ORLANDO, Fla.--Last month's ninth-annual Transitions Academy, held here, drew more than 1,100 attendees--a record crowd that included representatives of leading labs from the U.S., Latin America and Brazil, as well as a number of optical chains, according to Transitions Optical executives.

At the closing event, held at Universal Studios, Transitions' U.S. "Lab of the Year" honors went to Tacoma, Wash.-based Jorgenson Optical Supply.

The Academy program included a sneak preview of Transitions' newest TV commercial, set to break Feb. 15, as well as details of promotional and training support for the company's new photochromic lens, the Transitions V with ESP (enhanced scientific performance).

At Transitions Academy, Julie Larson of Walman Optical catches up with Brian Green (c) and Bob Lommerse of Toledo Optical	Up early for a Transitions Academy workshop are (l to r) Shannon Mayhall of Future Optics, Ron Long of Hawkins Optical and Barry Chesebro of Sutherlin Optical.
Before Transitions' Lab of the Year ceremony, Diversified Ophthalmics' Sterling Bird (c) joins the act with two Universal Studios jugglers.	Peggy Conway (l) of Homer Optical chats during a break with Tami Jesme of Optical Plastics.