By my count, over 20% of the attendees were new to the annual event. This in itself shows me that the level of interest and concern for our profession is on the rise. I think that most of us want opticianry to grow and prosper. We should want that growth to be organized and in my opinion, educated.

The two day conference included 10 different breakout topics covering grant writing, membership issues, on-line CEC's, legislation tracking, leadership development and the future of opticianry as well as many other sessions.

Speaking of education, Larry Harper presented the new "Apprenticeship Standards for Opticianry". This document was just released by the US Department of Labor. This new standard has, for the first time, outlined the basic knowledge needed for contact lens fitting. This will be of great benefit when training new opticians or when trying to establish a common standard for what an optician should know. The thing that I liked about it more than anything is that not only is the knowledge needed outlined but also it has the books listed that you should refer too. If you would like to receive a copy of this new standard feel free to contact me. I can send you a copy via email in PDF format and I may have access to a hard copy if you wish.

Some of EyeCare Professional Magazine's favorites where not only in attendance, but they spoke as well. Warren G. McDonald, PhD gave a talk on "The American Optician". This discussion was taken directly from his series of articles that were published here in the magazine. We have the entire series so far archived at www.ecpmag.com, I would suggest that you read if you have not already done so.

As a side note, we were treated to the soulful crooning of the good doctor at the reception that took place Saturday night after the day's meetings. To steal a quote from American Idol's Randy Jackson, "Dawg, you got pipes and you can blow!" I don't know if or when Warren plans on retiring, but when he does he will have a long second career singing at weddings and mall openings!

Harry Chilinguerian gave a talk entitled, "Monitoring Your State Legislation," which centered on the new CAP-WIZ program that the OAA has. This program is a way for people to monitor and also respond to the different legislative issues that could affect our professional lives. The cool thing about this is that it gives you information on how to contact your local, state and federal leaders. You can send your congressman an email, snail mail, or call their office. You can see how he or she voted on any given issue. The CAP-WIZ program is not limited to just optical oriented issues. You can now have access to ALL the issues that concern you. I hope that Harry will have the time in the future to write a series on CAP WIZ for our magazine, but until then you can go to the OAA web site, www.oaa.org and check it out for yourself. As I understand it, access is currently open to everyone, but in the near future only OAA members or member states will be able to use it.

Some of the other highlights included:

Byron Brentlinger of the Society of Dispensing Opticians of Kentucky received the highest honor given to a state leader, The State Leader of the Year Award, in recognition of exemplary leadership, commitment and dedication to advancing the interests of opticianry and to promoting the cause of professional eyewear dispensing. The State Leader of the Year Award was presented to Mr. Brentlinger by Shirley Earley, who was the 2007 recipient.

Opticians Association of Michigan received the award for Best State Newsletter for overall content and design for the second year in a row. Mike Szczerbiak, OAA Board of Directors, presented the award to John Williams of Opticians Association of Michigan. Mr. Williams accepted the award on behalf of the organization.

I would like to also make mention of the fine job done by Shirley Earley and her team. Shirley, who was chairperson of this years' leadership meeting, had every thing running like clockwork. From the breakout sessions to the receptions, everything was great. Thanks for a great job! OK, OK You guys are right; I'm just sucking up because she will be the president in 2 years.

If you have not taken an opportunity to get evolved with your state or national organization, I challenge you to do so. It is worth your time to ensure the future of our industry.