ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 31, 2013 – More than 1,100 optical industry professionals from North and South America gathered for the 17th annual Transitions Academy event at the Rosen Shingle Creek in Orlando for three days of strategic business planning and education on the latest products and programs from Transitions Optical, Inc. The exclusive, by-invitation-only event kicked off with a welcome reception featuring live entertainment and messages from Brian Hauser, general manager, U.S. and Canada, and Jose Alves, general manager, Latin America. Activities concluded on Tuesday, Jan. 29, with the highly anticipated Transitions Academy Awards ceremony, which celebrated the industry’s finest in lab, retail, eyecare practice, human resources and vision benefits broker categories.
“This year, Transitions Academy was all about igniting belief, passion and action among our partners. Education and activities throughout the first day of the track reinforced that Transitions lens wearers not only have high levels of satisfaction, but that they also are emerging as loyal and passionate advocates for the Transitions brand,” said Hauser. “As the track continued, attendees were given tools to develop their own action plans for continued growth outside of the Transitions Academy forum.”
On Monday morning, the educational track began with keynote speaker Drew Dudley, founder of Nuance Leadership Development Services, who encouraged attendees to discover the leader within themselves.
Robert Irvine, Food Network® celebrity chef and Sherianne James, Transitions
During the North American Marketing Session, Sherianne James, director, North America marketing, focused on the “power of choice” and opportunities for labs and eyecare professionals to increase patient satisfaction by creating the experience patients are looking for. The presentation reviewed key research results around patient satisfaction, helping to establish belief in the Transitions® brand. James also discussed the passion that Transitions® lens wearers have for their lenses and why one-time wearers tend to become loyal, ongoing advocates for the Transitions brand. The session also reviewed the results possible when taking advantage of the marketing and educational resources available from Transitions Optical, and encouraged attendees to take action in their own businesses.
Food Network® celebrity chef and long-time Transitions lens wearer, Robert Irvine, also made a special guest appearance during the North American Marketing Session. He spoke to attendees about how Transitions lenses enhance his vision at work and in his everyday life and explained how he will serve as one of Transitions Optical’s celebrity ambassadors in 2013.
“We’ve been so excited to learn about what Transitions Optical is doing to educate consumers and learn more about how we can jump on the advertising bandwagon to grow our own business,” said Michael M Elton, Price Optical, Wichita, KS.
Expanding on the “belief, passion, action” theme, attendees learned strategies for igniting their businesses through a series of FranklinCovey workshops. The “Working at the Speed of Trust” session provided tips for identifying and addressing “trust gaps” within a business and creating a more positive working environment. The “Five Choices to Extraordinary Productivity” session inspired employees to make more selective choices about where to invest their time, attention and energy. A third workshop, “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” provided attendees with tools to help maximize performance and reach career goals both individually and as a team.
Darius Rucker – former frontman for Hootie and the Blowfish
Tuesday’s track concluded with a closing event – which began with remarks from Dave Cole, president, Transitions Optical – and ended with a surprise concert from country music superstar and former front man for Hootie and the Blowfish, Darius Rucker, who will also serve as one of Transitions Optical’s brand ambassadors in the coming year.
During the Transitions Academy Awards recognition ceremony on Tuesday evening, Transitions Optical honored Diversified Ophthalmics, Inc. as the 22nd annual U.S. Lab of the Year; SVS Vision and National Vision, Inc. were named the third-annual Regional and National Retailers of the Year; Complete Family Vision Care was named the second annual Eyecare Practice of the Year; Anthony Glaub was honored as the third-annual Vision Benefits Broker of the Year; and Maurice Evans, Jr. was named the first-annual Human Resources Visionary of the Year. For Canada, Transitions Optical honored Rachel Hill-Campbell (from Personal Optical) as the fourth-annual Eyecare Professional of the Year and Lunetterie New Look Eyewear as the first-annual Retailer of the Year for Canada. Transitions Optical also honored Laboratório Technopark as the 2012 Brazil Lab of the Year, and Centro Integral Optico as the 2012 Latin American Lab of the Year.
Managed Vision Care Track
Transitions Optical also offered education to nearly 150 vision plan providers and benefits brokers through the sixth-annual managed vision care track, themed “Fire Up Your Vision Promotion Game Plan.” The action-oriented track shared the latest programs and resource from the Transitions Healthy Sight Working for You® initiative, designed to help communicate the value of the vision benefit to both employers and employees. Finalists for the Transitions Vision Benefits Broker of the Year and Transitions Human Resources Visionary of the Year award weighed in on these resources and shared best practices during a joint panel discussion. Returning to the track once again due to popular demand, ophthalmologist Vincent K. Young explored how certain lifestyle factors – including smoking, obesity, poor nutrition, use of medications and lack of sleep – can take a toll on vision, and explained how the preventive eye care and the right eyewear can help keep employees seeing their best.
In response to feedback from past Transitions Academy attendees, this year’s managed vision care track also included a Gallup workshop, which provided strategies for identifying personal strengths and working with others who have different strengths. A vision plan-specific workshop also challenged attendees to discuss vision sales strategies and develop their own action plans, while giving them a chance to “think on their feet” by acting out vision promotion scenarios during engaging activities on stage.