ORLANDO—More than 650 industry professionals gathered at the Swan Resort here in late January for the 21st annual Transitions Academy organized by Transitions Optical.
During the two-day event – themed “My Light” – attendees took part in professional development and product technology workshops, heard from experts on marketing and business trends, and interacted their peers from both North and South America.
Darragh O’Connor, vice president of global marketing, and Patience Cook, director of North America marketing, also previewed a new consumer marketing campaign for the Transitions brand, which has the tagline “Live the Good Light.”
The final evening of the Academy was highlighted by the presentation of the annual Innovation Awards and a post-dinner night of music and dance.
Transitions Academy
José Alves (front center with open jacket) general manager, Americas, at Transitions Optical leads some of the 650-plus attendees in a friendly wave during a break between sessions at the Transitions Academy meeting.
Transitions Academy
Value Optical, a retailer based in Trinidad, received the Best in Marketing Award at Transitions Academy. Accepting the award for Value Optical are team members (l to r) Danny Jones, Kelly Ann Pierre, chief executive officer Christopher Lewis, Keegan Baney, Ameer Ali and Lauren Rampersad.
Transitions Academy
Professional Vision Care, winner of the award for Best in Patient Experience, invited partners from Walman Optical and Transitions to the stage for the award presentation. Shown accepting the award are (l to r) Jeff Szymanski of Walman Optical, Kay Jensen of Transitions, Brian Green of Walman Optical, Carole Burns, OD, of Professional VisionCare, Anita Gardner of Professional VisionCare, Kyla Cologgi, OD, of Professional VisionCare, Kristyne Edwards, OD, of Professional VisionCare, William Lay, OD, Professional VisionCare, Lindsay Vick of Professional VisionCare, practice director Raquel Miller of Professional VisionCare and Heather Shipley of Professional VisionCare.
Transitions Academy
Sheena Taff of Vancouver-based Roberts & Brown Opticians received the award as the Transitions Brand Ambassador for 2016.
Transitions Academy
José Alves, general manager, Americas, welcomes attendees to the Transitions Innovation Awards dinner and program on the closing night of the three-day event in Orlando.
Transitions Academy
The “singing waiters” stirred up the awards dinner with a selection of opera songs and comedy.
Transitions Academy
Howard Purcell, OD, FAAO, senior vice president of Essilor of America, was on hand at a general session to address the recently announced plans by Essilor and Luxottica to merge their companies under a holding company structure.
Transitions Academy
Drew Smith, director, North America channels (c) led the Transitions Innovation Awards program with Academy host presenters “Genevieve (Gen) Boomer” (l) and “Mel Lennial” (r).
Transitions Academy
Keynote speaker Jason Dorsey discussed the challenges of “unlocking the power of generations” to achieve better business results.
Transitions Academy
(L to R) “Gen Boomer” and “Mel Lennial” moderated a discussion focused on connecting to consumers with members of the Transitions leadership team Thierry Robin, chief business officer; Catherine Rauscher, senior global director, lenscaster sales; and Luc Nouvelot, global director of R&D.
Transitions Academy
In the professional development breakouts, Dennis Bain of Karrass led a presentation on effective negotiating.
Transitions Academy
Transitions Optical’s Drew Smith talks about the high level of commitment demonstrated by all of the finalists for the Innovation Awards.
Transitions Academy
New Look Eyewear of Montreal received the award for Best in Training in 2016. Members of the New Look Eyewear team on hand for the presentation are (l to r) Kay Jensen (representing Transitions Optical), Mario Pageau, France Reimnitz, Josée Côté, Jacinthe Laurendeau, Martial Gagné, Marie-Josée Mercier and Nicolas Stoikovitch.
Transitions Academy
Pacific EyeCare of Port Orchard, Wash., received the Best in Growth Achievement award at the Innovation Awards. Accepting the award for the retailer are (l to r) Kay Jensen of Transitions Optical, Jennifer Felix of Walman Optical, and Pacific EyeCare’s Dr. Joseph Trull, Bobbie Coppinger, Lisa Acheson, Natasha Rank, Carrie Lecompte, Shelly Devoe, Chantal Thomas, Jamie Nelson and Dr. Earl Buchanan.
Transitions Academy
Discussing the eyeglass buying experience are (l to r) “Gen Boomer,” “Mel Lennial,” Thierry Robin of Transitions, Catherine Rauscher of Transitions and Luc Nouvelot of Transitions.
Transitions Academy
“Mel Lennial” (l) talks with the senior managers of Transitions Thierry Robin, Catherine Rauscher and Luc Nouvelot.
Transitions Academy
Transitions’ Jose Alves welcomed attendees to the Innovation Awards dinner.
Transitions Academy
After the Awards dinner, guests turned their attention to the dance floor and guest DJs.
Transitions Academy
Keynote speaker Jason Dorsey kept the audience’s attention with a rapid-fire delivery and a well-timed comic touch.
Transitions Academy
In between sessions, attendees had an opportunity to review and identify different versions of Transitions lenses.
Transitions Academy
Kevin Fletcher of Transitions guided attendees through a test of lens acumen.
Transitions Academy
Some of the team-building events allowed attendees to step outside into the Florida sunshine and work on some complex spy-related puzzlers.
Transitions Academy
The members of the Pacific EyeCare team that won an Innovation Award were excited by their achievement. The team members are (l to r) Jennifer Felix of Walman Optical, Pacific EyeCare’s Natasha Rank, Shelly Devoe, Jamie Nelson, Bobbie Coppinger, Dr. Joseph Trull, Chantal Thomas and Carrie Lecompte.
Transitions Academy
The stage is set for the presentation of the Transitions Innovation Awards.
Transitions Academy
Value Optical chief executive officer Christopher Lewis (c) talks about the effort his team made to win the Best Marketing Award.