HOUSTON—The 17th annual meeting of Today’s Vision Licensing Corp. (TVLC) was held here earlier this month in the group’s hometown of Houston, and the program was noteworthy in several ways, but especially by the passing of the so-called leadership baton. Greg Watson, the executive director and a 16-year employee of Today’s Vision, used the occasion of the annual meeting to officially acknowledge his upcoming retirement at the end of the year. As part of the transition at Today’s Vision, April Oliver, OD, has moved into the role of chairman and president of the TVLC board, while Deise Golden has been named to succeed Watson as executive director when he steps down at the end of the year.

“I believe Deise will be a wonderful addition to the Today’s Vision family and she will help take this group to the next phase as we look to expand and grow as an organization,” Oliver said.
 
She added, “[Greg] has been a dedicated executive director and a loyal friend to each of us over the years. Greg joined our group during a transition period in 2005, when the TVLC Franchise disbanded, and we began our conversion to the licensing group. It was this new model that was so appealing to me when I joined the group seven years ago. As a new licensee, I was drawn to how TVLC was a smaller group, and all the doctors were friends.”
 



(L to R) The Today’s Vision board members at the annual meeting are Frank Lee, OD, Vu Nguyen, OD, Deise Golden, April Oliver, OD, and Greg Breaux, OD. 
Today’s Vision’s new board president April Oliver, OD, (l) presents a retirement gift, a Houston Astros baseball jersey, to Greg Watson, who is retiring from his former post as executive director.


 
 
(L to R) Jens Boy, president, North America, Carl Zeiss Vision; Dr. April Oliver, Today's Vision president; Deise Golden, Today's Vision executive director; and Summer Bouchedid, vice president, business development, Zeiss, at the recent Today’s Vision annual meeting. (L to R) Greg Breaux, OD, Robert Eggett, national director of alliances, Kering; Franki Star, district manager, Kering; Anthony Chapman, OD, and Paul Hayter, OD, get together at the Kering Eyewear booth at the event. 

 

(L to R) Today’s Vision board president April Oliver, OD, with CooperVision’s Kelly Keprta, a senior account executive, and Deise Golden, Today's Vision new executive director. CooperVision received Today’s Vision’s Vendor of the Year Award. At the Topcon booth are Dyanna Chanthaboury (l), national account manager, and May Davoodi, OD.
 
Oliver said that as TVLC moves into 2022 it is preparing to “go into another transition phase with new leadership and a new vision.” She added, “Many of our original members have retired over the past two years, including our founder Dr. Donald Glenz. This has opened the door for our newer licensees to step up to the plate and take our group in a new direction.”
 
Watson noted that he was pleased to have seen the organization continue its success during his tenure, and that Today’s Vision always found a way to make its annual meeting unique in the industry. 
 
“From the start, we have always strived to make the TVLC meeting a favorite among our vendor partners,” he explained. “Our objective has been to maximize interactions with the vendors and our doctors—starting with the Friday night kickoff.”

He added, “Thank you for making my 16 years at Today’s Vision a success.”
 
Today’s Vision (with roughly 45 practice locations) has ranked among the Vision Monday Top 50 U.S. Optical Retailers report for 10 years in a row, coming in at No. 32 in this year's VM Top 50 Optical Retailers' report.
 
The supplier partners who attended the meeting in Houston also noted the importance of the opportunity to meet with the Today’s Vision doctors and their teams at the annual meeting this year.
 
“What a fantastic 2021 event in Houston,” Kering Eyewear district manager Franki Star said of the annual meeting. “I find it amazing how Today’s Vision and its members make the extended partners feel they are part of the Today’s Vision family. It was a pleasure to meet Deise and to see how the group is combining outside the industry leadership with the strong internal optical team.”
 
Added Summer Bouchedid, ABOC, vice president, sales, at Zeiss Vision Care U.S., “Every Today’s Vision annual meeting is a big event for Zeiss, and this year was no exception. We loved the quality interactions with the group’s members and how the Today’s Vision organization always makes us feel like family. We were especially pleased to spend some in-depth time with [Dr. Oliver] and the new board.”