Chris Bennett: Awards show how much the profession cares

Being asked to sit on an Optician Awards judging panel is rightly taken as an honour by those asked to take part but this year I was touched by some of the responses I got.

The initial warm glow of recognition that greets an invitation to be a judge is often tempered by a degree of dread when the realisation dawns of what is expected. Being confronted by a pile of excellent entries has a habit of bringing home the gravity of the decisions being made.

Fellow professionals have spent days putting the entries together and the judges want to recognise that effort. When that pile runs into dozens of excellent, and comprehensive, entries the responsibility is also accompanied by a lot of hard work. Optician Awards aren’t won by a vote from friends, they are judged by fellow professionals.