DALLAS, Texas—The Optical Women’s Association (OWA) will honor Stephanie K. De Long, editor-in-chief of Eyecare Business, as this year’s recipient of the group’s 9th annual Pleiades Award. This award will be presented by the OWA on Friday April 11 at its annual networking event.

De Long, with 22 years experience in the industry, has been editor-in-chief of Eyecare Business, a Pa.-based Wolters Kluwer publication, since 1990. She is a founding Board member of the OWA, a member of The Vision Council’s Strategic Communications Committee, and is a recipient of the OLA’s Directors’ Choice Award and Folio’s Editorial Excellence Award. She is also a frequent speaker at International Vision Expos.

Before entering optical, De Long was a business writer, editor, and contributor to a variety of consumer and business publications, including Madison Avenue, Manhattan Inc., Management Technology, and the Newark Star Ledger. She was also co-owner and operator of an award-winning restaurant in Rye, New York.

De Long is a graduate of Wells College in Aurora, N.Y., and began her career as a public relations writer for IBM. She lives in Lincoln, Neb. with husband Ron, whom she met in the optical industry, and has one daughter, Heather, and a granddaughter, Ella, who live in Connecticut.

The Pleiades Award spotlights an individual who has shown commitment to the mission of the OWA by fostering the growth of women in the industry. This award is named for the star cluster Pleiades in the Taurus constellation. The Pleiades is also known as the “Seven Sisters” referring to the seven brightest stars in the cluster.

The OWA networking event and presentation of the Pleiades Award will be held at the Marchon showroom, 8 West 40th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues). Festivities begin at 6 p.m., with the award presentation at 6:45 p.m.

The invitation to attend this event is extended to both OWA members and non-members. Please RSVP by March 31, 2008 at http://www.opticalwomen.com/pleiades08_registration.shtml or fax to (972) 490-4219.