Optician Awards 2006

Time is running out to enter the 2006 Optician Awards. For the first time the awards have been announced well before Christmas to give readers plenty of time to put their entries together.

The event, which has established itself as the best bash in the optical calendar, will culminate in a glittering black tie dinner and show in a top hotel in London's West End on April 25.

Judging will be conducted by panels made up of leading optical figures. Entries are welcomed from next week's launch and the closing date for submissions will be in mid-February.

Our existing partners, Johnson & Johnson, Grafton Optical, Dollond & Aitchison and Specsavers, are joined this year by new awards partners.

They are optical software company Relcon, the lens company BBGR, domiciliary eye care provider The Outside Clinic and variable tint lens company Transitions.

Among the themes in the 2006 Optician Awards will be the future of the independent sector and communication of optical messages. In recognition of this there are new categories designed to highlight best practice in these areas.

These include a category to highlight best practice in promoting eye care messages, a category dedicated to optical charities, a category to reward the practice that has excelled in raising awareness of eye health issues and a category for the independent which has fought back in the face of stiff competition.