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Alexandria, Va.—Vision Expo West 2019, held in the Las Vegas Sands Convention Center, once again brought eyewear and eyecare providers, buyers, industry media and influencers in the vision community together for a successful Show, according to an announcement from show organizers. Across social media platforms, the optical industry generated a buzz surrounding various events including OptiCon @ Vision Expo, engaging education courses, the new EYE2EYE Series and more. Notably, the optical industry generated 28 million impressions to date using the hashtag #VisionExpo, an increase of 68 percent over 2018., show organizers said.

OptiCon @ Vision Expo provided attendees with unmatched education offerings and inspirational content from Rebecca Alexander, psychotherapist, extreme athlete, activist and author of the memoir "Not Fade Away." Attendees had the opportunity to listen to Alexander’s personal story of “senses lost and found” before a book signing event in the OptiCon Hub.

“OptiCon @ Vision Expo West 2019 was truly an event to be seen and we were thrilled to see attendees enjoying music and networking at the OptiCon Welcome Event,” said Tom Barracato, past chairman of the American Board of Opticianry. “Additionally, the luncheon featuring Rebecca Alexander was a complete sellout with attendees enthralled with the interactive conversation.”

Vision Expo West also provided the backdrop for two industry leaders to be recognized this year. The Vision Choice Award winner was Carl Zeiss Vision Inc., who was honored for their C-UV Protect Tablet that demonstrates whether eyewear has full ultraviolet (UV) protection.

Additionally, the new TopVEW leaderboard program offered attendees the opportunity to vote for their favorite products and services on the Show Floor using the Vision Expo mobile app to scan unique QR codes displayed at each exhibitor booth. Safilo Group was announced as the first-ever “Best Product” award winner for the Kate Spade New York collection.

Attendees also had the opportunity to explore a variety of topics from the Show’s diverse education offerings including the new myopia track with an interactive session curated by the Brien Holden Vision Institute. Each session enabled attendees to engage with top professionals as they learned the latest in myopia care, prevention and patient education.

At the all-new Battle at the Sands: Case Challenges in Optometry competition, panelists presented cases highlighting imaging technology for a chance to win the audience’s votes. Following the informative and entertaining presentations, the final winner was announced as Danica Marrelli, OD.

On Friday evening, the second annual EyeStyle Influencer event, sponsored by The Vision Council, brought 40 optical industry media and social media influencers together to celebrate their work promoting eyewear and eyecare. Attendees learned from one another over dinner and were encouraged to continue creating genuine content that draws patients and customers attention to all the vision community has to offer.

Following a successful Vision Expo East debut earlier this year, the new destination, the BRIDGE, opened at Vision Expo West with a series of highly-attended events including the EYE2EYE Series keynote presentation with Piera Gelardi, Roberto Monaco’s Leadership Forum, fashion trends presentations, the Boutique Buyer panel and more. As the BRIDGE delighted attendees in both New York City and Las Vegas, it is being considered a finalist in this year’s Trade Show Executive (TSE) Gold 100 Grand Awards.

“The BRIDGE was designed to provide attendees access to diverse and inspirational content that will continue to feed their passion for the industry,” said Joanne Mohr, Vision Expo event director, Reed Exhibitions. “We’re thrilled the BRIDGE is being considered for this award and we’re looking forward to continuing our work to make Vision Expo the ultimate event for all members of the optical industry.”

For updates on future Vision Expo East (March 26 to 29, 2020) and Vision Expo West (Sept. 23 to 26, 2020), attendees should visit visionexpo.com https://east.visionexpo.com/visionexpo/ for information on events, education and more in the upcoming months.