After over 23 years with Centennial Optical, Mike Jones, Vice-President of Lens Sales has announced his decision to retire effective January 7th, 2022. Having joined the company in August 1998 as Director of Sales for Lenses, Mike has led a sales team of dedicated lens representatives in addition to directing the marketing, sales administration, purchasing and inventory control functions for the lens division.
“Mike has been a terrific leader for Centennial’s lens team, growing our business and developing many new product partnerships and sales opportunities for the company”, said Centennial President Allen Nightingale, adding, “although we can’t fully replace Mike, we are confident in the ability of the highly experienced lens team we have in place to take over the majority of his responsibilities.”
Paul André Desjardins, who been a lens sales manager with Centennial for
over 30 years, has been promoted to the position of Director of Sales for
Lenses and Lab Services. Paul’s new responsibilities will encompass the full
range of the lens business, including marketing, sales strategies, product
development and lab services.
“This is a well-earned opportunity for Paul André, he has been fortunate
to be mentored by a great leader in Mike, and I have every confidence that he
will be a key player in our continued growth”, says Nightingale.
Rick Leroux
will continue as Director, Marketing & Communications with over 24 years in
this role with Centennial’s lens division. With over 30 years’ experience with
Centennial, Linda Mills continues as Sales Administration Manager for Lenses
and Naina Mistry continues in her role as Purchasing and Inventory Control
Supervisor with over 41 years with Centennial Optical.
While the comfort and the lightness are at the heart of Lightec’s philosophy, the design is never compromised. This model, with delicate lines, embodies the perfect alliance between the ease of wearing and the distinguished look, not only thanks to its refined lines, but also by its fine acetate embellished by a soft gradient, offering a feminine colouring.
Transitions Optical in Canada has announced the launch of new content now available at Transitions.com including an updated Virtual Try-On (VTO) tool and new PRO pages that detail features and benefits of the two new Transitions XTRActive products. Eyecare professionals can find free marketing resources to support their day-to-day patient care on the same pages.
“We
know that ECPs have limited time and want to provide the most useful
information to them, and for their patients, in the most accessible way,” said
Arnaud Rajchenbach, marketing and sales manager, Transitions Optical in Canada.
“We hope that through the release of these new resource, we can build on the
momentum from this year with our new range of Transitions XTRActive
products, educational events – both virtually and in-person – and provide updated
and new ways for patients to experience the product benefits.”
Patients and eyecare professionals can find the NEW and updated VTO resources HERE, featuring a new interface that allows users to try on the full mix of Transitions GEN 8 lens colors (7) and style mirrors (3), select from extended frame selections, have access to “Tool Tips” to guide first time users, and a new “Get Advice” feature that delivers a frame and lens recommendation using face shape recognition and questions about the user. Thanks to the “Find Your Transitions” option, the visitor will be able to search for an eyecare professional near them.
The site also now features new product pages for Transitions® XTRActive® Polarized™ and Transitions XTRActivenew generationlenses. For eyecare professionals, free marketing resources are available on the Transitions Pro pages where they can find materials for Transitions XTRActivePolarized™, Transitions XTRActivenew generation,and TransitionsSignatureGen 8lenses. Moreover, eyecare professionals can join the Transitions Certified Partner Program and become a recognized Transitions specialist or a Transitions certified provider through the free certification program available 24/7.
In Canada, someone is diagnosed with
diabetes every three minutes.
A diabetes diagnosis holds many implications
for a person: it impacts a person’s blood sugar levels, their diet, and their
daily activities.
1 million Canadians
are living with diabetic retinopathy.
They are at significant risk of blindness if disease progression to diabetic
macular edema. In fact, Dr. Michael Brent advised 20 years after
diagnosis, 100% of Type I and over 80% of Type II have developed diabetic
retinopathy.
Vision research has delivered treatments
that in 3 out 4 of the cases vision can be stabilized,
and in some cases, repair the damage, but only if they are diagnosed
early.
It is critical to avoid blindness that
people living with diabetes receive an annual eye exam. However, research
undertaken by Fighting Blindness Canada’s Clinician-Scientist Emerging Leaders
Dr. Felfeli, Dr Ballios and their colleagues found only 60% of Ontarians with
diabetes are receiving an annual eye examination.
November is Diabetes Awareness Month.
Fighting Blindness Canada did their part in raising awareness and sharing
resources about diabetes and the risk of diabetic retinopathy and losing your
sight.
First, COVID-19 is impacting eye health
for people living with diabetes. In a study released in October, there were:
• 10,470 fewer anti-VEGF eye injection
claims for diabetic macular edema in 2020 compared to 2019.
As a result of the almost 3 million fewer
optometry visits, the report found:
• 11,575 missed referrals for diabetic
retinopathy – some of which would have required urgent care.
The report found an additional 199 people
likely developed vision loss from diabetic retinopathy due to missed referrals during
the pandemic in 2020.
There was an increase in the proportion
of referrals later in 2020 which were urgent after services resumed.
It speaks to an urgent need for a
National Vision Health Plan to stop the crisis of preventable blindness. Please
sign our petition for this plan at www.StopVisionLoss.ca.
The cost of vision loss and blindness in
Canada: The impact of COVID-19 was released in October by Fighting Blindness
Canada and our partners Canadian Council of the Blind, Canadian Association of
Optometrists and Canadian Ophthalmological Society.
Second, Fighting Blindness Canada is a
supporter of Diabetes Action Canada (DAC). DAC is a pan-Canadian research
organization that was launched in 2016. Funded jointly by the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research’s (CIHR) Strategic Patient-Oriented Research
(SPOR) program, non-profit organizations, and private sponsors.
DAC is researching a national diabetic
retinopathy screening program aimed at preventing diabetes-related vision loss.
This program hopes to help address the barriers that many Canadians with
diabetes face in receiving regular eye exams.
Thanks to TD Bank support
of Fighting Blindness, 3 Community Health Centres in Toronto are working with
“Project Open”. The research project is data mining OHIP billing
data to identify individuals with diabetes that have not received an eye exam
and through each Centre’s diabetes clinics, be invited to receive this examination. The
goal is to prevent blindness. With this project, we hope to develop the
model so it can be rolled out across the country.
And more good news, CIHR has granted
funding in November to expand the screening research beyond Ontario to Alberta,
British Columbia and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Third, on www.FightingBlindness.ca is extensive disease information about diabetic retinopathy. There
is a way to share your story about your vision loss journey.
Let’s work to change Diabetes being the
leading cause of blindness in working age Canadians.
The Cinzia 5137 proposes an edit to the old phrase “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Better yet, “Say what you mean while wearing amazing glasses.” A strong square shape paired with moody, textural, tortoise colourways speak volumes. Temples that smartly taper to metal temple tips provide extra sophistication.
CooperVision announced the new clariti® 1 day multifocal with Binocular Progressive System™ contact lenses, affirming its commitment to continuous innovation across its leading silicone hydrogel 1-day product families.
Look good. Feel good. Compete at your peak. That’s the attitude behind the Nike Athena and Nike Zeus sunglasses, intended to be worn before and after competition as a form of psychological armor — whether to protect or project.
CooperVision announced the new clariti® 1 day multifocal with Binocular Progressive System™ contact lenses, affirming its commitment to continuous innovation across its leading silicone hydrogel 1-day product families.
Look good. Feel good. Compete at your peak. That’s the attitude behind the Nike Athena and Nike Zeus sunglasses, intended to be worn before and after competition as a form of psychological armor — whether to protect or project.
CooperVision announced the new clariti® 1 day multifocal with Binocular Progressive System™ contact lenses, affirming its commitment to continuous innovation across its leading silicone hydrogel 1-day product families.
Look good. Feel good. Compete at your peak. That’s the attitude behind the Nike Athena and Nike Zeus sunglasses, intended to be worn before and after competition as a form of psychological armor — whether to protect or project.
CooperVision announced the new clariti® 1 day multifocal with Binocular Progressive System™ contact lenses, affirming its commitment to continuous innovation across its leading silicone hydrogel 1-day product families.
Look good. Feel good. Compete at your peak. That’s the attitude behind the Nike Athena and Nike Zeus sunglasses, intended to be worn before and after competition as a form of psychological armor — whether to protect or project.
