There’s a frisson of excitement fizzing around UK optics at the moment and it’s because we finally know who is on the shortlist for the 2024 Optician Awards.
If this is the point at which you think: ‘I didn’t enter the Awards so I’ll stop reading’, think again. The Optician Awards isn’t just for those on the shortlist. It’s an opportunity for anyone in optics to join comrades and competitors in a party dedicated to excellence in optics and the promotion of ideas that drive the sector forward.
I challenge anyone who has been to the Optician Awards ceremony to tell me it wasn’t one of the most professional events they had ever been to.
Moreover, I would challenge any first-time Awards-goers to tell me that they weren’t surprised. Surprised that rather than attending a dry, handing-out-awards-to-the-usual-suspects, they found themselves at a party dedicated to all that is good in optics. Sure, there are some great practices out there you know about; and you’ll watch them winning, but you will also discover hidden gems in the optical geology.
I contend that attending the Awards presentation is a way of supercharging the excitement of your team about optics and drinking in the passion exuded by our finalists. It also confirms that growth and greatness in optics is driven by practices and practitioners and not handed down by the associations or government.
On the evening of November 22 at the Grosvenor House Hotel, Park Lane in London, around 500 of the optical community’s great and good will gather to see which of our finalists walk away with one of our iconic trophies. Those shortlisted for the 18 categories can be seen at opticianawards.co.uk along with details of how to attend this glittering black tie event.
You don’t have to be on a shortlist to attend so why not book your place at the optical party of the year. Perhaps next year, you may even enter and be one of those changing the face of the profession.
