LAKELAND, Tenn.—The Opticians Association of America (OAA) said it has made “the difficult decision to postpone its upcoming OAA State Leadership Conference,” which was scheduled for Feb. 10-12 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The new dates are June 2–4, 2022. The association cited “the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions to domestic travel, onsite safety precautions, and hotel staff shortages,” as among the factors leading to its decision to postpone the meeting. OAA said it has already secured the new dates with its current hotel, the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs Resort Area.

All registration fees will be applied to the rescheduled event, the OAA announcement late Tuesday noted. Over the next several days the OAA website will be updated with information attendees may need to change their current hotel reservations and begin to plan for the June event.

“This was a very difficult decision for OAA’s leadership team to make, however, as opticianry’s national organization, we must always keep the safety of our membership at the forefront of all decisions we make,” Chris Allen, OAA’s executive director, said in the announcement. “Though this date change will cause some inconvenience, it also provides OAA with an opportunity to improve on what was already going to be an amazing conference. I look forward to seeing everyone in June at the OAA State Leadership Conference as we continue to advance the profession of opticianry.”

OAA’s State Leadership Conference is the premier networking opportunity for the opticianry profession. The event provides leaders from all over North America time for direct, personal contact with industry leaders, giving those leaders the opportunity to ask meaningful questions, view and discuss the issues facing the industry, and strengthen their professional relationships, according to OAA’s announcement.

The Opticians Association of America's mission is to serve as the single unified voice of the profession of opticianry and to the commitment of promoting the professional stature of opticians through leadership, education, legislative representation and communication.