By Gwendolyn Plummer
Friday, March 31, 2023 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—It was 1981 when Congress officially passed Pub. L. 97-28, which both authorized and requested that the President proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” As The Library of Congress reports on
www.womenshistorymonth.gov, the month grew over the next five years, and in 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 declaring March Women’s History Month. Each year, the sitting President issues their own proclamation in March, once again declaring Women’s History Month.
By Mary Kane
Friday, March 24, 2023 3:00 PM
Nearly three years to the day of when lockdowns began during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Javits Center opened its doors on March 17 to thousands of vendors, buyers, eyecare professionals and industry leaders. “This is the first year where it feels like the energy is back,” VSP Vision’s Stevie Mitchell keenly observed. Vision Expo East was the largest gathering of ophthalmic professionals in the U.S. in recent years. The Show, which ran from March 16 -19, welcomed thousands from the international vision care industry. Read on for a recap of some of Expo’s major highlights as well as photos of some of the many Show Floor events.
By Mary Kane
Friday, March 17, 2023 8:30 AM
Back in February of 2017, the sales and editorial team at
VM got the bright idea to put out a weekend edition and we called it, what else,
VMAIL Weekend. At the time, it seemed like a scary premise to add a 6th newsletter to our weekly news and feature-writing arsenal but in retrospect, it was a bold and rewarding move. Our biggest challenge with
Weekend has always been coming up with ideas for our anchor feature called Today’s Read. The TR was always meant to be a feature-driven story that readers could curl up with on a Saturday morning along with a cup of hot coffee. Six years later, it turns out the TRs have produced some of our most popular stories ever. So here are our top 5 most popular TR stories from
Weekend. Happy reading.
By Sarah McGoldrick
Friday, March 10, 2023 8:30 AM
Oscar time is here again, and it is not without debate. Many feel that films like “She Said,” “The Woman King” and “Nope” were overlooked, while films like “Avatar” and “Maverick” were more hype than intellect. But no matter where your allegiance lies this year, the Oscars always prove to be a reflection of the times we are living in.
VMAIL Weekend did a quick poll of some optical industry movie fans and here are their predictions for Best Picture Oscar winners.
By Mary Kane
Friday, March 3, 2023 8:30 AM
When 14-year old Harini Venkatesh’s younger sister visited the eye doctor for her first checkup and came home complaining that she hadn’t been able to tell what was blurry and what wasn’t when the doctor had asked, she thought to herself, there has to be a better way to do this. “It was jarring to realize that her experience at an optometrist’s office would be very different than mine.” So she set out to find a solution and ended up winning second place in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge with Discovery Education, for her prototype titled The Comptometrist: An Efficient Way to Determine Myopic Power.
By Daniel Breeman
Friday, February 24, 2023 8:30 AM
Founded in 2021 to help the Latino community navigate the optical industry,
Latinos En Optometry (LEO) was slowed by the pandemic but is now in the process of a full launch and currently seeking to expand membership, sponsorship, events and engagement in the year ahead, according to the group. The non-profit organization will support Latino optometry students, provide resources and communications for Latinos in optometry and the eyecare community who serve the Latino community. The group intends to act as a conduit between the Latino community and the eyecare industry, and provide continuing education to all of optometry.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Friday, February 17, 2023 8:30 AM
MILAN—
Mido reestablished its place as a firmly international show this year, one not to be missed if you can help it. And with its return to an early February time slot (this year’s show ran from Saturday, February 4 through Monday, February 6), the show has also solidified its place in the trend cycle. Many will see the coming year’s trends fully fleshed out for the first time at Mido, creating a landscape of what the year ahead will have in store. From international business meetings to trend spotting, there’s no denying that Milan becomes the center of the eyewear world for a few days each February.
By Mary Kane
Friday, February 10, 2023 8:30 AM
Let’s face it, football is a very statistical game. And as we all know, for play-by-play announcers and color commentators, there is no shortage of stats on any given Sunday. When the Philadelphia Eagles face the Kansas City Chiefs at 6:30 tomorrow night, it is estimated that nearly 193 million adults will tune into Fox TV to watch the big game, according to data from National Retail Federation. With only one day left until the season’s biggest game,
VMAIL Weekend thought it would be a kick to list some fun facts about Super Bowl LVII as well as some stats from games in past years.
By Sarah McGoldrick
Friday, February 3, 2023 8:30 AM
With the new year comes a renewed interest in catching up on reading. Whether looking for a book that helps with self-improvement or picking up the latest
New York Times bestseller, books offer the perfect escape from the dull days of winter. Just like the diversity and uniqueness of the optical industry itself, so too are the selection of reads being devoured in our roundup of best reads. This particular collection of books shows that readers in the optical industry are reflecting on the world around them, from current events to politics.
By Julie Bos / Contributing Editor
Friday, January 27, 2023 8:30 AM
Every company’s growth journey is unique, but for Superior Optical Lab in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, it’s an impressive story marked by Service-Disabled Veterans support, 400 percent revenue growth in the past five years, and a recent expansion effort that has quadrupled capacity through state-of-the-art automation. Fortunately, two local financial partners saw great potential for the lab’s future—and had the right mindset and qualifications to make it happen. Today, Superior Optical Lab is on the forefront of the industry—fueled by focused leadership, a strong presence within the Veterans Administration (VA) and ECP communities, and the powerful, behind-the-scenes Schneider Modulo One technology.
By Daniel Breeman
Friday, January 20, 2023 8:30 AM
To view or not to view…is there anything good to watch on television these days? It first hit me during the recent holiday break, when even the average television viewer tends to watch the “boob tube” more than usual once the initial festivities with family and friends subsides. So many channels, movies and television shows to watch on cable, Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video and the like, yet nothing to capture my interest. Is it possible to have too many choices when it comes to leisure entertainment? Or perhaps it was fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic when we were all shut in our homes with nothing to do but watch television? The very thought of this concerned me greatly.
By Mary Kane
Friday, January 13, 2023 8:30 AM
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about three million Americans have glaucoma and the disease is the second leading cause of blindness worldwide. January is officially National Glaucoma Awareness month and during this time, it’s important to spread the word about this group of diseases that affects many Americans every year.
VMAIL Weekend recently sat down with Ashish Singh, MD, who specializes in cataract and refractive surgery at Kleiman Evangelista Eye Centers. Here’s what he had to say about the early signs of glaucoma, encouraging high-risk patients to get screened on a regular basis and new glaucoma treatments.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Friday, January 6, 2023 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—With the new year comes hope, excitement and, for many, resolutions. Most resolutions come from a good place, one of commitment and energy, but many resolution-makers find their willpower petering out in the dark days of January and February. Of course, that’s okay—not everything is meant to be changed—but for those committed to making a lasting change, there are a few steps that may just help.
By Andrew Karp
Thursday, December 29, 2022 9:30 AM
Researchers from
ETH Zurich have developed an ultrathin, gold-based transparent coating that is able to convert sunlight into heat. It can be applied to glass and other surfaces to prevent them from fogging. Applications for the new coating include eyewear. Yet this remarkable new coating triggered a case of writer’s fog for
VM’s Andrew Karp. How did that happen?
By Staff
Thursday, December 22, 2022 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—The crescendo of a global pandemic’s impact on health care, geopolitical upheaval, rising racial, diversity and inclusion awareness, climate change and fundamental economic challenges have escalated many things, one of which is a mindset among many that a company can and needs to more clearly spell out its values, priorities and support on a range of issues and worthy causes. In the eyecare and eyewear field, there continues to be a growing roster of examples of ECPs, executives, companies and brands, that are more consistently speaking about such diverse social causes as racial and social inequities, access to regular quality eyecare and eyewear, environmental causes, sustainability practices and more.