Hello, OWA members and optical industry professionals,
International Vision Expo East in New York was a wonderful celebration with two exciting events. We had the opportunity to honor three extraordinary women in our industry.
Congratulations again to Pleiades Award honoree Ashley Mills, CEO of The Vision Council, Pyxis Award honoree Deb Bulken, Luxottica Eastern Regional Sales Director, and Emerging Leader Award honoree Janelle Pauli, Marketing Manager at VisionWeb.
Our signature Champagne Breakfast award ceremony was generously sponsored by Luxottica. This breakfast was full of inspiration and memorable moments.
Holly Rush, OWA member and CEO of Costa, spoke eloquently on the "Power of One" and how each of us has the opportunity to "Do More." Costa and the OWA gifted each attendee a "Do More" leather-and-pearl bracelet, along with the message "It's OUR time-Pay It Forward-Do MORE!" It was a great takeaway and something to cherish.
Our keynote speaker, author of How to Wow, Frances Cole Jones, gave us a glimpse of 10 things that we could do today to "wow" tomorrow. Frances was fantastic!
In the Chelsea district of NYC on Friday night, we continued the celebration with our cocktail and networking event, generously sponsored by all our PDF sponsors. Thank you for your continued support of the OWA!
We also launched our new OWA "Charity of Choice," with each of our three award honorees speaking briefly about their selections. The charities to receive checks from the OWA this year in the name of our honorees are: OneSIght (Deb Bulken), Central Texas Food Bank (Janelle Pauli), and edCFDA x FTBC (Ashley Mills).
As the President of the OWA, I am thrilled to be a part of this fast-growing organization. I am proud of what the OWA embodies with our core values of enhancing and promoting the leadership role of women in the optical industry. This dynamic group of women leaders who make up the OWA have the diverse experience and passion for our industry. Together we will do great things!
Enjoy a wonderful spring and many thanks to everyone who will take the OWA to greater heights in 2018! Get involved . . . . Get inspired!
Tiara Claxton
OWA President
Champagne + Inspiration
Shadetra Johnson, Communications Committee
The OWA celebrated three remarkable women and their impact on the optical industry on March 16 during Vision Expo East at the OWA Champagne Breakfast. Held at the Espace event venue in New York City, the OWA pink-inspired room was brimming with optical industry leaders, admiration, and champagne.
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Star Award Event Honors 3 of Our Own
Susan Tarrant, Communications Committee
The annual OWA Star Award Cocktail Party & Networking Event welcomed members and supporters to the fantastic second floor at the Eventi Hotel during Vision Expo East to enjoy great food, a slick jazz combo, and introduce the new honorees' "Charity of Choice" program.
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New Article Series: The OWA + Optometric Management
Courtney Myers, Communications Committee
Did you know? The OWA has been submitting a monthly article to run in Optometric Management, a PentaVision (OWA Gold Sponsor) publication. From how-to features to member profiles, the articles are written by OWA members on a range of inspiring topics.
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Vision Expo East 2018: Show Recap
Jessica Lutz + Brandie Shaw, Communications Committee
Held in New York City March 16-18, the 32nd annual Vision Expo East revealed a host of fresh additions to it's already successful format. This included a new look, new lounges with complimentary refreshments, 192 new exhibitors (out of a total of 715), and new exciting education formats.
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One-Minute Mentor Articles Needed
Debbie Myres and Jean Sabre, OWA Mentoring Committee Co-Chairs
The One-Minute Mentor (OMM) is one of the most popular benefits of your OWA membership and comes to you twice a month! We would love to continue this for the future, but we need articles to publish. We have a great team here at the OWA Communications Committee that can help you get started writing OMMs.
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Welcome 78 New OWA Members!
Carol Wilbur, OWA Executive Director
The OWA membership continues to grow! We are happy to welcome these 78 new members since the January 2018 newsletter.
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