WASHINGTON, D.C.—Members, partners and outside speakers joined in to take part in IDOC's The Connection fall national meeting, held here last week at the Crystal Gateway Marriott here. The Connection DC hosted well over 300 attendees, representing valued IDOC members, interested prospects, optometry students, respected speakers and industry sponsors, the company said, adding, "We provided quality continuing education and peer networking to 200 IDOC members, representing 100 private practices." The meeting's theme was "Together Toward Tomorrow" and event highlights included keynote speakers Erin O'Malley and Jacob Green, who talked about the power of human connection and embracing change.


In addition, the alliance of independent eyecare professionals offered education and topical roundtables, consultant sessions, reviewed its new member benefits and marked its 20th anniversary with a celebration. IDOC also hosted an Optical Women's Association (OWA) Networking Event to communicate the goals of the OWA for professional development for women in the industry. IDOC's Connection meeting also featured a convention-style exhibit hall with over 40 vendor partners.

In February, Norwalk, Conn.-based IDOC will host its upcoming Connection 2020 conference to be held Feb. 12 to 15, 2020 at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida. Billy Beane, executive VP of baseball operations for the Oakland A’s and the subject of the book and film, Moneyball will be the featured keynote speaker. Considered one of the most progressive and talented baseball executives in the game today, Beane shattered traditional Major League Baseball beliefs that big payrolls equated wins by implementing a statistical methodology that led the Oakland Athletics to six American League West Division titles. That strategic methodology has come to be known as the “Moneyball” philosophy.

Today, Billy Beane’s Moneyball principles have been adopted by organizations to help manage their assets, talent and resources more effectively. “The 2020 focus of IDOC will be the power of data-based insights to drive performance and Billy Beane’s strategic approach is a perfect fit,” said Oliver Spandow, CFO and executive vice president of IDOC. “Independent practices continue to have significant opportunities to grow and create a great patient experience while remaining efficient and competitive. Many of them need a little help knowing where to look and how to take advantage, and next year’s Connection 2020 will fully explore how insights can be leveraged to deliver better outcomes.”