Happy New Year 2010! We have a great year ahead and I am hopeful that it will be a much better year than 2009. As I write this, the delegates from the SBOS as well as the rest of the societies are preparing for the up-coming House of Delegates meeting that is being held January 29th and 30th. The hot topic is Board Certification. We as your board and delegates will be there to represent you as a member.
We are looking for more Board members. We are very fortunate that Gene Chang, O. D. is now our new President Elect. My two years as your President will end in May, 2010 and Dr. Chang will take over as your new President at that time. If you are considering finding out more about what goes on at a board meeting, please contact me or a board member…yes we will be looking for another President Elect to assist Dr. Chang. Please consider coming to our next board meeting.
There is another opportunity to volunteer at the next RAM LA Clinic in case you missed the first one. Mark you calendars for April 27th through May 3rd. They will need volunteers throughout the entire event, but especially during the first few days which are during the week. Let’s show our community how the optometrists are so willing to donate their time to helping others. Until people get back to work, there are so many that no longer have insurance and don’t have the means to pay for vision care. Please consider taking this opportunity to help.
After a week of five to six storms in a row, the South Bay Lions Club with the help of the South Bay Optometric Society had a successful Vision and Health Screening on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at Wilson Park in Torrance. With the help of Gary Asano, O. D. and myself we saw approximately 90 people.
I want to thank all of you that have continued their membership. We need to keep our numbers strong as a group. There is so much that is happening at the national level with Health Care Reform, that we can’t afford to let what we have as a profession slip away. The AOA has been working hard for optometrists, so now, more than ever, we must stay committed to organized optometry. Thanks again!
Deborah L. Geering-Fend, O. D.
President South Bay Optometric Society