DOs recognised at awards ceremony
Kim receives her award from ABDO general secretary, Tony Garrett
Dispensing optician, Kim Walker, was named Dispensing Optician of the Year at the recent Optician Awards, acknowledging her contributions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kim is a dispensing optician and manager at performing arts specialist opticians, Allegro Optical in West Yorkshire.
In addition to her work in practice, Kim and her colleagues have been dispensing prescription safety eyewear to frontline NHS staff at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Mid Yorkshire Trust Hospitals, and St James’s University Hospital Leeds.
Kim wrote about her experiences for a Jottings article in the August 2021 issue of Dispensing Optics, describing how she has helped to provide as many frontline NHS staff as possible with prescription eye protection – working alongside Bollé.
Commenting on her award, Kim said: “It was a privilege to be shortlisted – let alone win. I feel truly humbled and this is one the highlights of my life.”
The winner of the Contact Lens Practitioner of the Year was DO and contact lens optician, Iain Johnson.
Iain is contact lens director at Johnson & Leatherbarrow Opticians, and specialises in advanced contact lens fitting, dry eye management and optical dispensing, with extended qualifications in anterior eye and dry eye management.
DO Rob Barrow, owner of Spec-Care, picked up Technology Supplier of the Year at the awards.
Rob said: “Helping young people with facial dysmorphia wear spectacles is both challenging and rewarding. This award is a proud moment for me seeing my team in the spotlight, enjoying all their hard work.”
The awards were presented by TV magician and comedian, Stephen Mulhern, in London earlier this month.
View a list of all the winners here.
Rob Barrow celebrates with the Spec-Care team