Marc Ferrara
CHICAGO—Prevent Blindness, the nation's leading volunteer eye health and safety organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight will present its 2021 Person of Vision Award to Marc Ferrara, CEO of Information Services, Jobson Medical Information, on Thursday, Sept. 23, in conjunction with Vision Expo West. The Person of Vision event will be held at the Sands Expo & Convention Center, Las Vegas, beginning at 6:30 p.m. PT. Dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m., with the program and award presentation beginning at 8:30 p.m. All attendees are invited to the Champagne after-party immediately following the program.

The Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award recognizes an individual or organization whose inspired outlook champions healthy vision and its importance for a healthy life. The 2021 Person of Vision Award event was rescheduled to be held at this year’s Vision Expo West after cancellation of Vision Expo East in New York. All proceeds from the 2021 event will go to support the sight-saving programs of Prevent Blindness. 
 
Marc Ferrara was chosen as the 2021 Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award recipient due to his extensive work and decades-long dedication to the vision industry. 
 
He has volunteered in several capacities for Prevent Blindness, including serving on various fundraising event committees such as the annual Prevent Blindness Swing Fore Sight golf outings and for past Person of Vision Award dinners. Ferrara has worked at Jobson Publishing for more than 30 years. In 1989, he was named editor-in-chief of 20/20 Magazine and was later named publisher of the magazine.
 
Later, he helped launch Sightstreet, one of the optical industry's initial ventures in web-related initiatives, and later managed VisionWeb, the industry's leading wholesale portal. He has served as president of JHI's worldwide Optical Group since 2005, with wide ranging responsibilities including 20/20, Frames Data, Vision Monday, Review of Optometry, Review of Ophthalmology, Jobson Research, Jobson Internet Solutions and Jobson's international business in Europe, Latin America and Asia. Ferrara just recently joined the Essilor Vision foundation’s board of directors. 
 
“We are excited about this unique opportunity to hold our Person of Vision Award event in Las Vegas at Vision Expo West,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “We encourage everyone to register to attend today for an evening of celebration and comradery as we honor Marc Ferrara and his impressive accomplishments in the vision industry.”
 
VSP is serving as a Gold sponsor of the 2021 Person of Vision Award event. Additional sponsorships are currently available. The Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Committee is co-chaired by Marge Axelrad, senior vice president, editorial director at Vision Monday/Jobson Optical Group, and Jim McGrann, chairman and CEO of Healthy Eyes Advantage.
 
They will be working with other members on the POV committee who include: Morgan Diaz, Athena Health; Mark Ginsberg, Mark Ginsberg Consulting; Jim Henne, Review Group; Millicent Knight, OD, Essilor of America; Raanan Naftalovich, Shamir; Nancy Ness, Jobson Medical Information; Christina Perraud, MyEyeDr.; Howard Purcell, OD, New England College of Optometry; Gerard Santinelli, Santinelli International; Joe Savarese, Jobson Interactive; Scott Shapiro, Europa/STATE Eyewear; and Michele Skinner, VSP Global.
 
For more information including Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award committee membership, sponsorship opportunities, and reservations, contact Sue Corbett at (312) 363-6014 or scorbett@preventblindness.org or visit the website here.