Inside Optics
2017 jam packed with educational opportunity
By Troy Patterson
Toronto ' s Inside Optics 2017 was a day of networking and high-level optical education .
Put on by the Ontario Opticians Association ( OOA ), the event kicked off with a cocktail party on April 29 , followed by a day of speakers , food and an optical industry trade show at the Sheraton Parkway in Richmond Hill on April 30 .
With over 800 attendees and dozens of industry trade booths , the event was well-received .
“ We definitely tried to offer higherlevel education so they can come back to their patients and educate their clients as well ,” said OOA president Martin Lebeau , who noted topics ranging from blue light to sunwear were featured during the event .
Speakers included Professor Ed August on ‘ Sunwearology ’ and ‘ Astigmatism and the Rx ,’ Dr . Diana Mornea offering ‘ New Facts on Blue Light ,’ the Foundation Fighting Blindness , Speciality Lenses with Anthony Caporali , Corneal Collagen Crosslinking with Jonathon Mo , and the keynote speech ‘ Cataract Surgery and Intraocular Lenses ’ with Dr . Nav Nijhawan .
Lebeau said their goal is to make conventions like Inside Optics a significant value to the membership that takes part , so they can be better at the business and caring for patients .
“ Where can you get this quality of education in one day ?” Lebeau said . “ The networking aspect alone is worth a lot .
Seeing everyone out there and raising different conversations on each topics that are discussed , that ' s how you know .”
He said he enjoys meeting the diversity of people that attend the events and says he continues to learn at each one he attends . He said the event also shows that opticians care about each other professionally and the community wants its members to grow and succeed in businessand eyecare .
“ It brings us up on a pedestal a bit ,” he said . “ It makes me proud to be an optician .”
National Bank , which recently announced a new partnership with the Opticians Association of Canada , also took part in the event .
“ This is the first time we ' ve ever had a bank partner with any kind of [ optical ] association in Canada that I ' m aware of ,” said Robert Dalton of the OAC . “ We ' re very excited about it because they have a number of programs designed specifically for opticians . So we think it ' s definitely something to grow for the future and an opportunity for the bank and for our members , entrepreneurs and students to have access to funds .”
Kien Hua , the marketing development co-ordinator for National Bank Financial Group , said his organization wants to offer opticians a “ more accessible ” option for banking needs that cater to the optical industry . “ We ' re very honoured to be a partner ,” he said .
The event also featured the executive meeting of the OOA and dozens of trade show booths set up by companies from across the optical industry . See more photos online at opticalprism . ca
Ontario Opticians
Association president
Martin Lebeau and director
Rachel Hill met with attendees at the Inside Optics cocktail party .
22 EYE FOCUS | June Digital 2017