The conference included: general sessions, educational break-out sessions to earn CECs, exam review courses, events sponsored by the Opticians Association of America (OAA), National Academy of Opticianry (NAO), and Contact Lens Society of America (CLSA) and an Optical Exhibit Showcase featuring the latest technology and fashion that brought opticians from all across the country together for the opticianry community’s annual national convention. “All of this was due in part to the generosity of our major sponsors: Hoya, Marchon, Transitions and Carl Zeiss Vision; education grants were provided by Ciba Vision, CooperVision and Essilor,” ABO-NCLE said.
Working closely with the National Federation of Opticianry Schools (NFOS), Transitions sponsored the spectacle-related Skills Challenge. Winners of the Transitions Skills Challenge were:
- 1st Place - Becky Ferguson, of Ohio Eyecare Specialists, won an iPad
- 2nd Place - Karin Randall, a student and College Bowl participant, won an iPod Touch
- 3rd Place - James Davidson, a student, won an iPod Nano
Similarly, Hoya presented the ePoster scholarships again, inviting ePoster regional winners to the conference. The following four regional student winners were able to present their electronic submissions within the Optical Exhibit Showcase on 42-inch LCD monitors, which were then given away in a raffle at the Hoya booth.
- Region 1 - Ashleigh Baltazar, College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, Nev.
- Region 2 - Brianna Hulburd, Erie Community College, Williamsville, N.Y., also winner of the overall scholarship for her work on the ePosters
- Region 3 - Lydia Wang-DeJesus, Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, Fla., also winner of the People’s Choice Award and an iPad
- Region 4 - Sachiko Takeda-McKee, College Edouard-Monpetit, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada
The CLSA administered a contact lens skills challenge at their booth in the Optical Exhibit Showcase. The winners of that competition were:
- 1st Place ($150 American Express Gift Card) – James Davidson
- 2nd Place ($100 American Express Gift Card) – Marcia Koerber
- 3rd Place ($50 American Express Gift Card) – Kristina Dunlap
The OAA also presented their Bud Thoma Award to Michael Hall of Thoma & Sutton Eyecare. Hall’s family was also brought into the ceremony to see him accept this award as a surprise by his colleagues, ABO-NCLE said. For more news on the OAA portion of the Conference, please see VM’s earlier coverage.
Finally, the National Federation of Opticianry Schools (NFOS) hosted their College Bowl with sponsorship from Essilor on Saturday, Sept. 9. The event began with a tailgate reception and ended with a first in NFOS College Bowl history –a tie. Through the generosity of Essilor, the prize was given to both students: Scott Malsin from N.Y. and Terry Bennett from N.C. both went home with $500 and bragging rights to their schools,” show organizers said.
The 2012 National Opticians Conference is scheduled for October 2012 in Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.abo-ncle.org.
