fyi

News bites from the industry

Lindsey Aspinall Getz

PEOPLE
Kimberly Harris-Griffin, Shamir representative	Darlene Waligora, Shamir representative	Jessica Markus, Shamir representative
Shamir continues to expand its sales force with the addition of three new account executives. Kimberly Harris-Griffin has joined Shamir from Tri-City Optical and will cover the South Florida territory. Jessica Markus, previously a buyer for Optometric Images in California, has also been added to the sales team and will cover the San Francisco territory for Shamir. In addition, Darlene Waligora has joined the company from Detroit Optometric Centers and will cover the entire state of Michigan. Red Tray Optical recently announced that Diane John has been promoted to vice president of business development. She has been with the company since 1991. The company has also added three new employees. Nathan Hayes has joined Red Tray Optical as business development manager, Linda Holley as member services representative, and Kathryn Albritton as marketing manager. The World Council of Optometry (WCO) named Robert Chappell, OBE, MPhil DSc(hon), FCOptom, of the United Kingdom its new president during the General Delegates Meeting held in Mexico City in April. As WCO president, Chappell will manage an international organization representing over 200,000 optometrists from 73 member organizations in 40 countries. Bausch & Lomb has named Joseph Barr, OD, MS, vice president of global research and development for the vision care business. Prior to joining B&L, Barr served as the associate dean for clinical services and professional programs at The Ohio State University College of Optometry, and was also editor of LWW VisionCare Group's Contact Lens Spectrum and the CL Today weekly e-mail newsletter. Barr will retire from The Ohio State University College of Optometry as well as from his editorial positions. He assumes his new role with B&L at the end of this month.

BUSINESS UPDATES

Specialty Lens Corporation is now using podcast technology to educate ECPs about the benefits of the company's lens products. The initial podcast featured an interview with both Dr. Jim Gallas, CEO of PhotoProtective Technologies, and Dr. Joseph Mallinger, president of the Vision West Buying Group, discussing the technology and benefits of Melanin True lenses. To listen to the Melanin podcast, visit the website, www.melanintrue.com.

Recognizing the impact of the growing Hispanic population in the U.S., Transitions Optical, Inc., hosted a roundtable of ECPs and Hispanic association members to explore obstacles in providing eyecare to this growing market. The company now offers Spanish P.O.P. materials and a patient-friendly Spanish website. A complimentary newsletter, "Healthy InSights Informativo," with tips and information on reaching the community is also available.

Practical Systems, Inc., (PSI), and FlexLink's Health Care Business Unit have signed an agreement to work together in an effort to bring better efficiency to optical labs with the use of conveyor systems. PSI's sales force will act as the sales arm for FlexLink by identifying labs that are interested in conveyor systems to improve productivity. FlexLink will then provide follow-up and free system layouts to the interested labs.

OSA International has expanded its Paris office. Established in June 2006 and headed by Mary Pace, international sales consultant, the OSA International French office, known as OSI Europe, has experienced 300 percent growth in the first year of business. This growth has necessitated a larger office as well as expanded services.

Satisloh recently sent two of its service managers, Mark Fiala and Nelson Prada, to a customer service supervisor course conducted by Service Strategies Corporation, a San Diego-based service improvement company. Prada and Fiala both completed testing and received certification in Support Center Practices (SCP), an internationally recognized program that Service Strategies is accredited to administer.

AWARDS

Robyn Russell, a student at NOVA Southeastern University College of Optometry, was the national award winner of the annual Varilux Student Grant Award, given by Essilor of America, Inc. Russell and her advisor, Ana Abugazalaleh, each received an all-expense paid trip for two to the Optometry's Meeting which was held in Boston. Russell was also an honored guest at the 16th Annual Varilux Optometry Super Bowl and was awarded $1,000.

The new showroom, located at OSA International's expanded office in Paris

The American Optometric Foundation has announced the inaugural class of AOF-Carl Zeiss Vision Fellows. Sponsored by CZV and administered by the AOF, the fellowships honor outstanding achievement by third-year students. Each Fellowship includes a $5,000 award, made directly to the financial aid office at the student's college to offset the fourth year of optometric education.

At this year's BOLI ("Best on Long Island") Awards, held at the Crest Hollow Country Club in Woodbury, N.Y., the ClearVision Optical creative team won 23 awards, which included three of the prestigious BOLI awards.