Eyeworld Daily News

50 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | APRIL 24, 2022 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS A SOA Executive Director Laureen Rowland, CAE, launched the ASOA Open- ing General Session, telling attendees to expect a "monumental experience" from the meeting. She continued that "actually, we experienced that last night at the ASCRS ASOA Party for a Purpose. Thank you to all who donated to the ASCRS Foundation … Over $50,000 was raised and a special shoutout to ASOA's 'celebrity bartenders.'" It's been 9 months since the last Annual Meeting in Las Vegas, Neva- da, and while that timeframe is short from a meeting planning standpoint, from ASOA's perspective, that time has brought new programs, collaborations, and continued membership growth, Ms. Rowland said. In the last year, ASOA launched its Growing as a Mid-Level Manager Certificate Program. It is also beginning a group mentorship program geared toward new administrators and launch- ing a new virtual training program to augment in-person clinical training, Ms. Rowland said. In the session, Deborah Davis, COE, was recognized as the outgoing ASOA president, and Thomas Brown, JD, COE, became president. Mr. Brown, an ASOA member since 1996, said that while his introduction by Ms. Rowland covered some of the highlights of his career, he wanted to share a story that is less than positive but serves as a life metaphor. He described going on a date with a woman in 1989, and as the evening ended, he completely missed the mark with a goodnight kiss, which landed on her nose. The next day, telling a female colleague at his work the story, Mr. Brown was advised to send flowers immediately. He took the colleague's advice and later that day received a call from his date thanking him. The next week, he was visiting her house and meeting her parents when he saw the floral arrangement on the table. He said it was much more than what his money would have bought. He later asked his colleague about it. She grinned and said, "Every- one needs a little help sometimes." The woman from the date is now his wife. This is Mr. Brown's message: "When you are helped, be sure to make the most of it, and when someone else needs help, be there for them." Mr. Brown went on to describe how all of his jobs, successes, and failures have led to learning opportunities that have bettered him for the future. "Remember … that normal people may never realize how amazing they can be, failure is another opportunity to begin again, and when someone else needs help, be there for them," he said. The 2022 AE Editor's Choice Award, which recognizes the best member-authored article published in Administrative Eyecare magazine, was also given in this session. Dixon Davis, MBA, MHSA, received the award for his article "Rising Above – Strategic Leadership During a Crisis," published in the January/February 2021 issue. 'Connect the Dots' keynote Bill Stainton, CSP, CPAE, served as the keynote speaker with "Connect the Dots: Breakthrough Thinking for Oph- thalmic Professionals." Mr. Stainton is a 29-time Emmy Award-winning producer of the lon- gest-running, highest-rated, and most award-winning regional comedy TV show in the U.S. (a Seattle-based show called Almost Live!). He began his talk asking if anyone likes to sit next to weird people. He ventured that most people would say no but challenged the audience to think of "weird" as just different. "When we avoid people who are different, experiences that are dif- ferent, ideas that are different, we're missing out on the connections that are the building blocks of innovation. Your next breakthrough could be just one connection away, and if you miss it, it's gone," he said. He gave an example. He was sitting on a flight from New York to Seattle, initially excited at the empty middle seat next to him, when at the last minute a woman, who he likened to the "crazy cat lady" in The Simpsons, boarded and claimed "his" middle seat. Mr. Stainton proceeded to put in head- phones and listen to music up until the descent when she poked him, asking if Seattle was his home. Polite small talk continued, and he learned that she would be traveling on to Russia where she worked as a music teacher when she was younger. This got Mr. Stain- ton's attention. He asked if she taught Russian music ("yes") and enthusiasti- cally told her that he was just listening to his favorite Stravinsky piece The Firebird. The woman then told him that she was with Stravinsky when he wrote it. Imagine Mr. Stainton's surprised face. "Then the plane pulled up to the gate, and I never saw her again," he said. "I had completely written her off … because she was different," he said, adding, "When we miss those connections, we're missing those op- portunities, opportunities to grow, to innovate." Innovation is the master key to facing challenges but most of us don't use it, Mr. Stainton said. He said that while many think of innovation as a lightning bolt that only strikes a few, everyone has the ability to innovate, and innovations come in all shapes and ASOA Opening General Session features recognitions and inspiring keynote Mr. Stainton challenged the audience to be open to more ideas, experiences, and people in order to connect more dots.

• Cover