MONTGOMERY, Ala.—At its recent executive board meeting, the Society to Advance Opticianry (SAO), based here, voted to name its member Ed de Gennaro, OO, as the “2013 Ophthalmic Optician of the Year.” The organization awards this honor to current members who advance opticianry through promotion of higher education and certification levels for opticians. Current SAO officers are not eligible to be considered.

De Gennaro is the executive director of the newly formed Optical Summit and is a noted authority on practical optics, dispensing, sales, management and training. He is director of professional content at First Vision Media Group, and was formerly a professor, program head of the opticianry program, and dean of the School of Health Sciences at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Va. He currently operates Infocus Optical Consulting, which provides business and technical consulting to optical offices and to the optical industry.

The Society to Advance Opticianry, as previously reported by VMail is a credentialing organization which promotes higher education and certification levels for opticians, and provides mentoring services to its candidate members.