February 2011 - President's Message

I hope this mid-winter newsletter finds everyone staying warm. Here, at Association Headquarters, the MOA calendar has definitely been heating up.

Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending the AOA President’s Council in St. Louis with MOA President-Elect John Burns and MOA Executive Director Jennifer Thornton. We had the opportunity to speak with and learn from other state leaders across the country. I even had the chance to sit on a panel addressing AOA membership and was able to boast about our thriving Young OD Committee, under the leadership of Dr. Lauren Gormley. Other states were very interested to hear how Dr. Gormley has helped the MOA engage the younger members of our optometry family. Congratulations, Dr. Gormley!

In fact, Dr. Gormley arranged a meeting last week of the Maryland Student Optometric Association in Philadelphia at Salus University (PCO). I joined her in meeting with about 20 optometry students and explained to them the significance of MOA and AOA membership. In all, we had a successful outing and look forward to hosting the Young OD winter gathering here in Maryland on February 24th. For more information on this event, please contact us at the MOA (www.marylandeyes.org).

And, as promised, the MOA hosted the final Strategic Planning work group meeting on Sunday, Jan. 30. The MOA board hosted about 25 of MOA’s members in Crofton to roll up their sleeves and put together a roadmap of goals for the MOA to follow over the next 3 years. As we come to the end of this strategic planning process, the real work will finally begin. The MOA will soon be announcing the newly composed “action plans” that will ensure the health of the association for the future. Thanks to everyone for working so hard on behalf of the MOA.

Lastly, I wanted to remind everyone that the MOA will continue its collaboration with The Wilmer Eye Institute in presenting its 4th Annual Evidence Based Care in Optometry conference on Sunday, March 6th on the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus in Baltimore. This program will feature a wide array of education taught by a panel of our profession’s leading experts and will also include an opportunity for attendees to network with their colleagues as well as the MOA partner members who will be on site for the day. We are always proud to bring our members the opportunity to participate in some world-class continuing education so close to home. Registration is open, so sign up today at www.marylandeyes.org.