WHAT'S NEW
FYI
By Lindsey Aspinall

PEOPLE

Catherine "Cate" Langley has joined the Opticians Association of America as the organization's new executive director. She has previous optical industry experience through her work with the Contact Lens Society of America as part of Schott Management Group in early 2000. She left SMG for a position with Taylor Companies, a Washington, D.C.-based bank, in 2002. In 2004 she accepted a position with the American Academy of Ophthalmology and coordinated several programs and meetings. Kathie St. Clair, the OAA's former executive director, left SMG to accept a position with a management association in Alexandria, Va.

James Forbes is Lighthouse International's new vice president, chief financial officer

James Forbes has been named the new executive vice president, chief financial officer, at Lighthouse International. Forbes was previously president of MedYield, LLC, his own consulting firm, which provided planning, finance, operating and supply chain solutions for not-for-profit and medical product companies. Among his involvement in numerous volunteer activities, Forbes holds a position as member of the AARP Foundation Board of Directors.

Bausch & Lomb's Steven D. Silverman was recently honored as a 2006 premier 100 IT Leader by IDG's Computerworld. This award honors executives who show exemplary technology leadership in resolving critical business problems. Silverman and his fellow honorees were selected by both the editors and by an external panel of judges from nearly 500 nominees.

GOOD DEEDS

CIBA Vision has announced a five-year commitment to the global development of Optometry Giving Sight (OGS), a program that is dedicated to the elimination of one
of the major causes of blindness and low vision globally—uncorrected refractive errors. Over the next five years, CIBA will contribute $1 million to the organization and will fund the establishment of a new full-time Optometry Giving Sight Corporate Fellowship position, representatives note. The company has also committed the resources of CIBA's sales and marketing teams in nearly 40 countries in order to gain support for the OGS mission.

Herbert Wertheim, OD, MD, Florida International University (FIU) trustee and benefactor, has recently announced a commitment of $20 million to the university's school of medicine. The donation is the largest in FIU history and is eligible to be matched by the state of Florida, making the total donation $40 million, one of the largest donations to a public university in Florida. Wertheim has spent 40 years in eye research and was one of the first clinicians to expose the dangers that ultraviolet radiation and blue light pose to the eyes. From his research, he invented UV 400 tint protection.

Left to right: FIU president Modesto Maidique, Nicole Wertheim, and Herbert Wertheim

BUSINESS UPDATES

Carl Zeiss Vision has acquired Cumberland Optical Company, Inc., a full-service wholesale laboratory located in Nashville, Tenn. The purchase will make it easier for CZV to serve a large part of the Southern marketplace with Zeiss, SOLA, AO, and Teflon Clear Coat lens brands. Foun-ded in 1959, Cumberland Optical serves customers in Tennesee, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, and the Florida panhandle. The current president, Sue Murray, remains in charge of the lab.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Acuvue Oasys Brand Contact Lenses with Hydraclear Plus from Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., for up to six consecutive nights and seven consecutive days of extended wear. The lenses are the first daily-wear CL made from senofilcon A, a new
silicone hydrogel material.

CooperVision recently made the announcement that they have passed the one million mark—over one million customer orders have been placed and fulfilled online via the MyCooperVision site (www.coopervision.com) since its 2004 introduction. CooperVision launched the site to provide eyecare practitioners with an efficient way to order products and review transactions.

Optifacts, Inc., has announced the beta release of Optifacts O², a new Web-enabled solution that offers software technology to surfacing and integrated retail labs. Company reps say Optifacts O² order entry is quick and eliminates common mistakes made by users. Lens information can be attached with ease by scanning the package's barcode.

Two new ABO-approved courses have been introduced by Transitions Optical, Inc., as a multi-city tour. The courses are: "From the 60s to 60: The Largest Vision Care Opportunity in History," taught by Tim Fortner, chief of ophthalmic services at the Southern College of Optometry in Memphis; and "Best Practices: What Leading Companies' Business Processes Can Teach You About Managing Your Practice," taught by industry consultants Andy Weir or Ed De Gennaro. The tour is set to run through 2006. Some ECPs have even dressed in genuine 60s garb for the course.

SAVE THE DATE

Tropical Sea E is offering sessions in St. Kitts Feb. 1 to 7, 2006 at the St. Kitts Marriott Royale Beach Resort and in Curacao March 1 to 7, 2006 at the Curacao Marriott Beach Resort. To learn more, visit www.tropicalseae.com.

Feb. 22-26, 2006. SECO, Atlanta, at the Georgia World Congress Center. Visit www.secointernational.com for more information.

March 10-12, 2006. Ferris State University's Reunion, at the Radisson  Hotel in Lansing during the Opticians Association of Michigan convention. The event is sponsored by Essilor of America. Visit www.theoam.org for more information or to register.

March 30-April 2, 2006. International Vision Expo East, New York, at the Jacob Javits Center. For more information, visit www.visionexpoeast.com or call 800-388-8106.

May 5-8, 2006. MIDO, Milan Fair, Portello, Italy. For more information visit www.mido.it.

June 21-25, 2006. The annual American Optometric Association Congress and AOSA Conference, Las Vegas, at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. For more information, visit www.aoanet.org.

Aug. 3-5, 2006. Opticians Association of America annual meeting in Savannah, Ga. Visit www.oaa.org for more information.

Sept. 14-16, 2006. International Vision Expo West, Las Vegas, at the Sands Convention Center. For more information, visit www.visionexpowest.com or call 800-811-7151.

Nov. 9-11, 2006. OLA annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., at the Gaylord Palms Resort. For more information, call 800-477-5652.

Dec. 7-10, 2006. American Academy of Optometry meeting, Denver, at the Colorado Convention Center. Visit www.aaopt.org.