First female chairman for fmo

Ruth Gans Cole, former vice chairman of the Federation of Manufacturing Opticians, took over as chairman of the Federation from Kingsley Sleep at its annual luncheon last week. Mrs Gans Cole is the first female chairman in the 85-year history of the optical body. Mr Sleep in his address to members and guests described 2001 as a year of mixed blessings, which had been approached with hope at the new millennium and within a short space of time had seen a new type of war and uncertainty. The economic downturn had put pressure on the whole industry and cooperation was important. The FMOÕs move into new shared premises with ABDO and FODO at Paddington had taken longer than expected, with July 2002 now the anticipated move date. Mr Sleep also presented an award to Emma Goswell of Kennet Optical for best performance as a second year student at LondonÕs City and Islington College.