ST. LOUIS—The American Optometric Association has announced the four ODs who will be inducted into the National Optometry Hall of Fame in 2019. This year’s inductees are: Murray Fingeret, OD; Donald Jarnagin, OD; Michael Mittelman, OD; and Glen Steele, OD. Dr. Fingeret is a 1976 graduate of the New England College of Optometry. He completed his residency program at the Genesee Valley Group Health Association, Joseph C. Wilson Health Center in Rochester, New York, and later served as chief of the optometry section at both the Birmingham Veterans Administration Medical Center and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York Harbor Health Care System, Brooklyn and St. Albans Campus.

He has been serving veterans at the latter for over 30 years, and founded and served as the first president of the Optometric Glaucoma Society. In addition, Dr. Fingeret is an active AOA member, and a member of the New York State Optometric Association.

Dr. Jarnagin graduated from the Southern California College of Optometry in 1970. The next year, he was drafted into the U.S. Army as a captain and optometry officer in the Medical Service Corps, where he received an Army Commendation Medal. He then went on to enter a private practice in Arizona, eventually becoming the president of the Arizona Optometric Association and, then, AOA president. Dr. Jarnagin spent over 30 years in private practice before moving on to work as an optometric educator, getting involved in community service organizations, volunteering, and embarking on medical missions to Guatemala. It was on one of these missions, providing eyecare to underserved populations, that he passed away.

Dr. Mittelman is a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He was a vital member of the U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps, and became the first optometrist designated as an Aerospace physiologist in 1989, eventually founding the U.S. Navy Aerospace Optometry program. He was also the first optometrist to be assigned Deputy Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy, and has been president of Salus University since 2013. Former preside of the Armed Forces Optometric Society, Dr. Mittelman is also an active member of the AOA.

After graduating from the Southern College of Optometry, Dr. Steele then joined the institution as faculty. He has remained a faculty member there for 50 years, and opened and ran his own private practice for more than 40 years. Dr. Steele also co-founded InfantSEE, a public health program managed by Optometry Cares-The AOA Foundation that aims to ensure eye and vision care become an integral part of infant wellness care. He has served in leadership roles for a number of boards and task committees for optometric and health organizations, including the AOA.

The four inductees will be honored on Thursday, June 20 from 7-8pm at a ceremony during Optometry's Meeting in St. Louis. To register, please visit http://www.optometrysmeeting.org