Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center.

ORLANDO, Fla.—Last night, Transitions Optical named its 2013 annual award winners in the following categories—Lab of the Year, Eyecare Practice of the Year, Regional and National Retailers of the Year, Vision Benefits Broker of the Year, and Human Resources Visionary of the Year.

Honorees were recognized at a gala event attended by an international audience of more than 1,200 optical industry professionals at the 18th annual Transitions Academy held here at the Walt Disney World Resort.

Optical Prescription Lab (OPL) of Pelham, Ala., was named the 23rd annual Lab of the Year. A Vision Monday Top 25 Lab, OPL was previously named Transitions Lab of the Year in 2011.

Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center,  with 14 locations throughout Arizona, became the fourth annual U.S. Regional Retailer of the Year. Visionworks, headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, and the third largest U.S. retailer, according to Vision Monday’s Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers, was named the fourth annual U.S. National Retailer of the Year. Clarus Optical of Lacey, Wash., was named the third annual U.S. Eyecare Practice of the Year.

Vincent Colonna, director, benefits, Broward Health, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was honored as the second annual Human Resources Visionary of the Year. Sara Niemeyer, account executive, USI Insurance Services, LLC, became the fourth annual Broker of the Year.

From Canada, Loblaw Optical was named the second-annual Retailer of the Year, and Wael Yassei, optician owner of The Eye Shoppe in West Oshawa, Ontario, became the fifth annual Eyecare Professional of the Year. From Brazil, Laboratório Perego was named the 2013 Brazil Lab of the Year, and Servióptica was honored as the 2013 Latin American Lab of the Year.

All award nominees were originally announced by VMail Nov. 18, 2013  and Jan. 24, 2013.

In addition to the awards ceremony as well as networking events and workshops, Transitions Optical also educated Academy attendees about its new Signature VII adaptive lens technology, introduced in VMail Oct. 23, 2013. Look for more on Transitions Academy in future editions of VMail and Vision Monday.