PEOPLE

◄ CooperVision Specialty EyeCare has appointed Tony Sommer Jr. as general manager of the Americas. With two decades of experience with companies such as Visioneering Technologies Inc. and Bausch + Lomb, Sommer will lead the organization’s projected category expansion across the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.

The Vision Council has announced changes to its staff structure to support its expansion of the membership and marketing team to a membership and strategic initiatives team that will oversee marketing and communications, market research, membership and technical affairs, government relations and regulatory affairs, and new business programs and partnerships. The restructure includes several staff promotions: Maureen Beddis has been named executive vice president of membership and strategic initiatives; Michael Vitale has been appointed vice president of membership and technical affairs; Nathan Troxell is now the director of business development and special projects; Amy Applegate has been named creative director and project coordinator; Hayley Rakus is now the senior communications manager; and Julia Moore has been appointed member communications manager.

San Diego-based sports performance brand 100% has appointed a new leadership team to support its eyewear line and the launch of its first collection of snow products. Former Olympic track and field finalist Gwen van Lingen has joined the company as the vice president of global marketing and sales for the eyewear and snow category; TJ Bottom has been appointed global head of product marketing and go-to-market for eyewear and snow; Matthew Davis has joined as director of sales for eyewear and snow; and Liam Barrett has been named snow category director.

BUSINESS UPDATES

ABB Optical Group announced the acquisition of Green Optics, a Michigan-based independent, full-service optical lab with a 24,000-square-foot facility.

◄ IDOC’s recent national conference, The Connection 2022, drew a record-breaking audience of more than 800 attendees comprising IDOC members, sponsor reps, and other industry professionals. Following last year’s virtual conference, this year’s event marked the return to an in-person format.

AWARDS

Through the seventh annual ABB Cares program, ABB Optical Group is awarding $8,500 in grants to three nonprofit organizations, nominated by eyecare professionals nationwide, for outstanding programming and community impact. The Laurel Civic Association was awarded the platinum grant of $5,000; the Brunswick Rotary Foundation was awarded the gold grant of $2,500; and the Friendship Circle of Dallas was awarded the silver grant of $1,000.

The American Academy of Optometry Foundation and VSP Global announced the recipients of this year’s Practice Excellence Scholarship, awarding nearly $164,000 to 50 top-performing fourth-year optometry students in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada. In total, VSP has awarded more than $2.5 million in scholarships to optometry students. For the full list of scholarship recipients, visit bit.ly/PracticeExcellence2022.

Contact Lens Institute has announced its 2022 visionaries. The organization honors these visionaries for their commitment to raising awareness of contact lens prescribing benefits, as well as their encouragement of healthy wear and care habits. Selected from across the U.S., this diverse group represents a range of practice settings, research interests, specializations, and educational pursuits. See the full list of visionary recipients at bit.ly/clivisionaries22.

SECO International announced the recipients of its 2022 awards. The Southern Council of Optometrists has honored Sidney Stern, O.D., FAAO, of Miami, FL, with the Optometrist of the South Award; Tiffany Li McElroy, O.D., of Madison, MS, with the Young Optometrist of the South Award; Samantha Denton, CPO, CPOA, of Oklahoma City, OK, with the Paraoptometric of the South Award; Stan Dickerson, O.D., of Columbia, TN, with the President’s Award; and Tammy Than, O.D., of Sun City, AZ, with the Distinguished Service Award.

◄ VSP Global and the Heart of American Eye Care Congress named Brendan Mulqueeny as the recipient of the Dr. Frank D. Fontana Memorial Scholarship. Mulqueeny is a fourth-year student at the University of Missouri–St. Louis College of Optometry. In addition to the $4,250 scholarship, he received a $750 travel grant to attend the Heart of America Eye Care Congress.