SCENE + HEARD AOA Leaders and Members Meet in Seattle for Optometry’s Meeting By John Sailer Monday, July 13, 2015 4:34 PM SEATTLE—Optometry’s Meeting, sponsored jointly by the American Optometric Association and the American Optometric Students Association, brought leading optometrists to the Emerald City for the organizations’ annual meetings plus numerous networking opportunities, social events and extensive gatherings of various groups in the optical community. To see some of the AOA leadership, honored guests, and other optometric dignitaries in attendance, view the following slideshow. For more highlights from the 2015 Optometry’s Meeting, click here: Optometry’s Meeting Converges on the Emerald City with Some Opening Day Changes. 3/29 Outgoing AOA president David Cockrell, OD, (l) and incoming president Steven Loomis, OD, told Vision Monday “The AOA is well positioned for health care reform.” Louisiana State Senator David Heitmeier, OD, was named 2015 Optometrist of the Year. AOA president David Cockrell, OD, honored Tamara Petrosyan, OD, as the 2015 Young Optometrist of the Year. Tammy Than, OD, was named 2015 Optometric Educator of the Year. This year’s Distinguished Service Award Recipient was Leland “Lee” Carr III, OD. AOA president David Cockrell, OD, honored Marilyn Beeson, CPOA, as the 2015 Paraoptometric of the Year. NewView Oklahoma, Inc. was the 2015 Apollo Award recipient. During the new OD Talks presentation format modelled after TED Talks, ClearVision’s David Friedfeld described the changes 3D printing has in store for optical dispensing. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care’s North American president, Laura Angelini participated in a one-on-one interview with AOA president David Cockrell during the opening general session. Former Navy SEAL Team leader, Rob O’Neill recounted his participation in some well-known missions including the Bin Laden raid. Johnson & Johnson Vision Care North American president Laura Angelini cut the exhibit hall ribbon along with AOA leadership. Optometry’s Meeting hosted the 118th annual American Optometric Association Congress. Attendees bounced a beach ball to call attention to the launch of the AOA MORE Registry. Glen T. Steele, OD, FCOVD, FAAO, celebrated InfantSEE’s 10th anniversary at this year’s Optometry’s Meeting. (L to R) Paul C. Ajamian, OD; Earl L. Smith III, OD, PhD; and Kenji Hamada, OD, were inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame. Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University took home the Student Bowl and the $1,000 prize LensCrafters’ Eric Anderson (l) presents an award to Zoe Lacroix along with Luxottica’s Mark Jacquot, OD, at the Lux Live event. Ronald L. Hopping, OD, MPH, met with Vision Source’s Bobby Christensen, OD, (r) at the Vision-Source sponsored Bad Habits concert. Attendees were invited to try on contact lenses at a Johnson & Johnson Vision Care dinner presentation. John Amos, OD, former dean, and Peggy Striplin, of the UAB School of Optometry, at the Optometry Cares reception. Optometry Cares board member Martha Rosemore Morrow, OD, with Allan Barker, OD. John Coyle and Jennifer Coyle, OD, MS, attended the Optometry Cares reception. Optometry Cares thanked Allergan for its support. (L to R) Johnson & Johnson Vision Care’s Lee Ball, OD, FAAO, and Millicent Knight, OD, FAARM, with Weslie Hamada were thanked for their support of Optometry Cares. (L to R) Alcon’s Dave Sattler and Rick Weisbarth received a trophy as gratitude for supporting Optometry Cares. Optometry Cares’ T. Joel Byars, OD, (l) and Jack Schaeffer, OD, (r) thanked The Vision Council’s Mike Daley (c) for the organization’s support. CareCredit’s Randy Baldwin (r) was thanked by Optometry Cares’ T. Joel Byars, OD. Peter Kehoe, OD, (l) with Optometry Cares’ T. Joel Byars, OD. This year’s Optometry’s Meeting sponsors were honored with signage in the exhibit hall.