Post from the president

Brenda meets ABDO member, Adrienne Gilmour, at Mackie Opticians in Bothwell

As ABDO president, I am incredibly honoured to be a member of the Awarding Panel for the relaunched Hamblin Memorial Prize, proudly sponsored by Boots Opticians.

This newly-positioned annual prize aims to recognise ABDO members for their exceptional service to the advancement of opticians through innovation in practice, education, research or promoting the profession.

It will celebrate members whose vision, leadership and commitment have inspired progress in dispensing optics, and strengthened the profession for future generations.

There are key criteria for consideration to receive this award. Most notably, nominees should demonstrate a clear and lasting impact that has benefited patients, practitioners and/or the wider profession. Nominations are now open until Friday 16 October.

Thank you to everyone who has signed up to participate in our centenary celebrations to date. It has been an absolute pleasure meeting so many members since my appointment as president. The response to our practice visits initiative has exceeded all expectations, and we are now fully booked for the year.

Many members have reached out to me after these visits to chat about what they would like ABDO to provide for them – so I would encourage all members to join our upcoming annual review meeting taking place online on Wednesday 7 October from 7pm to 8pm.

As well as providing the annual ABDO and ABDO Benevolent Fund financial updates, we will be gathering vital feedback to feed into our 2027 strategy, and sharing details about upcoming initiatives such as plans to celebrate and recognise ABDO members who have won industry-wide awards over the past year.

The annual review meeting is a great opportunity to share your views, so please do pre-register via ABDO Events, and we look forward to seeing you there.

As part of our centenary celebrations, we are also inviting members and supporters to take part in a fundraising challenge in aid of the ABDO Benevolent Fund – giving you the perfect opportunity to set yourself a challenge for a fantastic cause. For all the ways to get involved in the campaign, visit the 100 Years celebrations section.

Finally, we very much hope you enjoy reading our souvenir centenary supplement included with this month’s issue of Dispensing Optics journal.