Much ado about ADONZ

An excellent lecture delivered by local optometrist Danielle Winstone and DO Kirsty Pienaar from Ocula was particularly worth singling out, while ANZ Bank’s Nelson-based business training manager Stephen Caunter not only kept us smiling through the whole conference but also had us out of our seats learning about our personality and work behaviour types. I’m asking everyone I know to analyse themselves now, Stephen!

Another worthy mention is John Billings, who was nominated for this year’s International Opticians Association’s Dispensing Optician of the Year. Despite not receiving the award, he made us incredibly proud. John also brought Stevie, a trainee guide dog and an excellent representative. Their presence, as well as a thought-provoking lecture from Blind Low Vision NZ’s John Mulka, convinced us all about the importance of sponsoring a guide dog.

Our conference, of course, would not have been complete without an appearance from ACOD directors James Gibbins and Chedy Kalach. Their banter kept things fun and the challenges they set to check our everyday skills were both validating and a good reminder for everyone to continue giving their best.

Social highlights were the gala dinner and student graduation. Queenstown’s weather didn’t let us down for our Skyline night, allowing those who wanted to luge to have a great time while others enjoyed a more sedate sundowner. A huge thank you to ILS for sponsoring the welcome drinks! Local band Mojo had people moving and grooving while we also enjoyed having both Vineet and Angela join us for dinner in the form of lollipop heads which made their way around the room, so no one was left out!

Celebrations and graduations

Having both in-person and online graduates was a first. Their formal welcome to the profession was met with whoops and cheers, including from many of the suppliers who came along. Thank you James Gibbins for MCing from Australia, and a massive thank you to Specsavers for sponsoring students and getting them to the conference. Deserving graduate award winners included first in class Zeisha Jones; second in class Elise Paulin; and third in class Gagan Kapoor. The David Wilson Memorial Award was also presented to Elise Paulin, who not only finished her studies with excellence but who, along with Matt Harp, is also heading the Optiblocks education committee of ADONZ. Finally, a special thank you to Richard Couch for being the graduation’s keynote speaker. The audience was so impressed with what he had to say that Stephen Caunter gave the speech a special mention the following day.

This year's AGM was a big one! The presidential handover from Vineet to Angela was formalised and a new vice president and secretary/treasurer voted in. Since this year’s nominees were already in executive council positions, this opened up opportunities for new executive council members to be voted in too. I’d also like to make mention of the important contract Vineet secured with MSD for funding employers of new and potential DOs. And of course, the Robert Maher Award for recognition of dedication and service to the industry was well and truly earned by Kristine Hammond.

What an event it was, with lots to celebrate. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone next year in Tauranga – let’s break that record number of attendees once again!

ADONZ councillor and vice-president elect Courtney Chellew has been a DO for more than six years. Her contributions to the profession, including volunteering in the Himalayas in 2017, won her the 2018 Robert Maher Award.