News
VEW puts
spotlight on
innovation
and
inspiration
Vision Expo West 2019, held in
the Las Vegas Sands Convention
Center, once again brought eyewear
and eyecare providers, buyers,
industry media and influencers in
the vision community together for
a successful show.
Across social media, the optical
industry generated a buzz sur-
rounding various events including
OptiCon @ Vision Expo, engaging
education courses, the new EYE-
2EYE Series and more.
Notably, the optical industry gener-
ated 28 million impressions to date
using the hashtag #VisionExpo, an
increase of 68 percent over 2018.
OptiCon @ Vision Expo provided
attendees with unmatched edu-
cation offerings and inspirational
content from Rebecca Alexander,
psychotherapist, extreme athlete,
activist and author of the memoir
“Not Fade Away.” Attendees had the
opportunity to listen to Alexander’s
personal story of “senses lost and
found” before a book signing event
in the OptiCon Hub.
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1. Anisa and Mehran Baghaie of Spectacle Eyeworks. 2. Shaleen Ratansi, marketing
director at WestGroupe. 3. Richard Allan, vice-president of sales at Optika Eyewear.
4. Cassandra Slepian, director of sales & marketing at Alternative/Plan “B” Eyewear.
5. Ashley Barby and Milan Madhavji of Specsy. 6. Eden Wexler, director of PR & com-
munications at Safilo North America.
“OptiCon @ Vision Expo West 2019
was truly an event to be seen and
we were thrilled to see attendees
enjoying music and networking at
the OptiCon Welcome Event,” said
Tom Barracato, past chairman of
the American Board of Optician-
ry. “Additionally, the luncheon
featuring Rebecca Alexander was
a complete sellout with attendees
enthralled with the interactive
conversation.”
Attendees also had the opportu-
nity to explore a variety of topics
from the show’s diverse education
offerings including the new myopia
track with an interactive session
curated by the Brien Holden Vision
Institute. Each session enabled
attendees to engage with top pro-
fessionals as they learned the latest
in myopia care, prevention and
patient education.
At the all-new Battle at the Sands:
Case Challenges in Optometry
competition, panelists presented
cases highlighting imaging technol-
ogy for a chance to win the audi-
ence’s votes. Following the informa-
tive and entertaining presentations,
the final winner was announced as
Danica Marrelli, OD.
On Friday evening, the second
annual EyeStyle Influencer event,
sponsored by The Vision Coun-
cil, brought 40 optical industry
media and social media influencers
together to celebrate their work
promoting eyewear and eyecare.