized for largest volume dollar growth. Lisa Mackey, OD; Ryan Read, OD; and Matthew Wickham, OD, of O’Fallon, Mo., received the award for largest volume percentage and largest dollar increase overall. Michael Goldsmid, OD, FAAO, of San Diego, Calif., was presented with the Philanthropist of the Year Award from Optometry Giving Sight.

In 2011, when Vision Source celebrates its 20th anniversary, its North American annual meeting will be held in Houston, where Dr. Ellisor founded the organization.

 
 

Vision Source previewed its Vision Source Experience program for 2010. Pictured, (l to r) are Hans M.
Kell, OD, VP Practice Development, Vision Source; Bernie Stoltz, CEO of Fortune Management; Anne
Marie Luthro, VP sales & marketing, Envirosell; and Walter West, OD, CEO of WalterWest.com.
  

 

The meeting’s exhibit hall showcased a range of new products and programs for Vision Source practices. 

—Marjolijn Bijlefeld, Contributing Editor