LAKELAND, Tenn.—The Opticians Association of America (OAA) has presented its Presidential Service Award to Blair Wong of Massachusetts. Presented infrequently, the award was given to Wong this year for his leadership and support of the Opticians Association of America, his home state association and opticianry in general.

“Blair Wong is a great example of a person with high personal integrity,” stated the OAA. “The best leaders value doing the right thing even when it is inconvenient or costly. They believe in being fair, honest, sincere, consistent and truthful. For these are the tenets of building trustworthy relationships. Mr. Wong exhibits all the traits of a great service leader and has too many accolades to name. His service to OAA and the Opticians Association of Massachusetts has been instrumental in shaping the face of opticianry. He continues to proudly service our profession and continues to create new and innovative strategies to strengthen both his state association and our national association. Giving a Presidential Service Award is not something our organization does every year. It is something that is awarded based on many years of dedicated service to the profession of opticianry.”

In addition, the OAA named the 2013 State Leader of the Year and the 2013 State Association Website of the Year. Roxanne Slancik Harless, HFOAA, of Michigan was named the 2013 OAA State Leader of the Year, an award presented annually that represents the highest honor the association can bestow upon an individual. “Roxanne is being recognized for her outstanding personal accomplishments, exemplary leadership, commitment and dedication to advancing the profession of opticianry, and to promoting the cause of professional eyewear dispensing at both the state and national level,” said the 2012 recipient of the award, Diane Charles, LDO, of Redmond, Wash.

Winner of the OAA 2013 State Website of the Year was the Professional Opticians of Florida based on a range of criteria from professional quality and appearance to overall contribution to opticianry.