Comment : A night to be proud

There can be few sights as heartening to watch as that of a beaming Optician Award winner striding towards the stage eager to grab their trophy and hold it aloft.

On Tuesday night I had the honour of witnessing such a scene 10 times in the space of a short hour. Those 60 minutes were packed with more recognition and reward than most practitioners will see in a year, but how the profession deserved it.

One of the most common comments made about the Optician Awards presentation is that it is the one night of the year when some of the positive aspects of the profession are showcased.

Optician has always been proud to host the awards for just that reason. Tuesday night wasn't just for the winners it was about the whole business. As well as rewarding optometrists, dispensing opticians and practice staff, the Awards also act as a bridge between the professional, business and industry sections of optics.

The Optician Awards always highlight a theme or throw up a trend. In the welcome address a reference was made to the new competition posed by the supermarkets, pharmacies and the internet.

This year it struck me even more than ever how much everyone enjoyed the celebration. Perhaps that celebration was all the more sweet when contrasted with the tough year optics has endured.

The observation was made that in the face of that competition there was more to unite the independents and multiples than to divide them.

All of the entries in the Awards highlighted how much practices, big and small, care about the eye health of their patients.That is not a boast we are ever likely to hear coming from a supermarket, a pharmacy or  an internet middleman.