ABDO Medal of Excellence for Gill Bickle

Gill receives her award from the ABDO president

Gill Bickle’s dedication to ABDO and the profession through the course of her career has been recognised with the ABDO Medal of Excellence.

Gill joined ABDO in February 2000. She began her lecturing career at City College before moving to ABDO College, where she taught both dispensing and contact lens students. She took a short break from teaching and returned to ABDO College as courses co-ordinator, also serving as an ABDO examiner and tutor.

In October 2021, Gill was elected to the ABDO board, where she served for two years before stepping down due to ill health. She is widely admired, and her positive impact on colleagues and students is a testament to her character and professionalism.

ABDO president, Kevin Gutsell, said: “I was extremely pleased to award the ABDO Medal of Excellence to Gill, who I’ve known since she was a student.

This very able student matured into a first-class teacher and lecturer – and courses co-ordinator – leaving a lasting impression on many students. Being elected to the ABDO Board in 2021 was testament to her ability and an example of the high regard in which she is held. Her career as a dispensing optician is quite rightly rewarded with this accolade.”

Gill told Dispensing Optics: “I am surprised and very honoured to receive the ABDO Medal of Excellence. I have enjoyed working across the optical profession and developing others at the same time. Thank you to everyone who has supported and enabled me to have an enriched career in optics.”