Opticians Association of Alaska Newsletter
Winter 2010

GREETINGS
I hope everyone is enjoying their winter so far! This newsletter is a long time in coming and I am hoping to continue on with it either quarterly or biannually. If there is something you would like to see added or are interested in knowing more about please let me know and we will work on getting it integrated.

Name the Newsletter
Our newsletter is lacking a name. I need all of you creative opticians out there to submit ideas.

Lions Club and Vision Screening
I have been in contact with Lion’s Club members that are involved in the Vision Screening program to get information on how we as eyecare professionals. The Lion’s Club is working on creating a special Club House just for healthcare professionals that are interested in the vision screening program here in the Anchorage area. They have awesome state of the art equipment that gives almost instantaneous results via a computer program. If you are interested in participating in this program first go to Dr. Robert Arnold’s website for Alaska Blind Child Discovery (ABCD). The website is www.abcd-vision.org

We are also hoping to get someone from the Lion’s Organization to come and speak with us at our spring convention about the vision screening program and how we can participate with them.

Convention 2010
The Spring “Spec”tacular will be April 30th and May 1st at the Coast International Inn. Our key speaker will be Ed De Gennaro. View the flyer (PDF) Print the registration form (PDF).

Mr. Ed De Gennaro is a noted authority on practical optics, dispensing, sales, management and training. He lecturers extensively at national, state and local optical meetings, and has presented in Europe, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Formerly a Professor and Program head of the Opticianry Program, and the Dean of the School of Health Sciences at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia, he is currently the Director of Professional Content for First Vision Media Group, a consultant to the ophthalmic professions and the industry, and a member of the Vision Expo Advisory Committee.

Please give us some ideas on how we can make our convention and annual meeting more exciting and appealing so we can attract more attendees and members. As we spoke about at our meeting last year we need to spice up our association in order to attract the younger opticians and apprentices.

On the News Front

A NEW ORGANIZATION FORMED TO AID INDEPENDENT OPTICIANRY BUSINESSES TO NOT JUST SURVIVE, BUT TO THRIVE!

Exclusively for Independent Opticianry Business Owners and Managers
For more info go to www.orba-usa.org

President’s Corner
Greetings! It’s hard to believe another year has passed! I hope this finds everyone having a good winter and off to the start to another great year!

Your Board has been busy working on the up coming convention and we are proud that we have Ed De Gennaro coming up to speak for us. While Ed is in Alaska he will also be conducting a day long strategic planning session with the Board to help us map a plan for the future and help us to re-energize our State Association.

In January Robin Marquiss, Vice-President, Michelle Carte, Secretary and I attended the National Leadership conference in Memphis, TN. We attended breakout sessions on many different topics related to State societies and we were joined by leaders from across the Nation. Our National Association is going strong and represents our fine profession in both licensed and non-licensed states. They are the unified voice for Opticianry in America and are hard at work promoting our field on all levels as well as being our legislative voice and watchdog.

By being a member of the Opticians Association of Alaska you’re automatically a member of the Opticians Association of America and eligible for all benefits associated with it. I encourage you to go their website www.oaa.org to view all that they have to offer.

After representing Alaska for many years I was happy to accept a position on the board of the Guild of Prescription Opticians of America, a division of the National Association for independent firm owners, I am looking forward to helping our profession advance both in Alaska and Nationally, I honestly believe that there is strength in numbers and that the more involved we are in the shaping of our future as a profession the stronger it will be!

We invite you to join us in Anchorage this spring for a weekend of quality education, the latest in Eyewear fashions at our “Spec-tacular” trade show and enjoy good food and fun while networking with other Opticians from around the state.

I look forward to seeing you there!

Christi Brand

Thank You to our Vendors
I just wanted to say thank you to all our past supporters during our conventions whether you have donated your weekends by being a part of our trade show, or giving monetarily, or providing extra educational evenings throughout the year. We appreciate you and the time and care you give to our association and its members, along with the care you give to your individual accounts. We look forward to continuing to work with you all in the future!

Member ID Cards
This year we will be giving out member ID cards when you have a paid membership. These cards will allow you to attend special education and social events throughout the year. Without them you can attend, there will just be a fee for entrance. I am lining up some of these events already. I know so far in June that Paul with REM is willing to provide us with 2 NCLE hours. There will be a session in Anchorage and then one in Fairbanks. I will be working on lining up some more events with other vendors soon. We will keep you updated as they develop.

Please let me know if you have any desires or wants for these events. They are not only designed to provide you with education but also to be able to socialize and network with your peers from all sides of the optical industry. I received many ideas at the OAA Leadership conference for going outside the box to make things fun and different, so I hope to implement them over the next year.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Last year we resurrected the Lifetime Achievement Award/Optician of the Year Award and presented Larry Harper with a plaque to show him our appreciation for all he has done for Opticianry, not only in Alaska, but on a national level as well.

We would like to present someone with this award on a yearly basis. In order to do this properly we will need to create a nominating committee in the future who will determine the recipient. The nominating committee will contain members from our association, not board members. You will receive member recommendations as to who they think deserves this prestigious award and why. We the Board will select a member this year to receive the award since we have not had a business meeting since last April, but we will create a committee at this year’s business meeting. Please let me know if you are interested in being on this committee, there will not be a lot of time involved, so really anyone can do it, no matter how busy you are.

Board Members
President, Christi Brand, framed@gci.net

Vice President, Robin Marquiss, espresso20@alaska.net'

Secretary, Michelle Carte, adventuresineyecare@gci.net

Treasurer, Michael Brand, mhbrand1@hotmail.com

3 Year Board Member, Cynde Oleck, akcynde@yahoo.com

2 Year Board Member, Marty Hanson, eyewear@alaska.com

1 Year Board Member, Carl Seutter, cseutter@mtaonline.net

Opticians Association of Alaska
c/o Golden North Optics
1521 Stacia St
Fairbanks, AK 99701

Next Business Meeting
May 1, 2010 at 11:00am
At Coast International Inn