2012 TOA Convention Round Up, Wrap Up

March 2012

Tagged in: Meetings

THE MEETING in Texas just got BIGGER!

The Texas Optometric Association hosted the 112th Annual Convention in Austin in February. This year's convention exceeded all past attendance in every category. More than 500 doctors, 243 optometric staff and over 150 students from both Texas schools enjoyed outstanding CE, great social events and memorable ceremonies. The sold-out exhibit hall housed another record high with 121 exhibitors. Dual track staff education tracks doubled attendance in that category. The optometrist education was a top attraction as well with over 40 hours of education that included topics such as ocular disease, infections, IOLs, practice management, marketing and even CPR certification.

Social events spotlighted industry sponsors including Alcon with the Texas Optometric Womens Network (TOWN) meeting on Thursday. The University of Houston College Optometry (UHCO) brought convention to "full steam" with the move of the traditional chili dinner to Thursday night. OCuSOFT's legendary Poker Tournament closed out the evening.

OOGP presented the new Member Appreciation Lunch on Friday. "Branding Texas Style" sessions included partners such as Abbott Medical Optics (AMO), Alcon, Allergan, Essilor, HOYA, Optovue, Solutionreach, Vistakon / J & J Vision Care, and Carl Zeiss Meditec. The Friday night "Room Crawl" brought out the big guns with a classic Western movie theme with drinks sponsored by Vision Source and CooperVision. Signet Armorlite's Late Night Karaoke kept everyone entertained until the wee hours of the morning.

The traditional Saturday evening awards banquet started with Luxottica hosting the Presidential Reception. ODLean supported the Awards and Installation Banquet dinner while Frost sponsored the wine. 2012 Awards were presented to:
- Distinguished Service Award to E. Richard Friedman, OD, FAAO
- Public Service Award to Representative John Smithee (sponsored last legislative sessions insurance bill)
- Mollie Armstrong Award to Kathleen Goff, OD, FAAO
- Educator of the Year to Andrew Buzzelli, OD, FAAO
- Young Optometrist of the Year to Peter J. Cass, OD
- Optometrist of the Year to Kevin Katz, OD, MS
And to conclude the banquet ceremonies Dr. Jeff Jones of Longview was sworn in as the newest president of the association along with the 2012-13 TOA Board of Directors. The Doctors of TSO closed out Saturday's social events with the Dessert Jazz Café.

The 2013 Convention will again be held in Austin from February 21-24, so MARK YOUR CALENDARS. In the meantime, make plans to attend this year's iProfit seminar in San Antonio July 28-29 at the Westin Hotel on the San Antonio Riverwalk. The highlight of this meeting will be the "MBA Program" sponsored by Alcon and Essilor. Topics include "Financial Management" and "Patient Experience Engineering". See www.mba-ce.com for more information. In November, don't miss EyeCon at the DoubleTree Hotel near the Galleria November 3-4, See Y'all THERE!
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