LINCOLN, Neb.—The 54th annual Contact Lens Manufacturers Association (CLMA) meeting which took place from Oct. 29 to Oct. 31 in Miami, Fla. boasted a 67 percent increase in attendance over the previous year’s event.

The meeting themed “Focus on Excellence” hosted representatives from 13 countries and noted a particular increase in attendance by Central and South American companies. The educational sessions during the event covered various aspects of custom contact lens manufacturing focusing on using technology to maximize quality and comfort for patients as well as cutting edge design options for ECPs.

After Valeant companies Bausch + Lomb and Paragon Vision Sciences resigned from the CLMA earlier this year, a pre-meeting survey was sent to members to gauge opinions on how to best move forward. These results were discussed at a town hall meeting where members expressed continued support for CLMA’s educational goals and pledged support for remaining CLMA raw materials suppliers for 2016.

CLMA raw material suppliers collect a small portion of sales as a fee to support education programs, mostly through the CLMA’s educational wing, the Gas Permeable Lens Institute (GPLI). Members voted unanimously to increase this collected pass-through amount for the upcoming 2016 fiscal year with 17 member companies making pledges of $7,500 each to support the educational efforts of the GPLI for a total of over $100,000.

During the business luncheon, elections for the CLMA Board of Directors were held, and the following members were voted into a one year term.

Executive Board Members: president: Jan Svochak, Tru-Form Optics, Inc.; vice president: Daren Nygren, Custom Craft Lens Service, Inc. and secretary/treasurer: Kurtis Brown, Menicon America, Inc.

CLMA Board Members: Ken Leonhard (immediate past president), Quality Contact Lens, Inc.; Josh Adams, Valley Contax, Inc.; Daniel Bell, Corneal Design Corp.; Jeff Birk, Essilor Gas Permeable Contact Lenses; Mike Fischer, Misupco, Inc.; Troy Miller, Accu Lens, Inc.; Chris Pantle, DAC International, Inc.; and Keith Parker, Advanced Vision Technologies, Inc.

Additionally, the CLMA Awards Banquet, held on Oct. 31 was presided over by Ed Bennett, OD, MSEd, FAAO, FSLS, executive director of the GP Lens Institute where the following awards were presented.

Industry Enhancement Award: Daniel L. Bell, Corneal Design Corp.; Daniel J. Manelli; Manelli & Fisher, PLLC; and Troy A. Miller, Accu Lens, Inc.

Honorary Recognition Award: Keith D. Parker, Advanced Vision Technologies, Inc.

Trailblazers Award: Al J. Vaske, Lens Dynamics, Inc.

Leonardo da Vince Award: Christopher F. Pantle, DAC International, Inc.

GPLI 2016 Practitioner of the Year: Douglas P. Benoit, OD, FAAO, Eye Center of Concord, N.H.